NEW ORLEANS – James Madison has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the 2025-26 Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball title according to a vote by the league’s head coaches.
After earning a share of last season’s Sun Belt regular season title and the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, James Madison received one first-place vote and 175 points to earn the preseason distinction. In their first season under head coach Preston Spradlin, the Dukes went 20-12 overall and 13-5 in league play.
Arkansas State was picked second with 154 points, just ahead of South Alabama (152) in third and reigning Sun Belt tournament champion Troy (148) in fourth. Old Dominion (145), which won three Sun Belt tournament games last March on its journey to the quarterfinals, rounded out the top five.
Eight teams received at least one first-place vote, as South Alabama earned the most nods with four, followed by Arkansas State (3) and Old Dominion (2). James Madison, Troy, Marshall, App State and Louisiana each received one first-place vote.
Old Dominion junior guard Robert Davis Jr. was voted as the Sun Belt’s Preseason Player of the Year. The Sun Belt’s top returning scorer from a year ago, Davis averaged 15.6 points per game for the Monarchs and scored in double-figures 28 times. He also led all NCAA Division I players in 3-point attempts (348), ranked first in the Sun Belt in minutes per game (35:37) and his 116 3-pointers made ranked eighth nationally.
The Sun Belt also announced its Preseason All-Sun Belt First, Second, and Third Teams, as 11 different programs had at least one honoree among the 15 selections. Davis was joined on the First Team by James Madison’s Bradley Douglas, Troy’s Thomas Dowd, Georgia Southern’s Tyren Moore and Marshall’s Jalen Speer.
Bradley joins the Dukes after playing last season at Georgia Southern, while Dowd earned Sun Belt All-Tournament Team honors following the Trojans’ title run. In addition, Moore returns to the Eagles where he starred with the program for two seasons (2022-24) before transferring to UAB. He was a 2024 All-Sun Belt Second Team choice and ranked third in the league in scoring (17.0) that season.
The Sun Belt Conference will conduct its annual
Men’s Basketball Media Day on Wednesday, October 22 via Zoom.
The regular season tips off Monday, November 3 with the third year and first round of the MAC-SBC Challenge. Each Sun Belt Conference men’s basketball program will play an 18-game league slate beginning in December.
The 2026 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship returns to the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla., March 3-9.
2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year:
Robert Davis, Jr., Old Dominion [Jr. | G | Detroit, Mich.]
Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
Robert Davis, Jr., Old Dominion [Jr. | G | Detroit, Mich.]
Bradley Douglas, James Madison [Gr. | G | Eustis, Fla.]
Thomas Dowd, Troy [Jr. | F | Dothan, Ala.]
Tyren Moore, Georgia Southern [Gr. | G | Louisville, Ky.]
Jalen Speer, Marshall [Gr. | G | Gainesville, Fla.]
Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Eren Banks, App State [Jr. | G | Eatonton, Ga.]
Mark Drone, Texas State [Sr. | G | Jackson, Miss.]
Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State [R-So. | G | Marietta, Ga.]
Chandler Jackson, Arkansas State [Jr. | G | Memphis, Tenn.]
RaSheed Jones, Coastal Carolina [Jr. | G | Marion, Ind.]
Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
Jordan Battle, Old Dominion [Sr. | G | Norfolk, Va.]
John Broom, South Alabama [R-So. | G | Jacksonville, Ala.]
Kaden Gumbs, Texas State [Jr. | G | San Marcos, Texas]
Matt Van Komen, Marshall [Gr. | C | Lehi, Utah]
Nakavieon White, Georgia Southern [R-Sr. | F | Odessa, Texas]
2025 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. James Madison (1) – 175
2. Arkansas State (3) – 154
3. South Alabama (4) – 152
4. Troy (1) – 148
5. Old Dominion (2) – 145
6. Marshall (1) – 128
7. App State (1) – 123
8. Texas State – 106
9. Louisiana (1) – 95
10. Georgia Southern – 66
11. Georgia State – 59
12. Southern Miss – 57
13. Coastal Carolina – 43
14. ULM – 19
Parentheses indicate first-place votes