Big South
All Roads Point to High Point
Jason Rivera-Torres arrives as the league's most complete player, and Cam'Ron Fletcher returns from a championship core. High Point has enough size, creation and depth to make the Big South race feel like a chase for second.
The cover line
Carl Parrish gives Presbyterian a shooting-led counterpunch, Ja'Corey Robinson makes Radford hard to target, and MJ Williams gives Longwood a pick-and-roll engine. Behind the Panthers, the intrigue comes from contenders trying to win with completely different basketball.
Projected champion
High Point
The team to beat on our official board
Dark horse
Radford
The team most likely to break the bracket
Projected NCAA bids
1
High Point owns a credible national ceiling; the rest of the league must raise its half-court offense.
Chaos rating
5 / 100
How likely the board is to get weird
The quick read
Conference superlatives
The opening tip
The Point Is Already Taken
High Point owns the league's only complete answer sheet. Behind the Panthers, continuity, switchability, shooting and guard creation collide in a wide-open race for second.
The Big South has a championship race, technically. High Point just enters it with the league's only complete answer sheet. Three consecutive outright regular-season titles and back-to-back tournament crowns have turned the Panthers from standard-bearer into obstacle. Flynn Clayman lost major production and somehow built an even more imposing roster. Jason Rivera-Torres arrives from Monmouth after averaging 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks. CJ Brown started every game for an NCAA Tournament team at South Florida and averaged 10.9 points and 4.7 assists. Isaac Garrett adds 13.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and passing touch at center. Cam'Ron Fletcher, last season's 13.2-point, 7.1-rebound returner, no longer has to carry the frontcourt. That is only the first wave. Curtis Williams Jr. scored 12.4 per game at Tulane, Frankquon Sherman averaged 10.5 points and 8.4 rebounds at Kennesaw State, and Filip Brankovic brings another 13-point interior scorer. Conrad Martinez already knows how to steer this program. High Point can play through Brown's ball screens, Rivera-Torres' all-court creation, Fletcher's cutting or Garrett's passing without revealing an obvious weak lineup. The Panthers' hardest problem may be deciding which good option closes a tight game. The chase behind them is compelling precisely because nobody else is built the same way. Presbyterian has the cleanest continuity case: Carl Parrish's 40.2-percent three-point shooting bends the floor, Triston Wilson supplies secondary creation and Jaylen Peterson protects the rim. Its challenge is replacing Jonah Pierce's 16.0 points and 9.6 rebounds without overloading the guards. Radford offers the opposite bet. Ja'Corey Robinson and Mathieu Grujicic give the Highlanders two oversized playmakers, Cameron Jackson supplies physical finishing and Zion Walker owns a 30-point Big South game. Longwood leans into dual-point-guard pressure with MJ Williams and TJ Robinson, then asks an unproven frontcourt to finish their work. Winthrop can manufacture spacing around Spence Sims, while UNC Asheville is betting that proven Division II and junior-college scorers translate quickly. Those are legitimate basketball cases. They are also incomplete ones. High Point has creators, size, shooting, rebounding, defensive versatility and enough depth to survive an injury or an off night. That raises a bigger question than whether the Panthers can win this league again. If they flatten the Big South, win in March and prove this roster belongs against stronger competition, could this season become an audition for an A-10-sized future? High Point is no longer building only to rule its current neighborhood. It is building to show that the neighborhood may be too small.
The defining storylineHigh Point is favored to dominate the Big South again. Can another March breakthrough turn this season into an audition for an A-10-sized future?
Official projection + model comparison
The big board
See how every team stacks up through projected records, finish ranges, and the model’s view of the race.
Ranking machine · comparison at a glance
Editorial board vs. model
Teams are ordered by the official Shooty Hoops editorial rank.
- 1High PointRivera-Torres and Fletcher headline a deep, switchable favorite built to win again and audition for something bigger.Conf / overall14-2 / 25-7TierFavoriteCeiling / floor1–2Boards agree · #11Official rankHigh PointRivera-Torres and Fletcher headline a deep, switchable favorite built to win again and audition for something bigger.Boards agree · #1Conf / overall14-2 / 25-7TierFavoriteRange1–2
- 2PresbyterianParrish's shooting and Peterson's rim protection preserve a contender, but Pierce's missing paint production limits the ceiling.Conf / overall11-5 / 19-12TierContenderCeiling / floor1–4Boards agree · #22Official rankPresbyterianParrish's shooting and Peterson's rim protection preserve a contender, but Pierce's missing paint production limits the ceiling.Boards agree · #2Conf / overall11-5 / 19-12TierContenderRange1–4
- 3RadfordRobinson's jumbo playmaking, Jackson's interior defense and Kabamba's versatility give a rebuilt rotation a sturdy two-way spine.Conf / overall9-7 / 16-15TierContenderCeiling / floor2–71 spot higher than published model · #43Official rankRadfordRobinson's jumbo playmaking, Jackson's interior defense and Kabamba's versatility give a rebuilt rotation a sturdy two-way spine.1 spot higher than published model · #4Conf / overall9-7 / 16-15TierContenderRange2–7
- 4WinthropSims stretches defenses, Davis and Smith pierce them, and a crowded frontcourt must replace Duncomb by committee.Conf / overall9-7 / 15-16TierContenderCeiling / floor2–71 spot higher than published model · #54Official rankWinthropSims stretches defenses, Davis and Smith pierce them, and a crowded frontcourt must replace Duncomb by committee.1 spot higher than published model · #5Conf / overall9-7 / 15-16TierContenderRange2–7
- 5LongwoodWilliams and Robinson can create enough advantages; the season swings on whether an unproven center group finishes them.Conf / overall8-8 / 14-17TierDangerous MiddleCeiling / floor2–82 spots lower than published model · #35Official rankLongwoodWilliams and Robinson can create enough advantages; the season swings on whether an unproven center group finishes them.2 spots lower than published model · #3Conf / overall8-8 / 14-17TierDangerous MiddleRange2–8
- 6UNC AshevilleLipkins, Chatman and Anderson bring scoring proof, but Asheville still must discover which newcomer's production travels best.Conf / overall7-9 / 13-18TierDangerous MiddleCeiling / floor4–93 spots higher than published model · #96Official rankUNC AshevilleLipkins, Chatman and Anderson bring scoring proof, but Asheville still must discover which newcomer's production travels best.3 spots higher than published model · #9Conf / overall7-9 / 13-18TierDangerous MiddleRange4–9
- 7USC UpstatePatterson, Edmond and Payne bring genuine creation; the question is how quickly a two-returner roster becomes one team.Conf / overall6-10 / 11-20TierLong ShotCeiling / floor5–91 spot lower than published model · #67Official rankUSC UpstatePatterson, Edmond and Payne bring genuine creation; the question is how quickly a two-returner roster becomes one team.1 spot lower than published model · #6Conf / overall6-10 / 11-20TierLong ShotRange5–9
- 8Charleston So.Ruffolo, Brooks and Crawford import 49.4 points per game; now that lower-level firepower must survive Division I pressure.Conf / overall5-11 / 10-21TierLong ShotCeiling / floor5–9Boards agree · #88Official rankCharleston So.Ruffolo, Brooks and Crawford import 49.4 points per game; now that lower-level firepower must survive Division I pressure.Boards agree · #8Conf / overall5-11 / 10-21TierLong ShotRange5–9
- 9Gardner-WebbDaniel, Brown and Pocknett upgrade the scoring talent; the bet is whether lower-level production translates quickly enough.Conf / overall3-13 / 8-23TierLong ShotCeiling / floor6–92 spots lower than published model · #79Official rankGardner-WebbDaniel, Brown and Pocknett upgrade the scoring talent; the bet is whether lower-level production translates quickly enough.2 spots lower than published model · #7Conf / overall3-13 / 8-23TierLong ShotRange6–9
The interactive scouting room
Team-by-team preview
Move across the conference one program at a time. Open projected rotations, meet the players, and inspect the identity and postseason case behind every ranking.
2026-27 team preview · official rank 1
High Point
Conference
14-2
Overall
25-7
Finish window
1–2
Confidence
89%
Official order · choose a team file
Projected rotation · Published roster depth chart
10 of 10 primary spots filled
Five on the floor
The All-Conference court
Explore all three projected teams. Select a player for the spotlight, then choose Open Player Card for their full profile.
The basket is on the upper baseline. Guards are positioned around the lower three-point perimeter, while forwards and centers are positioned in the upper lane and around the rim.
The hardware
The awards race
Browse every projected award race. See the current favorite, the strongest challengers, and the case for each pick.
The projected podium
Player of the Year
Why this pick leads
Rivera-Torres owns the broadest case because his scoring, rebounding, passing and disruption can drive both ends. Fletcher's efficiency and Parrish's shooting are elite strengths, but neither projects to match that all-possession influence.
How strongly the current projection favors this pick. These are not betting odds.
Beyond the main ballot
The extra pages
Meet the players outside our All-Conference and award picks who could still shape the race, then explore breakout candidates and bold predictions.
Five players who can tilt the order
Race Shapers
They missed the honor teams and award ballots, but each controls a pressure point that could reorder the Big South.
Braden Hausen
High PointF · JrThe spacing lever
Braden Hausen stretches the favorite
Hausen made 57 threes at 35.8 percent last season. If defenses cannot help off him, High Point's powerful downhill frontcourt becomes much harder to crowd.
71% confident
Jamias Ferere
Gardner-WebbG · SoA cleaner second season
Jamias Ferere finds efficient offense
Ferere scored 6.3 points in 17 minutes but shot 23.7 percent from three. Modest shooting growth would make his size and rebounding far more playable.
64% confident
Zion Walker
RadfordG · JrThe inherited shot
Zion Walker must become a scorer
Radford lost three double-figure perimeter scorers. Walker's shooting and passing profile gives him the first chance to claim the possessions that remain.
67% confident
Spence Sims
WinthropG · R-SoOne proven specialist
Spence Sims changes Winthrop's geometry
Sims made 71 threes at 43.0 percent for Gardner-Webb. That movement shooting can keep Winthrop functional while its new creators settle into larger roles.
65% confident
Lase Olalere
Charleston So.C · R-JrThe paint anchor
Lase Olalere protects Charleston Southern's reset
Lase Olalere blocked 1.5 shots per game in 15.6 minutes while finishing 66.3 percent of his attempts. If that rim protection holds in a larger role, Charleston Southern gains a defensive anchor capable of changing close games.
68% confident
Five credible development bets
Breakout Team
The Breakout Team
Each selection owns a verified baseline, a larger role and one identifiable skill that can unlock the jump.
Frederik Erichsen
RadfordG · SoMinutes meet production
Frederik Erichsen expands his game
Erichsen averaged 5.6 points in 13.2 minutes while shooting 48.3 percent overall. Starter minutes should reveal whether his size and touch scale together.
72% confident
Jaylen Benard
LongwoodG · SrA larger scoring brief
Jaylen Benard becomes a closer
Benard supplied 7.3 points from the bench and now enters a thinner wing rotation. More designed touches could turn his complementary shooting into double-figure production.
68% confident
Chidi Chiakwelu
PresbyterianF · R-SoFrom reserve to anchor
Chiakwelu's blocks finally scale
His 36 blocks came in 366 total minutes. Better foul discipline and heavier minutes would give Presbyterian another credible paint deterrent beside Peterson.
66% confident
Parby Kabamba
RadfordF · JrThe lineup wildcard
Kabamba earns Radford's flexible minutes
Kabamba started 13 games at Marist, averaging 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 16.8 minutes while making 34.2 percent from three. If his defense travels and the shot holds, Radford can use the 6-foot-6 forward across several frontcourt combinations.
66% confident
Jacob Taylor
Charleston So.G · SoThe retained guard
Taylor claims Charleston Southern's backcourt
Taylor's 36.1 percent three-point shooting came on modest volume. The rebuild gives him room to add attempts without abandoning the efficient role that earned trust.
62% confident
Three calls with consequences
Bold Predictions
Specific outcomes that will be easy to grade when the season ends.
Sixteen games, then Sweet Sixteen
High Point goes 16–0 and keeps dancing
High Point can answer foul trouble, cold shooting and matchup changes without lowering the talent level. CJ Brown organizes, Jason Rivera-Torres and Cam'Ron Fletcher overwhelm the wings, and Isaac Garrett plus a starter-quality bench own the glass. That depth carries the Panthers through a perfect Big South slate, then gives them the size and creation to beat two NCAA Tournament opponents.
Confidence · 32%
Second place stays blue
Presbyterian wins the race behind the favorite
Everyone outside High Point is changing more than it is certain. Presbyterian brings back Carl Parrish's shooting, Triston Wilson's size and playmaking, and Jaylen Peterson's rim protection—three roles most rivals are still trying to replace. The Blue Hose do not need to match the favorite's ceiling; their continuity only has to win the league beneath it, and it does.
Confidence · 73%
The bottom drops out
Asheville loses its bite and lands in the bottom three
Kameron Taylor, Justin Wright and Toyaz Solomon take 52.9 points per game and nearly every proven self-created possession with them. Kelcy Phipps, Khayri Dunn and the returning frontcourt can keep the Bulldogs competitive, but no active player has shown he can carry a Big South offense. Too many empty late-clock possessions turn the rebuild into a bottom-three finish.
Confidence · 61%
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