WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Sunshine State Conference announced its 2026-27 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll on Wednesday, with Rollins picked to finish sixth in the league.
The Tars received 64 points in voting by the conference's head coaches.
Nova Southeastern enters the season as the conference favorite after receiving nine first-place votes, while Palm Beach Atlantic earned the remaining two. Florida Southern, Tampa, and Barry rounded out the group ahead of Rollins.
Head Coach
Kevin Hogan's squad brings back a strong group of familiar faces for the 2026-27 campaign, including
Ryan Renfro,
Marshall Klug,
Michael Niemann,
Matus Malovec,
Jackson Gaffney,
Cheo James,
William Jobe, and
Ian Hart. The group combined for 824 points, 485 rebounds, 193 assists, 63 steals, and 39 blocks a season ago.
Gaffney leads the returning group in scoring after averaging 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season, while Klug added 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. Renfro averaged 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds and led the returning group with 17 blocks. Malovec pulled down a team-high 144 rebounds among this year's returners, averaging 5.0 per game.
The Tars also welcome several new faces to Winter Park, with
Grayson Kegerreis,
Jake Freeman,
Medard Angyal,
Trey O'Neil,
Austin Cripe,
Henry Sandberg, and
Kanye Jones joining the 2026-27 roster.
Rollins will play two exhibitions (Oct. 25 at UCF and Nov. 9 vs Florida Memorial) before opening their season officially on Friday, November 13, at 11 a.m. to take on Clark Atlanta University for the South Region Crossover hosted by Lynn University.
2026-27 SSC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
- Nova Southeastern – 11 (9)
- Palm Beach Atlantic – 21 (2)
- Florida Southern – 28
- Tampa – 40
- Barry – 42
- Rollins – 64
- Lynn – 66
- Embry-Riddle – 67
- Eckerd – 84
- Saint Leo – 90
- Florida Tech – 92
