LATHAM, N.Y. – Defending conference champion Penn State Harrisburg has been selected as the favorite in the 2026–27 United East Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll following a vote of the conference’s 12 head coaches.

The Lions received eight first-place votes and 118 total points. Lancaster Bible College collected the remaining four first-place votes and finished just four points behind Harrisburg with 114. St. Mary’s College of Maryland was selected third with 87 points, while Notre Dame of Maryland University followed closely in fourth with 85. Penn State Abington rounded out the top five with 80 points.

Penn State Harrisburg finished 10–3 in conference play last season before earning the No. 4 seed in the United East Championship. The Lions defeated No. 3 Cairn University, 72–71, in the title game to secure the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Andre Thomas scored the championship-winning layup with 34 seconds remaining. Chris Henderson Jr. led Harrisburg with 15 points, while Dylan Moore added 14 and Jordan Spencer scored 12 on his way to earning Championship MVP honors.

The Lions return all three players, giving head coach Don Friday an experienced core with which to begin the program’s title defense.

“I am excited about our team’s level of experience and the mindset that ‘last year is over, this is now and it’s just us,’” Friday said.

Moore, a Second Team All-Conference selection, led Harrisburg with 11.9 points per game last season. Third Team honoree Henderson Jr. followed with 11.0 points per contest, while Spencer earned Second Team recognition after leading the Lions with 7.1 rebounds per game.

“Taking our defense, physicality and rebounding efforts to a greater level will determine where this team goes,” Friday said.

Lancaster Bible enters the season ranked second after finishing 20–7 overall and sharing the conference’s best regular-season record at 11–2. The Chargers return two First Team All-Conference selections in reigning United East Player of the Year Camden Hurst and Connor Storr. Hurst averaged a conference-leading 21.3 points per game while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range. Storr led Lancaster Bible with 6.0 rebounds per game.

St. Mary’s ranks third after finishing 10–14 overall and 6–7 in conference play last season. The Seahawks return reigning United East Rookie of the Year Korey Blair, who earned Second Team All-Conference honors after leading the team with 13.9 points per game during his first collegiate season. JD Salo also returns after pacing St. Mary’s with 5.3 rebounds per game.

Notre Dame of Maryland enters a new era under first-year head coach Kyle McGee. The fourth-ranked Gators went 16–10 overall and 10–3 in conference play last season. First Team All-Conference selection Ricardo Ross returns after averaging 15.1 points per game, giving McGee an experienced scorer around whom to build.

Penn State Abington was selected fifth, followed by Penn State Brandywine in sixth. Brandywine finished 11–2 in conference play last season and earned a share of the league’s best regular-season record.
Keystone College ranks seventh, while Wilson College and Cairn hold the final two projected postseason positions. Cairn finished 21–7 last season and advanced to the United East championship game.
Penn College, Penn State Berks and Gallaudet University complete the preseason poll.

The 2026–27 United East Men’s Basketball Championship will feature nine teams, with the higher seed hosting every game. The tournament begins Tuesday, February 16, when the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds meet in the first round. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, February 20, followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, February 24, and the championship game on Saturday, February 27.

The complete 2026–27 United East Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll is listed below.

Rank	Team	Points	First-Place Votes
1	Penn State Harrisburg	118	8
2	Lancaster Bible College	114	4
3	St. Mary’s College of Maryland	87	—
4	Notre Dame of Maryland University	85	—
5	Penn State Abington	80	—
6	Penn State Brandywine	73	—
7	Keystone College	52	—
8	Wilson College	47	—
9	Cairn University	45	—
10	Penn College	39	—
11	Penn State Berks	33	—
12	Gallaudet University	15	—

---