Men's Basketball | 10/7/2025 12:00:00 PM
OXFORD, Ohio- The RedStorm of the University of Rio Grande are the preseason favorites in men's basketball in the River States Conference, earning the top spot in the 2025 RSC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The poll, announced Tuesday by the River States Conference office, saw each of the conference's 12 head coaches rank the other member schools in order of predicted finish.
Rio Grande was one of four schools to earn a first place vote, finishing in the top spot in six of the 12 ballots. The RedStorm finished 10-6 in conference play last season, falling one game short of winning the East Division title. The RedStorm return three All-Conference players from last season in Trey Robertson, Jaelin Johnson, and Jaylin Fox.
IU Kokomo, who finished 11-5 and advanced to the conference semifinals last season, picked up two first place votes and finished second. Shawnee State, the reigning East Division champions with an 11-5 conference record, grabbed three first place votes and finished third, with IU East and IU Southeast rounding out the top five.
The remainder of the poll saw defending champions St. Mary-of-the-Woods sixth to finish out the top half of the ranking, followed by WVU Tech seventh, Midway University eighth, Brescia University ninth, Oakland City University tenth, Kentucky Christian University eleventh, and Indiana University Columbus 12th.
The River States Conference basketball season will begin on Thursday, October 23, when Midway plays host to Union Commonwealth. Three other schools - IU Southeast, Kentucky Christian, and Brescia, will also play during the opening weekend. The first scheduled conference game will also feature the Midway Eagles, who will play host to the preseason favorites from Rio Grande on December 2. The RSC Tournament is scheduled for February 25, 28 and March 3, with the higher seed hosting each game of the tournament.
2025-26 RSC PRESEASON MEN's BASKETBALL COACHES' POLL
1. Rio Grande (111 points, 6 first place votes)
2. IU Kokomo (103 points, 2 first place votes)
3. Shawnee State (98 points, 3 first place votes)
4. IU East (88 points)
5. IU Southeast (87 points)
6. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (68 points, 1 first place vote)
7. WVU Tech (63 points)
8. Midway (60 points)
9. Brescia (41 points)
10. Oakland City (38 points)
11. Kentucky Christian (19 points)
12. IU Columbus (16 points)