ATLANTA - The Piedmont men's basketball program was selected to finish third in the Collegiate Conference of the South Preseason Coaches Poll, released Tuesday afternoon.
For the fourth straight year the Maryville Scots have been selected to finish first in the CCS. The Scots last season ended with 20 wins and a trip to the conference championship and entered the year ranked 21st in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25. Maryville collected the most points in the poll with 36 total and six first-place votes.
The two through five spots were separated by just a few points, with Maryville standing tall at the top.
Piedmont finished two points below projected No. 2 Asbury and two points above projected No. 4 Huntingdon. The Lions finished 3-9 in the CCS last season with an 11-15 overall record and fell to Huntingdon in the CCS First Round.
Piedmont will be returning multiple impact players from last season, including
Dylan Patrick, who was second on the team in points averaged, and
Fisher Darden, who finished last season in the top five in several offensive and defensive categories.
Piedmont's returning roster overall will be a strength coming into the season, with several players looking to build on previous campaigns.
Piedmont is scheduled to open the 2025-26 season at home in Cave Arena against No. 3 Emory on Sunday, Nov. 9th, at 2:00 p.m.
The 2025-26 CCS Men's Basketball Championship kicks off on Tuesday, Feb. 24, and is capped by the championship game on Saturday, Feb. 28, hosted by the highest remaining seed.
2025-26 CCS Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
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1.
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Maryville College
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36 points (6)
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2.
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Asbury University
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25 points
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3.
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Piedmont University
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23 points (1)
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4.
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Huntingdon College
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21 points
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5.
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Covenant College
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20 points
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6.
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Belhaven University
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12 points
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7.
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LaGrange College
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10 points
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