Coastal Athletic Association men's basketball begins competition on Nov. 3 with a full opening-night slate. Anticipation for the season tipped off in earnest on Oct. 2 with the league's annual media day, which included the introduction of the preseason All-CAA teams and predicted order of finish. 

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Towson's Time? A UNCW Repeat? A William & Mary Breakthrough? 

Coach Pat Skerry has led Towson men's basketball to CAA regular-season championships in two out of the last four years. The Tigers are favorites to claim a third in 2025-26, as revealed in the preseason media poll that dropped ahead of CAA basketball media day.

Since Skerry's first season, when the Tigers finished 1-31, Towson has been on a steady ascent that has produced at least 20 wins in each of the last four seasons. With 2024-25 CAA Player of the Year Tyler Tejada leading the way, the Tigers will chase new heights. 

"We're in our best stretch in school history, and this team has the chance to be the best team we've ever had [at Towson]," Skerry said. "It's not yet. But it has the chance to be."

Among those opportunities ahead of the 2025-26 Tigers? The program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991. 

Despite winning a share of the 2021-22 CAA championship and last season's crown outright, Towson has been unable to claim the Coastal's postseason crown — and thus, the conference's automatic bid to March Madness. 

Delaware went on a historic tear as the league's No. 12 seed a season ago, winning four games in four days to face UNC Wilmington in the CAA championship. The Blue Hens' unprecedented Cinderella stretch in Washington, D.C. culminated with their semifinal win over the top-seeded Tigers. 

👀 @towson_mbb

The Tigers were the CAA regular season champion in 2024-25, and received seven first-place votes to earn the league’s top spot in the Preseason Coaches Poll pic.twitter.com/GOAb9KibX7

— CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) October 2, 2025

But while one team that has knocked on the door of the NCAA Tournament in recent years remained shut out in 2025, another made its March Madness return. UNCW has rivaled Towson among the most consistent CAA basketball programs post-COVID-shortened season with 21-plus wins every year. 

With College of Charleston winning the CAA Tournament in both 2023 and 2024, it wasn't until last season that UNCW broke through to the Big Dance. The Seahawks aim to make their fourth trip there since 2016, but must fend off a deep and talented conference that includes a reloaded Charleston, a dark-horse contender in William & Mary that aims to reach its first March Madness in program history, and much more. 

Sticking Around and Standing Out

Tyler Tejada's return to Towson is both the main point in favor of the Tigers as the CAA's preseason favorite, and a source of pride for the conference. Tejada is one of only five players in college basketball to have earned his league's Player of the Year award in 2024-25 and return to the same program in 2025-26. 

Tejada joins McNeese guard Javohn Garcia, Quinnipiac forward Amarri Monroe, Texas Tech's JT Toppin and Purdue's Braden Smith. 

"It's a great feeling to be mentioned with that group of guys," Tejada said. 

The versatile Towson wing averaged 16.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in his second season as a Tiger. His fellow preseason 1st Team All-CAA honoree Dylan Williamson, also headed into his third season at Towson, is coming off of a 14.6-point per game 2024-25. 

Taking a closer look at our Men's #CAAHoops Preseason Player of the Year@towson_mbb's Tyler Tejada ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/RXEVPt6u48

— CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) October 2, 2025

The backcourt duo headline a corps of returning talent that will help shape the CAA race, with four of the league's five preseason 2nd Team selections all back from last year, as well as five honorable mention All-CAA picks.

Shane Blakeney, Drexel: A season ago, Shane Blakeney emerged as perhaps the best sixth man in the CAA. This year, he'll have an opportunity to be the standout for Drexel, building off of his 7.5-point, 3.6-rebound per game production. 

The conference got a glimpse at Blakeney's potential as the go-to guy during the Dragons' CAA Tournament showdown with regular-season champion Towson. He scored 24 points against the Tigers, 15 of which came on a torrid 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. 

Jack Collins, Monmouth: A three-year starter for Monmouth, Jack Collins is back for his fourth season and is positioned to be the focal point of a Hawks team capable of title contention. 

Collins deferred scoring duties in recent seasons to explosive teammates Abdi Bashir Jr. and Xander Rice, both of whom put up more than 20 points per game the previous two campaigns. However, Collins has shown himself more than capable of taking on that leading scorer role, particularly during Monmouth's CAA Tournament appearances. 

Xzavier Long, Hampton: Injury delayed Xzavier Long's Hampton debut after transferring into the program from Canisius, but he emerged as a dependable, all-around playmaker in his 33 games as a Pirate last season. 

Long averaged 6.6 points on 47.2 percent shooting from the floor, grabbed five rebounds per game and was a solid on-ball defender with nearly a steal and block per contest. 

"This is the beauty of college basketball that you don't get to see a lot of," Hampton coach Ivan Thomas said. "A young man develop and grow from when I first got X. Just to be able to see his full potential blossom, not only as a player, but as a man, in all aspects of his life." 

Collin O'Connor, Stony Brook: 2024-25 CAA All-Freshman selection Collin O'Connor was among the league's top ball distributors in his collegiate debut campaign, averaging 3.2 assists per game. 

He established himself as a premier passer right out of the gate, doling out five assists in the season opener against Marquette. As the campaign progressed, O'Connor also demonstrated his scoring potential with games of 27 points vs. UNCW, 17 vs. Hofstra and 18 vs. Delaware in the final month of the season. 

LA Pratt, Northeastern: A transfer from within the conference a year ago, LA Pratt landed at Northeastern via Elon and established himself as one of the Huskies' top dogs. He put up a strong all-around stat line of 11.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game his first season in Boston.

"Starting with LA, we have a really seasoned guy who's a really good leader," Northeastern coach Bill Coen said.

Kyle Pulliam, William & Mary: A transfer from Div. II program St. Thomas Aquinas a year ago, Kyle Pulliam brought impressive 3-point shooting credentials to William & Mary as a 44.4 percent marksman in 2023-24. In his first season with the Tribe, Pulliam had three games knocking down at least three triples, but he also demonstrated a knack for scoring in the interior. 

The majority of his 9.9 points per game came on 60.2 percent shooting from inside the arc. Should Pulliam combine last year's 2-point shooting proficiency with his 3-point touch of two years ago, he'll be one of the most dangerous perimeter scorers in the CAA. 

Chase Lowe, William & Mary: Chase Lowe is among the most seasoned players exclusive to the CAA. A key contributor for the Tribe each of the last three seasons, Lowe has been a dependable scoring option and a tenacious rebounder in his time in Williamsburg.

"The system thrives off of retention, and we have some leaders coming back," Lowe said. "We have some good returners coming back who are very familiar with the system. We know what the coaches want, we know that they expect out of us, and I think that helps us a lot." 

Familiar faces pack the Men's #CAAHoops Preseason First Team as all five averaged over 14.0 ppg in the league last year 😤@Towson_MBB | @uncwmenshoops | @HofstraMBB | @CofCBasketball

📰 https://t.co/VkP9VyUELc pic.twitter.com/U4RVY7FpVs

— CAA Basketball (@CAABasketball) October 2, 2025

Former Role Players Poised to be Breakout Stars

Last season marked a new high in Siddle's outstanding tenure at UNCW with the Seahawks making their return to the NCAA Tournament and taking Texas Tech to the wire in a closer-than-the-score 82-72 1st Round clash. 

The 2025-26 Seahawks roster features incoming talent like the Stony Brook transfer luster, but UNCW also has plenty of pillars back from last season's run. 

"When you can have a guy like [Nolan Hodge] and Noah Ross [who] have been with you for four years, and you talk about Greedy Williams [who] has a year under his belt in the program, that can only help." 

UNCW's top three scorers from a season ago were graduated senior Donovan Newby and a pair of forwards now in the Big 12 — forward Khamari McGriff at Kansas State and center Harlan Obioha at West Virginia — but each of Hodge, Ross and Williams were key contributors behind them. 

The trio of returning Seahawks all previewed their star turns during the 2024-25 campaign's stretch run: Ross garnered All-CAA Tournament recognition for his 32 points, 14 rebounds and a championship game with two steals and a block; Williams dished four assists in the NCAA Tournament matchup with Texas Tech, and Hodge helped put the Red Raiders on the ropes with his 18 points. 

Dylan Williamson shouted as big man Caleb Embeya, a Tiger poised for a similar ascent. 

"He's a little under the radar," Williams said of Embeya, who averaged 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game as a freshman. "He's gotten more physical, he's gained a lot of weight, and he's going to be huge for us this year for sure."

Familiar Faces, New Places

Transfers making immediate impacts has become the norm around college basketball in the post-pandemic era. Thus, the preseason 1st Team All-CAA lineup featuring three 2025 transfers is hardly unusual. 

However, two of those transfers — Charleston's Colby Duggan and UNCW's CJ Luster II — are not new to the CAA; nor are they new to All-CAA recognition. 

Luster earned All-3rd Team honors at Stony Brook, where he 16.8 points per game (fourth in the Coastal) as a freshman. Luster's 42.1 percent 3-point shooting ranked third in the conference and in the top 100 among all Div. I players. 

Given that if there was a main weakness in UNCW's game a season ago, it was long-range shooting (33.6 percent, No. 201 nationally), Luster fills a huge gap for an already championship-caliber team. 

Likewise, perennial contender Charleston welcomes in the versatile Duggan, an All-CAA honoree at Campbell, ensuring the Cougars remain in the hunt in 2026. 

As a Camel, Duggan followed the arc of role player-turned-star, evolving from a 3.5-point per game scorer primarily off the bench as a freshman in 2023-24 to one of the CAA's top scorers as a sophomore. Duggan averaged 15.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game in 2024-25. 

He will be one of the pillars for a new-look but always-contending Charleston team under second-year head coach Chris Mack. 

"Once the portal opened and I entered, [Charleston] did a really good job making me a priority," Duggan said of his decision to join the Cougars. "They had the best vision for me and my development, and I knew I was going to be pushed to another level here." 

The @CAABasketball Preseason Poll is HERE! 👀@Towson_MBB takes the top spot 🔥

Join us for @CAASports Media Day ⬇️https://t.co/USagnhrqXj pic.twitter.com/ly9FEtT7nl

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) October 2, 2025

Say Hello to the New Guys

Charleston's had plenty of success with transfer players in recent years, including former Div. II standouts Dalton Bolton and Pat Robinson during the Cougars' 31-win, 2022-23 campaign. 

High-potential Div. II transfers again shape the Charleston roster, with Chris Mack adding versatile guard Kendall Taylor and big man Will Mortimore. Taylor was a scoring machine last year at Wingate, posting 24.4 points per game. 

He scored at least 21 points in each of the Bulldogs' final 11 contests, including pouring in 44 points against UVa Wise. 

The 6-foot-10 Mortimore, meanwhile, originally landed at Colorado Mesa out of Australia. The big man from Down Under made an immediate impact with 10 points and seven rebounds per game as a freshman. 

He joins one of the longest frontcourts in the nation, thanks to Charleston's additions of 7-foot junior-college transfer Chol Machot, and 7-foot-2 Clemson transfer Christian Reeves. 

The Cougars backcourt also welcomes in a transfer from within the Palmetto State, adding guard Mister Dean via USC Upstate. 

Dean earned All-Big South and the league's Rookie of the Year with his 15.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and conference-best 2.2 steals per game. 

"Never having competed in the CAA or against CAA teams in my coaching time, I don't want to say I underestimated, but I didn't realize the size and athleticism you might find from game to game," Mack said. "While we were a good team a year ago, won 24 games, we fell short of what we wanted to."

"So, it was our staff's charge to make sure we got more size and athleticism," Mack added. "We've got a much different look than we did a year ago." 

Charleston isn't the only CAA title hopeful with a much different look. Hampton encountered tough sledding its first two years in the Coastal, finishing 9-24 and 8-24. 

Last season, however, first-year Pirates coach Ivan Thomas navigated Hampton to a 17-16 overall finish and with eight CAA wins, matched the previous two years' combined total. 

Featuring one of the most impressive transfer classes anywhere in college basketball, Hampton could be the surprise contender of the 2025-26 CAA campaign. 

Here's a quick look at the new Pirates crew:

Michael Eley (Tulane): After two standout years with Siena, Michael Eley spent last season at Tulane. He was the 2022-23 MAAC Rookie of the Year, and he adds both scoring pop and a tough defensive presence. 

Kody Williams (Hawaii): The primary point guard for Hawaii in 2024-25, Kody Williams averaged 7 points per game. 

Christian Watson (Southern Miss): Christian Watson adds Final Four experience as a member of the 2023 national semifinalist Miami Hurricanes, and proven on-court production as a starter last season with Southern Miss. The versatile wing can score and hit the boards effectively. 

Jalyke Gaines (Alcorn State): Jalyke Gaines led Alcorn State in both scoring (11.9) and assists (3) a season ago. 

Peter Oduro (Coppin State): The 6-foot-8 Peter Oduro is one of two newcomers adding size and physicality to the Hampton interior, coming off of a 2024-25 with Coppin State in which he scored 8.6 points and grabbed 4.1 rebounds per game. 

Josh Ogundele (Tennessee State): Literally the biggest of Hampton's transfer additions, the 7-foot, 275-pound Josh Ogundele began his career at Iowa and landed at Tennessee State last year. 

2025-26 CAA Men's Basketball Preseason Media Poll 

1. Towson (7)    136
2. UNCW (5)    132
3. Charleston (1)    130
4. William & Mary    97
5. Hampton    80
6. Monmouth    76
7. Campbell    75
8. Hofstra    66
9. Northeastern    66
10. Drexel    63
11. Stony Brook    41
12. Elon    35
13. North Carolina A&T    17

( ) indicates 1st place votes 

2025-26 CAA Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams 

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