TAMPA, Fla. — Keiser opens the 2026-27 Sun Conference men's basketball season as the preseason favorite, earning 64 points and eight first-place votes in the annual poll of the league's nine head coaches.

The Seahawks enter the 2026-27 campaign after sharing the Sun Conference regular-season title with Ave Maria a season ago, finishing 13-3 in conference play. Keiser advanced to the Sun Conference Tournament championship game before earning a berth in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. The Seahawks reached the Second Round of the national tournament before concluding their season with a 25-6 overall record.

Ave Maria was voted second with 53 points after sharing the regular-season title with Keiser and capturing the Sun Conference Tournament championship. The Gyrenes are coming off a historic postseason run that saw them advance to the NAIA Fab Four. Ave Maria defeated No. 14 seed Texas A&M Texarkana, No. 6 seed Friends (Kan.), No. 2 seed LSU Shreveport (La.), and No. 1 seed Grace (Ind.) before falling in the national semifinals. The Gyrenes finished the season with a 30-5 overall record.

St. Thomas earned 51 points and the remaining first-place vote to place third. The Bobcats advanced to the Sun Conference Tournament semifinals last season before concluding their campaign with a 17-13 overall record.

Southeastern was selected fourth with 44 points after finishing 25-7 overall. The Fire reached the Sun Conference Tournament semifinals and earned an at-large berth in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. Southeastern defeated Madonna (Mich.) in the First Round before seeing its season end in the Second Round.

Coastal Georgia rounded out the top five with 35 points, followed by Florida Memorial in sixth with 32 points.

Warner earned 17 points to place seventh, followed closely by New College of Florida in eighth with 16 points. Webber International rounded out the 2026-27 preseason rankings in ninth place with 12 points.