PORTLAND, Ore.--Western Oregon landed in the ninth spot in the annual Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll, while 2026 league champion St. Martin's is the pick to repeat in 2026-27.

The Wolves have 19 poll points. They tied for ninth last season, had an overall record of 9-18 and they were 4-14 in conference play. Second-year coach Ryan Orton is rebuilding with only one returning player from a year ago and now has 11 transfers and two freshmen on the roster.

St. Martin's claimed six of the 10 first-place votes and tallied 88 points to top the poll. Central Washington was close behind with 84 points and one first-place vote for second in the poll, while Northwest Nazarene followed third with three first-place votes and 80 points.

The 2026-27 men's basketball season officially kicks off on Oct. 30 with the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Ellensburg, Wash. The first round of GNAC contests runs Dec. 3-5 with the remaining 16 games following after the new year. The top-six teams in the regular-season standings will earn spots in the 2027 GNAC Basketball Championships, which run March 4-6 at Johnson Sports Center on the campus of Northwest Nazarene. The winner of the conference tournament will earn the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, which follow March. 12-15 at the site of the top seed in the region.


 

2026-27 GNAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2025-26 Record	2025-26 GNAC Record (Finish)
1	Saint Martin's (6)	88	26-6	15-3 (1st)
2	Central Washington (1)	84	16-15	9-9 (T4th)
3	Northwest Nazarene (3)	80	18-11	12-6 (T2nd)
4	Alaska Anchorage	62	21-11	12-6 (T2nd)
5	Montana State Billings	61	20-11	9-9 (T4th)
6	Alaska	56	15-14	9-9 (T4th)
7	Western Washington	47	13-16	7-11 (8th)
8	Seattle Pacific	36	14-12	9-9 (T4th)
9	Western Oregon	19	9-18	4-14 (T9th)
10	Simon Fraser	17	7-21	4-14 (T9th)
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.