The Goal, Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City; NAIA Men’s Basketball Notebook, Issue I
Brandt McCall
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October 29, 2026
Volume II | Issue I
A new season of men’s basketball in the NAIA has arrived! After one week of games in the books from around the nation, teams continue to find continuity, and rhythm. As always there a ton of fantastic third-party media platforms that do amazing things day in and day out to highlight and cover the world of men’s basketball within the association. If you want to always stay up-to-date with scores, more news, and different stories be sure to give NAIA Hoops Report and or Cascade Hoops Talk a follow on X at the links below.
NAIA Hoops Report begin in 2019 with one goal in mind, enhance the coverage and exposure of men’s basketball in the NAIA. From the start of season with a preseason magazine, to score updates, upsets, their “Road to Muni” podcast, and the always anticipated bracketology report using available data like Ranking Percentage Index (RPI), Area Rating Committee (ARC) standings, Quad wins, and more. then comes the national tournament coverage. Even more expanded coverage of the men’s basketball national tournament in historic municipal auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
National Top 25
With the start of the 2026-27 season was the release of the preseason coaches’ top 25 poll! The preseason coaches poll saw Grace (Ind.) tip off the season atop of the mountain receiving 14 first-place votes. The defending national champions in Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) will open the year at No. 2, earning four first-place votes while Arizona Christian received the final first-place vote to sit at No. 3 in the nation. Be sure to check out the preseason poll and see where your favorite team opens the season.
The story on the Lancers and Lions at No. 1 and No. 2 to open a new season. Grace was a young squad last year with a team makeup of eight freshman, four sophomores, three juniors, and not one, single senior on the team. Adding to the fact that this was a young team last season who not only managed to keep the Crossroads League crown for both the regular season and tournament for the fourth and fifth straight seasons. Despite GC being young last year and securing two pieces of hardware from arguably one of the toughest conferences in the NAIA men’s basketball landscape year-over-year, they have a lot to look forward to heading into this season. Returning 100 percent of the roster from a year ago, the Lancers look to keep building on last year with familiar faces that have valuable experience in the rotation already.
For head coach Scott Moore, now in his eighth season guiding the Lancers, the pressure from being the preseason No. 1-ranked team is something to embrace rather than shy away from.
“Being where we are right now is exactly where you want to be. But our understanding is – this is where we want to end the year,” Moore said. “Starting here is nice, but this is our goal for the finish line. The motivation is there. It gives us a standard to hold ourselves to throughout the year.” Check out more of the preseason No. 1 Lancers at gclancers.com courtesy of the Lancers Athletic Communications Staff.
Grace opened their season on October 23 against IU Northwest (Ind.) at home from the Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Their first road trip of the season is on deck with the Crossroads/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Challenge. The Lancers are set take on No. 25 Morningside (Iowa) on Friday, October 30 at 5:30 p.m. CT then on Saturday, the 31st, they take on the Chargers of Briar Cliff (Iowa). The two venues, separated by just 6.7 miles in Sioux City, Iowa.
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), the defending national champions, preseason No. 2, the Lions are under new leadership after Drew Stutts departed. Stutts led FHU to their second national championship in three seasons, the opponent in the national championship game both season, Langston (Okla.) who opens the season at No. 8. That’s not the main part of this though, behind both of those national championships for the Lions was the architect behind the relentless defensive pressure that started right from opening jump Grant Burns. Burns helped to build Freed-Hardeman into the power house they are currently under Stutts. After serving as the assistant for the previous five seasons, Burns gets to take over not just a winning program with championship pedigree, but a championship program he helped to build. The first year head coach was not only thankful to Stutts and FHU for the opportunity, but he also stated that
“Faces and names may change, but the standard remains the same”
Lions Head Coach Burns.
The master mind behind the Lions defensive pressure over the last few years gets his opportunity once again to show what he can do, and this time it’s as a head coach. Last seasons title run saw Freed post the the lowest field-goal percentage allowed in the nation, and second nationally in fewest points-per-game allowed. NAIA Hoops Report said it best in their preseason poll breakdown that, “An internal coaching promotion gives the Lions a bridge between eras. That does not erase the challenge of replacing personnel, but it makes this a very different situation from starting over.” Click HERE to check out more on he hiring of Grant Burns at Freed.
We are just one week into the season and have already had plenty of great games, records, and even one of the 64 iconic college basketball experiences as listed in SLAM’s Buckets List guide of arenas, rivalries, hidden gems and more. That game… the toilet paper (TP) game at John Brown (Ark.) in Siloam Springs, Ark. The annual TP game is pretty simple in how it works, and if you’re a JBU student, or a community member in Siloam Springs, it’s like second nature. The game follows a simple premise: when the Golden Eagles score their first field goal of the season, fans launch rolls of toilet paper onto the court to celebrate the start of a new campaign. Fans can participate by bringing a canned food item to exchange for a roll of toilet paper at the door.
This tradition has been around for quite some time as it first began Nov. 12, 1983, inside Murray Sells Gymnasium and returns for its 43rd toss, having paused only once in more than four decades, in 2020. Widely regarded as one of small-college basketball’s most recognizable traditions, the annual event has attracted national media coverage from ESPN, ESPN The Magazine, Yahoo Sports, USA TODAY, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Business Insider, BuzzFeed and Bleacher Report. Per JBU Athletics Communications Staff.
Men’s basketball in the NAIA has been around for a long time; 89 years. Eighty-nine years ago, a gallon of gas cost $0.10, a loaf of bread was $0.09 and a dozen eggs were $0.37. The history of men’s basketball in the NAIA not only continues to grow every year with another national champion, but with new institutions joining the association, new programs starting their first ever season, breakout performances, and historic runs into and sometimes through the oldest collegiate men’s basketball tournament in the country.
In Tifton, Georgia, its a combination of those things. The Georgia Southern Golden Eagles joined the NAIA this fall and they added men’s basketball to their list of intercollegiate sport offerings as well. New coach, players, and everyone trying to work collectively as one on the hardwood. The Golden Eagles stepped onto the court for the first time to open the regular season and left no doubt, posting an opening night win against Abraham Baldwin (Ga.), who became a member of the NAIA last year, 90-63. The Georgia Southern Athletics Communications Department asked head coach Justin Tucek about what it meant to the team and before elaborating he quickly just said “History is Made!”. Check out more on Georgia Southern Golden Eagles first win as a program and for head coach Tucek at gogoldeneagles.com.
If you’ve followed NAIA Hoops Report or have looked Indiana Wesleyans social media accounts over the last few months, they are getting ready to unveil their new $30 million state-of-the-art basketball facility for men’s and women’s basketball. The new arena, I AM THIRD Arena, is an 80,000 square-feet multilevel arena that can accommodate 2,000 plus Wildcat fans. check out more on the new arena at IWUWildcats.com and some social posts from IWU Athletics. I AM THIRD Arena will host it’s first ever basketball game on November 6 as the Wildcats are set to take on Kuyper College at 7 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game by clicking HERE.
Who’s ready for some featured games to keep an eye on over the next two weeks! The list of featured games don’t necessarily have to be top 25 match ups. They could be special theme nights, longtime rivals, and even some great classics that are held throughout the season.
Our list of featured games opens up with a classic for a great cause in the heart of the country, The Remy Williams Memorial Invitational. Read more on Remy’s story here, this memorial invitations is always an early season test for teams. Three of the four men’s teams playing in the invitational this season sit within the top 10 of the preseason poll, No. 3 Arizona Christian, No. 7 Georgetown (Ky.), and No. 9 LSU Shreveport (La.).
Tigers head coach Chris Briggs and Pilots head coach Kyle Blankenship both spoke on what it means to be part of the Remy Williams Invitational.
To tune into any of the featured games on this list, click on the graphic of that game below!
No. 3 Arizona Christian vs. No. 7 Georgetown (Ky.), at Park (Mo.)
No. 9 LSU Shreveport (La.) vs. No. 7 Georgetown (Ky.) at Park (Mo.)
No. 3 Arizona Christian at Park (Mo.)
No. 3 Arizona Christian vs. No. 9 LSU Shreveport (La.) at Park (Mo.)
No. 7 Georgetown (Ky.) at Park (Mo.)
There are even more great games on deck for the coming weeks to check out below!
(RV) LSU Alexandria at No. 14 Loyola (La.)
No. 23 William Carey (Miss.) at No. 9 LSU Shreveport (La.)
(RV) Southeastern (Fla.) at No. 3 Arizona Christian
NAIA Hoops Report
We mentioned at the top, all the great things NAIA Hoops Report does throughout the season. One things we forgot to mention that is always a great way to see how teams and even student-athletes did last week is through their recap by categories. The first recap by categories was released earlier this week and is released each week throughout the season, check it out below and then be sure to read the full breakdown of each category as well.
In addition to the weekly recap by categories from NAIA Hoops Report, they also released a weekly newsletter for the first weekend of games. Which holds the same standard as the other content they post, if you missed anything over the previous week or want a quick way to stay up-to-date, this is a great read to know how games across the nation went.
In their weekly recap, they talk about the national picture, games to circle two of the three games Hoops Report notes to circle and tune into are also featured games to watch. Then they talk about teams who have made some noise in the national landscape.
After the first weekend of action, Hoops Report marks Warner (Fla.), Carroll (Mont.), and Marian (Ind.) as rising from their view point. The Writeups below are from Hoops Report weekly, the full article with more information can be seen HERE and in the tweet above.
↑ Warner: The Royals earned an 84–78 road win over receiving-votes IU South Bend. That is an early result worth noticing—and a reason to keep Warner on the radar.
↑ Carroll: The Saints left California 2–0 after knocking off No. 20 Hope International, 74–70, on the road. A ranked win away from home is a strong opening-week statement.
↑ Marian: Stock can rise even in a loss. The Knights pushed No. 2 Freed-Hardeman to the wire in a 76–75 road defeat—an impressive showing against the defending national champions.
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