FRISCO, Texas - The defending three-time Southland Conference Tournament champion McNeese Cowboys basketball team have been selected as the overwhelming favorite to make it four-in-a-row by league coaches and sports information directors with the unveiling of the men's basketball preseason poll on Tuesday.
 
McNeese collected 11 of the 12 first place votes (McNeese was not allowed to vote for itself), beating out Stephen F. Austin in the preseason poll. The Cowboys posted a 28-6 record last season including 19-3 mark in Southland Conference play and defeated SFA 76-59 in the conference tournament championship game to capture their third straight title and NCAA Tournament berth.
 
The Cowboys will try to become only the second team in league history to win four straight tournament titles (ULM from 1990-93).
 
"While it may not have any tangible value, it's another indication of our community's and university's commitment to excellence," said second-year head coach Bill Armstrong. "We understand the expectations that come with our program, but we also want our players to recognize that those standards were established by the teams that came before us. Our responsibility is to honor that tradition and continue building on the success they've created."
 
McNeese returns league Freshman of the Year and Louisiana Player and Freshman of the Year Larry Johnson who has been named one of the top 30 sophomores in the nation. Johnson set a new school freshman scoring record last season with 592 points, breaking the record held by Joe Dumars for 44 years.
 
Jerrell Colbert (5.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Carl Cherenfant (4.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg) join Johnson as regulars from last year's team.
 
The Cowboys added some size and talent to join Johnson, Colbert and Cherenfant this season, six of those new players coming from Power 4 leagues which includes junior forward Corey Chest (6-8, 220, Ole Miss), junior forward Alier Maluk (6-11, 220, Florida State), sophomore guard Choppa Moore (6-4, 180, Syracuse), sophomore forward Christian Nitu (6-11, 220, Washington), junior guard Dellquan Warren (6-2, 185, Mississippi State), and sophomore guard Jaylon Dean-Vines (6-4, 182, Vanderbilt).
 
McNeese begins the season on November 2 against UAB in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon at Rock Hill, South Carolina. The Cowboys will open up conference play on Dec. 5 at home against HCU.
 
Over the last three seasons, McNeese has compiled an 86-17 record including a 55-5 mark in conference play and 48-1 record in the Townsley Law Arena. The 86 total wins over that span ties with Purdue as the seventh-most in the NCAA among all Division I programs.
 
2026-27 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. McNeese 121 (11)
2. SFA 109
3. A&M-Corpus Christi 98 (1)
4. Lamar 91
5. UTRGV 78
6. LSU New Orleans 68
7. HCU 47
8. Northwestern State 45
9. Southeastern 38
10. Nicholls 37
11. UIW 36
12. East Texas A&M 24