NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Coming off a regional championship, Assumption has been voted to finish second in the 2025-26 preseason favorite according to the Northeast 10 Conference Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
Bentley received 73 points and three first-place votes in the poll to take the top spot. Assumption, the reigning Division II East Region champion and Elite Eight participant, was picked second with 70 points and four first-place votes. Adelphi, the defending NE10 regular season champion, was third with 67 points and three first-place tallies.
Assumption had a historic season in 2024-25, as it won the program's first regional title in 50 years and advanced to the Elite Eight. It won the regional as the No. 6 seed in the East - the lowest seed to win the regional since Bryant (also No. 6) in 2005.
Daouda Dembele returns for the Greyhounds after earning both Second Team All-Conference and All-Defensive Team honors last year.
Adelphi compiled 27 wins last season, a program-high since joining the NE10 in the 2009-10 season. The Panthers also earned their first regional bid since 2012. Jarnel Rancy, the NE10 Defensive Player of the Year who led NCAA Divisions I, II, and III in blocks (129) last season, returns for Adelphi - along with First Team All-Conference performer Dayshaun Walton.
Southern New Hampshire, the two-time reigning NE10 Championship winner, finished fourth in the poll with 57 points. Pace, the NE10 Championship finalist last season, was picked fifth with 49 points.
Southern Connecticut placed sixth with 46 points, Saint Anselm was seventh with 33 points, Saint Michael's was eighth with 28 points, American International was ninth with 17 points, and Franklin Pierce was 10th with 10 points.
The Greyhounds will toss the ball up on the 2025-26 season, as they will take on Chestnut Hill College in the opening game of the College of Staten Island Tip-Off Tournament on Friday, November 14th at 3:00 pm. All home and conference games this season can be watched on
NE10 NOW on FloSports.
2025-26 NE10 Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
Team |
Votes (1st Place) |
| 1 |
Bentley Falcons |
73 (3) |
| 2 |
Assumption Greyhounds |
70 (4) |
| 3 |
Adelphi Panthers |
67 (3) |
| 4 |
SNHU Penmen |
57 |
| 5 |
Pace Setters |
49 |
| 6 |
SCSU Owls |
46 |
| 7 |
Saint Anselm Hawks |
33 |
| 8 |
Saint Michael's Purple Knights |
28 |
| 9 |
AIC Yellow Jackets |
17 |
| 10 |
Franklin Pierce Ravens |
10 |
--
For continuing coverage of Assumption University Athletics, visit assumptiongreyhounds.com and follow the Greyhounds on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
