LSU Alexandria earns top spot in RRAC men's basketball preseason poll again

WACO, Texas – Despite losing all-world star Kashie Natt, LSU Alexandria is anticipated to win a third straight conference title as the top team in the 2025-26 RRAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. LSUA grabbed nine first-place votes to land ahead of Xavier in second and LSU Shreveport in third.

Natt was the NAIA Player of the Year and RRAC Player of the Year following an amazing senior season. EJ McQuillan, who was named first-team all-conference and averaged better than 14 points per game last year, will take a lead role now along with senior guad Jordan Decuir. Head Coach Dimario Jackson will be looking for a third straight conference title as he welcomes University of the Southwest transfers Norman Beckford (6-9 forward) and Johnny DeWalt (6-10 center).  

Xavier was picked as the runner-up with returners Seviuhn Turner, a 6-4 swingman, and Eli Pichon at guard. The Gold Rush lost most of its starting lineup but will look to fill the gaps with Dillard University (La.) transfer Bentravin Phillips, Nasir DeGruy from Abilene Christian University (Texas) and Elijah Tate from Texas State University.

LSU Shreveport, which finished third in the poll, will look to replace all five of its starters and its top seven scorers from last season. Reinforcements are on the way with transfers Emareyon McDonald from Gramgling State University (La.), Thaddeus Johnson from Columbia State University and Khi Wallace from Cumberland University (Tenn.).

Our Lady of the Lake, Texas A&M-Texarkana and Louisiana Christian rounded out the top six.

There are a total of 12 teams competing for the RRAC title this season with the addition of the University of North Texas-Dallas.

The RRAC Men's Basketball Tournament will have an altered format this year for the eight qualifiers. The top four seeds will host first round games with the winners of those games advancing to the semifinals and championship game to be held in Alexandria, La.

Voting was conducted by the conference's head coaches. Results of the poll are shown below with points calculated through a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 format with first-place votes appearing in parentheses.