Flying Dutchmen Fans

Lindy's MBB Annual for 2026-27 is out. Here are its predictions for the CAA, written by a reporter from Wilmington, NC. The CAA section does not mention that Hofstra won the league championship last year.

Predictions:

1. UNCW
2. Towson
3. Charleston
4. Hofstra
5. William & Mary
6. Monmouth
7. Stony Brook
8. Drexel
9. Hampton
10. Northeastern
11. Elon
12. Campbell
13. NC AT&T

All-Conference First Team:

G Seth Hubbard, Hampton
G Taveri Johnson, Charleston
G Zion Stanford, Towson
F Jaden Daughtry, Stony Brook
C Patrick Wessler, UNCW

All-Conference Second Team:

G Justin Moore, Hofstra
G Xavier Abreu, Charleston
G CJ Luster, UNCW
F Stefanos Spartalis, Monmouth
C Trey Scott III, Charleston

Player of the Year:

C Patrick Wessler, UNCW

Newcomer of the Year:

G Taveri Johnson, Charleston (followed new coach from Akron)

Honor Roll:

Best Shooter: CJ Luster, UNCW
Best Rebounder: Patrick Wessler, UNCW
Best Playmaker: Justin Moore, Drexel (sic)
Best Defender: Imanuel Zorgvol, Hofstra
Most Versatile: Stefanos Spartalis, Monmouth
Best NBA Prospect: Patrick Wessler, UNCW

With all the roster turnover in the CAA and other conferences, I don't know how any predictions can mean anything.

*****

On a related note, the CAA will conduct its annual Basketball Media Day on Thursday, Oct. 15. Speedy will be interviewed first, at 10:05 AM:

https://caasports.com/news/2026/10/6/me ... ct-15.aspx

yeahhhhhh..... this is a tad suspect. Not terrible, the top 4 are likely correct, save for perhaps Monmouth IMO who may be a bit underrated, but I've had enough with the constant pre-season hype of Towson. They are constantly overrated, I'm sorry. And they've yet to actually come through. Not buying it, especially after losing Tejada - no way they are better this year than last, and I'm highly skeptical they finish 2nd.

I do think UNCW is going to be very strong this year, and certainly a legit championship contender. Fair to me to be the team to beat. Strong staff, and Wessler will be solid again, although I'm not sure he's the unstoppable force he's portrayed as. I think HU will have the bigs this year to battle.

I have to believe CofC will be formidable as well just due to their financial support - they are going to have players. I'm not yet a believer in their HC, big name but not sure he fully lives up to it here. We'll see. Either way, they'll be in it.

I have HU at 3, and I think that's fair based on this programs historical performance and the staff consistency with Speedy at the helm. It is very likely we have some players on our squad that no one even knows yet (except us).

Not a lot of love for HU here, which I find interesting. On one hand somewhat ok because of what we lost - on the other, HU has filled it's rank with top talent literally every single year under Speedy, and will do so again. It's been proven, for years. POY type talent. I think HU is going to "surprise" (?) some people this year who are sleeping on a proven program in this conference.

And I hope our guys take this as disrespect and motivation to blaze a new trail to the top again this year. Starting to get amped folks!

These pre-season picks are always a joke and meaningless as will the pre-season picks to come out next week for CAA basketball on 10/15. I find it odd with all these teams having a multitude of young players entirely new squads that anyone could pick anything that has any meaning. I also wonder why Tanner Thomas didn't get any recognition here considering his body of work at Sacred Heart. It just is a perfunctory take on the league by people who have to justify their job.

I think most polls that will come out will have us in the top 4 probably 3 in this league and that seems fair considering the kids we were able to get.

Preseason KenPom rankings are out. Hofstra comes in 3rd in the CAA at 141. Unsurprisingly Uncw is 1st at 105 and Charleston 2nd at 125. Towson and Monmouth also crack the top 200.

As for non-conference opponents, LSU is the highest ranked team on our schedule at 62. ASU, St Mary's, and Murray St also ranked inside top 100

Mirrors my thoughts. And makes sense. At least as far as preseason goes, which we all agree is a total crap shoot considering every team is brand new lol. This OOC is really no joke, kudos for stepping into the fire with a mystery box roster.

LSU will be interesting. Their former NBA draft pick Saliou Niang has been cleared, and 2 other international bigs will be as well. That doesn't bode well for us, but on the other hand we actually have bigs this year to counter, at least in size.

Fortunately for us, the biggest news is RJ Luis will not be eligible. With him this game would be a brutal. It still might get ugly, but I think the late roster turmoil plays in HU's favor. It's not an early season game, so both will have had time to get into a groove, so we may not catch them confused, BUT we may catch them a little sleepy as our game is quiet 1pm sandwiched in between WF for the ACC/SEC challenge and a huge game at Houston.