Christopher Newport is favored in the 2025-26 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. The Captains earned 36 points and six first-place votes to top the rankings.

Mary Washington collected 31 points to finish second with one top vote.

UC Santa Cruz totaled 24 points to rank third, while Salisbury was fourth (23).

C2C newcomer JWU Charlotte tallied 15 points in fifth place, while first-year member Regent (11) and Warren Wilson (7) rounded out the poll.

The 2025-26 season starts Friday, November 7, and the postseason begins with the C2C Men's Basketball Championship, hosted by UC Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, from February 26-28. 

Below is a brief preview of each team entering the 2025-26 season:

Christopher Newport features an impressive group of returning players from a season ago when the Captains finished 23-6 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The returners for Head Coach John Krikorian include lone senior Collin Hines as well as juniors Toa Hollenbeck, Tyson Henderson, Ethan Ward, Jason Ofcarcik, Ryan Derderian, Isaiah Dozier, Brian Weiser, and Milyan Smith-Walker.  The Captains have been slotted ninth in the nation in the pre-season poll from D3hoops.com. CNU advanced to its ninth straight NCAA Tournament last season, the longest active consecutive streak in the country, and the 28th all-time tourney in program history.

Mary Washington welcomes back four starters and eight letter winners from a C2C tournament championship and advancement to the third round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Returners include first team all-conference performers Kye Robinson and Jay Randall, who each averaged more than 13 points per game last year. Also back are starters Jadon Burgess and Ulysses Young, as well as key contributor Kaden Bates. Mary Washington finished ranked fifth in the nation a season ago in turnovers per game, and ninth in turnover margin.  

UC Santa Cruz returns two All-C2C honorees in Joseph Espy and Andrew Ferrara-Jones and welcomes six new additions to the 2025-26 roster.  Espy led the way for the Banana Slugs during the 2024-25, earning first team All-Conference honors after a stellar year on both ends of the court. Espy was the team leader in points per game and rebounds, averaging 17.0 and 7.9, respectively. Ferrara-Jones made his most notable contributions from downtown, leading the Slugs beyond the three-point arc with 58 makes while shooting 37.2% to earn second team honors. 

Salisbury returns eight players from last year's 18-11 squad and brought in five transfers and one freshman.  The Sea Gulls return Leon Elung, who made 25 starts and averaged six points per game.  The most notable newcomers are transfers Jamison Graves, an All-ODAC player at Averett last year, and Churchill Bounds, a transfer from Wagner College.

JWU Charlotte Head Coach Marc Slade begins his third year at the helm of the Wildcats in 2025-26, leading a team that will feature 13 freshmen or sophomores. There will be plenty of opportunity for the young players to gain playing time and experience, as JWU lost their top three scorers from last season. Senior Ethan Smith is the second leading returning scorer at 8.9 points per game and the top returning rebounder with 4.9 boards per game. Smith is joined by junior Nantambu Calhoun who averaged 9.2 points in 2024-25 as the experienced leaders of the team. Three transfers will play key roles for the Wildcats: Cole Callaway (5.1 ppg at Lynchburg), Antonio Perkins (8.9 ppg at Cleveland CC), and Josh Smith (0.2 ppg at Erskine).

Regent Head Coach Michael Allen returns all but one player from last year's roster and has added eight new faces, as the Royals begin their first year as members of the C2C.  The program's all-time scoring leader senior Darrin Clark (Suffolk, Va.) who also set the single game scoring record four times in 2024-2025 looks to pick up where he left off last year.  In addition, senior Brendan Goods (Melbourne, Fla.), returns to run the point and direct a revamped offense.  Brothers, junior Antoine Brown (Chesapeake, Va.) and sophomore Christian Brown (Chesapeake, Va.) will be heavily relied on for scoring and rebounding.  Last season Antoine broke the single season double-double record and is currently second behind Clark on the all-time scoring list, while Christian averaged a team high 18.6 points/game.  The Royals will look to 6'8 freshmen Darcy Minega (Kigali, Rwanda) and Chase Mullen (Virginia Beach, Va.) to contribute immediately. Minega looks to bring a physical play down low, as does Mullen, who led all Virginia high schools in block shots last year.  Freshman Grant Worley (Chesapeake, Va.), out of Grassfield High School, will also be looked upon for his ability to get to the basket.  

Warren Wilson enters the 2025–26 season with a completely retooled roster featuring 12 new faces, including six transfers with collegiate experience and three international additions. Led by Head Coach Chris Horton, the Owls blend veteran leadership with exciting new talent as they look to take flight in Asheville. Key returners Nasir Cotton, Marcus Andrews, Tashaun Simpson, and Braxton Crocker bring experience and energy to a team eager to make its mark.