Steubenville, Ohio - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) released the Preseason Coaches' poll for Men's Basketball on Tuesday. This was also their first poll in split divisions of North and South. The Top four teams from each division will make the postseason, as the Barons were picked to finish fourth in the PAC South.
 

2025-26 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (North Division)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2024-25 record (conference)
1. Westminster College (6)	60	8-17 (5-15 PAC)
2. Grove City College (4)	58	16-11 (12-8 PAC)
3. Allegheny College (2)	43	9-16 (7-13 PAC)
4. Geneva College	33	14-12 (12-8 PAC)
5. Thiel College	29	9-15 (8-12 PAC)
6. Hiram College	23	6-19 (1-15 NCAC)

 

2025-26 PAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (South Division)
School (first-place votes)	Points	2024-25 record (conference)
1. Washington & Jefferson College (9)	63	21-7 (15-5 PAC)
2. Saint Vincent College (1)	55	20-6 (16-4 PAC)
3. Chatham University (2)	46	23-5 (18-2 PAC)
4. Franciscan University	40	15-12 (10-10 PAC)
5. Waynesburg University	26	7-18 (5-15 PAC)
6. Bethany College	16	7-18 (2-18 PAC)

 

Players to Watch
Five Barons were named PAC Players to Watch for the upcoming 2025-26 season. 


Sawyer Butler (Jr. Beaver, Pa. / Beaver) led the Barons in scoring last season at 19.2 ppg while earning First Team All-PAC honors. He scored 20+ points in 14 of his 27 games, including a season-high 35 points against Waynesburg. He led the team with 64 made three-point field goals and 138 made free throws, while shooting 85.7% from the charity stripe. With the loss of Josh Zimmerman to graduation, Butler looks to take an even bigger role for the Barons in the 2025-26 season.


Nathan Richards (So. Pittsburgh, Pa. / Baldwin) joins Butler in the back court and looks to take a step forward in year two. He played in 26 games last season and held a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in his freshman campaign. He averaged 14.3 minutes per contest, but it will be exciting to see what he can deliver with an increased workload.


Travis Zimmerman (Sr. Wheeling, W.Va. / Wheeling Park) played 26 games, including 18 starts. The big man led the Barons in rebounding last season at 6.8 rpg. 80 of his rebounds came on the offensive end, which helped the Barons immensely. Zimmerman led the Barons as well with a .478 field goal percentage. He looks to lead the front court this season, as the Barons lost Yann Yonkeu to graduation.


Aiden Townsend (Jr. Beaver, Pa. / Beaver) played in all 27 games last season, but he only started in five as a sophomore. He averaged 6.8 ppg and 3.3 rpg, while adding 24 blocks and 24 steals on the season. He scored a career-high 24 points in the win at Allegheny. His 17 made three-point field goals were the third most on the team from his forward position.


Karl Yonkeu (Jr. Manchester, N.H. / Holy Family Academy) was the last player named and rounds out a talented front court. He played in 26 games, including seven starts. He shot 44.8% from the floor last season while scoring 6.0 ppg. He also pulled in 5.4 rpg and averaged over one block per game. He played 25.5 minutes per night and could see an increase if he remains efficient and out of foul trouble in the upcoming season.

New Faces
Anthony Covetta, Zach Oliver, Benji Rook, Reece Miller, Zachary Pollaro, Sam Seiden, Troy Anthony, Nathan Rodriguez, Michael Swallow, and Mark Sweeney are all looking to make an immediate impact in their first season with Franciscan. Oliver comes in as a junior after playing a pair of seasons at Wooster. 

Coach Wallace also added some new, but familiar, faces to the sidelines. Anthony Santangelo and Aaron Foldi return as Assistant Coaches this season. Nicholas Allienello and Frank Bellissimo will serve as graduate assistant coaches. 

The Favorites
Washington & Jefferson and Westminster were picked to win the divisions in this upcoming season. The Presidents finished third in the PAC last season and then beat the Barons in the PAC Quarterfinals. They eventually lost by 12 points to Chatham in the Championship. The Head Coach from Chatham is now at Westminster, and the Titans were picked to win the North. They finished ninth overall last season to miss postseason play. 

Up Next
The Barons open up the season at the Oberlin College Tip-Off Classic this weekend. First, they will play Beloit College on Friday at 5:00 p.m., and then they will play again on Saturday, with that opponent to be determined. Saturday's opponent will be Oberlin or Adrian, depending on the results of Friday's games. This will be the first time Franciscan has played Beloit, who comes from Wisconsin. The Buccaneers held a 9-16 record last season.

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