BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Led by returning All-Patriot League honoree Kyrone Alexander, the Boston University men's basketball team placed second in the preseason poll, as announced by the conference office Wednesday morning.

Alexander claimed one of the five slots on the Preseason All-PL squad after landing on the second team last March averaging a team-high 12.9 ppg and 5.1 rpg. During a memorable month of February, the Bridgetown, Barbados, native netted the game winner in each of the last three home regular season games against Colgate, Lafayette and Loyola Maryland on his way to becoming the first sophomore to claim team MVP accolades in 10 years. 

In the preseason poll decided by the head coaches, Navy took first collecting 79 points with seven first-place votes to finish ahead of the Terriers' 73 points and their two first-place votes. Colgate picked up 64 points and one first-place vote, while reigning champion American placed fourth with 47 points. Bucknell grabbed the No. 5 slot at 44 points with Loyola Maryland (39 pts.), Lafayette (36 pts.), Lehigh (30 pts.), Holy Cross (23 pts.) and Army West Point (15 pts.) rounding out the list.

Entering his 15th season at the helm, head coach Joe Jones welcomes five newcomers and brings back six Terriers who started at least four games last year with graduate student Malcolm Chimezie (8.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg) participating in the tip-off in all 32 games. Junior Michael McNair (10.1 ppg) shot over 40 percent from behind the arc to total a team-high 69 3-pointers and 2025 PL All-Rookie Team honoree Azmar Abdullah averaged 6.8 points coming off the bench.

Like Alexander, sophomore Ben Defty (4.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg) finished the season on a high note, scoring in double figures in four of the final five contests, and played international hoops over the summer to gain even more confidence. The 7-footer participated in all seven contests for Germany at the FIBA U20 Eurobasketball tournament, averaging 8.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg, while Alexander finished the FIBA World Cup Americas Pre-Qualifiers as the top scorer at 24.3 ppg for Barbados.

The Terriers will next open the 2025-26 campaign at Northeastern on Monday, Nov. 3, with a 7:30 p.m. tip. The 14-game home slate will start off the home slate against Brown on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

2025-26 Preseason Patriot League Men's Basketball Poll
1. Navy, 79 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Boston University, 73 (2)
3. Colgate, 64 (1)
4. American, 47
5. Bucknell, 44
6. Loyola Maryland, 39
7. Lafayette, 36
8. Lehigh, 30
9. Holy Cross, 23
10. Army West Point, 15
 
2025-26 Preseason Patriot League Men's Basketball Major Awards
Preseason Player of the Year – Austin Benigni, Navy, Sr., G
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year – Greg Jones, American, Jr., G
 
2025-26 Preseason Men's Basketball All-Patriot League Team
Greg Jones, American, Jr., G
Kyrone Alexander, Boston University, Jr., G
Jalen Cox, Colgate, Jr., G
Jacob Theodosiou, Loyola Maryland, Jr., G
Austin Benigni, Navy, Sr., G