As another wave of conference realignment hits — or depending on your perspective, plagues – college sports, fans will have to get used to a plethora of teams in new conferences.
Last season saw the major changes of this wave of realignment that will come to define it when we look back in 15 years. It was the first year without the Pac 10/12, with four programs from that league moving to each the Big Ten and Big 12, while two left for the ACC, and two more played last season as part of the WCC. Additionally, it was the first year for Oklahoma and Texas in the SEC, leading to the most bids in NCAA Tournament history for a single conference (14) and a record seven Sweet 16 teams from one league.
There were plenty of moves in the mid-major realm that changed the landscape of the sport, but with our attention focused now on this upcoming season, we at SB Nation asked the readers which team in a new conference will see the most success in year one. The results were fairly unsurprising.
For all odds heading into the 2025-26 season, visit Fanduel Sportsbook.
Grand Canyon: 51% in the MWC
Grand Canyon is lucky to even have a conference to play basketball in this year. It agreed to move to the WCC for 2025-26 back in December 2023, but then accepted a Mountain West invite for 2026-27, burning the bridge with the WCC, while also already benign scheduled to leave the WAC a year early. However, the Mountain West voted to admit Grand Canyon a year early, and it makes the Lopes an instant contender in the eyes of the voters.
Despite losing the core of the three-time reigning WAC championship group that included Tyon Grant-Foster, Ray Harrison, Collin Moore, and Lok Wur, Grand Canyon once again dipped into the transfer portal to bring in a talented squad. Norfolk State star Brian Moore Jr. headlines the additions, along with Brown transfer Nana Owusu-Anane, Gonzaga transfer Dusty Stromer and UNLV transfer Jaden Henley. They join returning guard Makaih Williams, who was the 2023-24 WAC Rookie of the Year at UT Arlington before being a key role player on last year’s Lopes’ unit.
In Bryce Drew’s five seasons at GCU, he has led the team to four NCAA Tournaments, including a win over Saint Mary’s – the team’s 30th victory of the season – in the first round of the 2024 Tournament. GCU has finished inside the top 110 of KenPom every single year of his tenure, peaking at No. 52 in that 2023-24 season. However, the median finish is just 101. That will not be enough to contend for an at-large in the Mountain West, which has sent four or more teams to the last four NCAA Tournaments.
UMass: 23% in the MAC
The only school on the list that clearly dropped a level in conferences based on this round of realignment, UMass – now in the MAC – finished second in our poll. Frank Martin made immense progress in year two in Amherst, but after losing Matt Cross and Josh Cohen, the Minutemen took a step back in year three. Now, the program changes conferences and has to replace high-scoring guards Jaylen Curry and Rahsool Diggins. Martin returns Jayden Ndjigue and Daniel Hankins-Sanford and brought in Donovan Brown (Florida Tech), Marcus Banks (UMBC) and Leonardo Bettiol (Abilene Christian) from the transfer portal.
Missouri State: 11% in CUSA
Before last season, when Missouri State was picked to finish 11th out of 12 in the MVC Preseason Poll, new head coach Cuonzo Martin declared that if the Bears had the 11th-best team in the conference, it would be “the best season in Missouri Valley Conference history.” In Mo State’s final go around, it finished dead last with a 2-18 record. And while the Valley had plenty of good teams, it was far from the best season in conference history. Now, going into year one in Conference USA, 11% of voters are sipping Martin’s kool-aid and writing off last season.
Delaware: 10% in CUSA
Another Conference USA newbie, Delaware made a magical run to the CAA Championship game last season, winning four games in four days after going 5-13 in conference play. Unfortunately for Martin Ingelsby, only one starter remains from last season’s team. Cavan Reilly is the returning veteran leader, while the Blue Hens took risks on unproven Virginia transfer Christian Bliss and former back-of-the-rotation Villanova big man Nnanna Njoku.
New Haven: 3% in the NEC
Teams joining the NEC from Division II have actually had a staggering amount of success in year one recently. Merrimack won the conference outright in 2019-20, Stonehill finished tied for second in 2022-23, Le Moyne finished tied for fourth and made the semifinals in 2023-24, and Mercyhurst finished third last season. However, all of those teams had something in common that New Haven doesn’t: an older roster with plenty of continuity. The Chargers’ key returner is sophomore guard Najimi George, who averaged eight points per game as a freshman last season.
Seattle U: 2% in the WCC
Just 2% of voters chose Seattle U, perhaps showing how underrated Chris Victor has been since taking over. In his four seasons, he has the four highest KenPom finishes in program history – dating back to the first season back in Division I in 2009-10. While last season was the worst of the four seasons, finishing 145th, it was still enough to finish .500 in the WAC with a top-100 defense for the fourth consecutive year.
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