LAKE CHARLES – One week from tipping off the 2024-25 men's basketball season, the McNeese Cowboys have earned a No. 10 ranking the in CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major Top 25 which was released on Monday.
The Cowboys, who finished 30-4 last season en route to the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships while qualifying to their first NCAA Tournament in 22 years, are the favorites to repeat as league champions and garnered votes in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 for the first time in school history.
McNeese will open the season next Monday against South Dakota State, who received 10 votes in the mid-major poll. That game is part of the Field of 68 Season Opener and will be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Cowboys' game against the Jackrabbits will be the third of three games featured on the day and will follow Saint Louis vs. Santa Clara and College of Charleston against Southern Illinois.
Gonzaga tops the mid-major poll and is followed by Grand Canyon, Princeton, Bradley, and Saint Mary's to round out the top five.
The next five features Vermont, Northern Iowa, McNeese's Dec. 3 home opponent Santa Clara, High Point, and McNeese.
Southland Conference foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi received seven votes in the poll.
CollegeInsider.com 2024-25 Preseason Mid-Major Top 25 Poll
1. Gonzaga, 775
2. Grand Canyon, 682
3. Princeton, 641
4. Bradley, 634
5. Saint Mary's, 630
6. Vermont, 534
7. Northern Iowa, 530
8. Santa Clara, 478
9. High Point, 447
10. McNeese, 423
11. Ohio, 414
12. UC Irvine, 411
13. Yale, 403
14. San Francisco, 333
15. Louisiana Tech, 284
16. Towson, 263
17. Arkansas State, 239
18. Milwaukee, 206
19. Toledo, 164
20. Samford, 160
21. Purdue Fort Wayne, 157
22. Kansas City, 153
23. Little Rock, 128
24. Lipscomb, 92
25. Western Kentucky, 88
Others Receiving Votes: Charleston 83, Liberty 81, UC Santa Barbara 72, Akron 51, Norfolk State 47, Kent State 46, James Madison 39, Colgate 34, Appalachian State 29, Wofford 26, Sam Houston 24, Northern Kentucky 23, Oakland 23, Seattle 23, Montana 21, Murray State 21, ETSU 19, Grambling 19, Troy 19, Drake 18, Quinnipiac 18, UT Arlington 15, UNCW 11, Furman 10, South Dakota State 10, Chattanooga 8, Harvard 8, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 7, UC Davis 6, Howard 6, UMass Lowell 5, Weber State 5, Winthrop 5, Middle Tennessee 3, Austin Peay 2, Central Connecticut 1, Indiana State 1, North Alabama 1.
