Last year proved to be a pair of wild swings that we clearly weren’t expecting, with Milwaukee, our pick to win the Horizon League, severely hampered with injuries and Wright State, which we picked near to the bottom, winning both the regular season and conference tournament titles. Shows what we knew then.
One lesson that we took away was that the Raiders shouldn’t be underestimated again, and this year, the HoriZone Roundtable staff has selected them as the preseason pick to win the Horizon League.
Green Bay, which also outstripped expectations in 2025-26, was rewarded with a better outlook from us, as the Phoenix were picked second. Robert Morris was close behind, placing third.
Oakland’s preseason outlook is the same as it was last year, with the Golden Grizzlies narrowly edging out Milwaukee, which looks to put the misery of an injury-riddled campaign behind them, for fourth place.
In sixth place is Detroit Mercy, which, despite getting hit with an APR ban that precludes them from post-season place, doesn’t make the Titans any less dangerous. Seventh place belongs to Northern Kentucky, which is poised for another strong season despite being mired in the middle of these initial standings.
Newcomer Northern Illinois debuts in our preseason poll in eighth place, closely followed by Purdue Fort Wayne, which narrowly beat out Youngstown State for ninth. Rounding out the preseason poll is Cleveland State in 11th and IU Indy, picked to finish last.
On paper, this season looks to outpace the conference’s performance from a year ago, and if we’re correct, the Horizon League should succeed in that regard. The only question will be how things will shake out when the season closes in Noblesville.
Rank, Team, Points
1. Wright State, 113
2. Green Bay, 107
3. Robert Morris, 105
4. Oakland, 75
5. Milwaukee, 74
6. Detroit Mercy, 68
7. Northern Kentucky, 67
8. Northern Illinois, 44
9. Purdue Fort Wayne, 42
10. Youngstown State, 41
11. Cleveland State, 29
12. IU Indy, 15
Wright State’s youth movement took the entire league by storm, fueled by Freshman of the Year Kellen Pickett, fellow freshman Michael Cooper, Defensive Player of the Year TJ Burch, Andrea Holden and Dominic Pangonis. While Burch and Cooper have transferred, Pickett, Pangonis and Holden return. Plus, the Raiders have added a known quantity in Horizon League circles with ex-Green Bay player CJ O’Hara. Add in a pair of Serbs in DePaul transfer Ilija Milijaševic and ex-Colorado State big man Nikola Djapa, College of Charleston transfer Chadlyn Traylor, and a host of incoming freshmen that includes redshirt PJ Douglas, and Wright State has the tools needed to repeat.
Unlike previous years, when Robert Morris had to virtually rebuild the roster from the ground up, the Colonials have some weapons returning in All-Freshman selection Darius Livingston, Ta’Zir Smith, and Eddie Cooke III and Samuel Obenjo, whose progress as freshman was rewarded with increased minutes as the season wore on. Still, it wouldn’t be RMU without a handful of transfers, which this year includes Ace Valentine, Jalik Dunkley, K.J. Garris and K.C. Ugwuakazi. As he did last season with success, head coach Andy Toole has also loaded up on freshman, with Russian big man Daniil Stolbetskiy leading the Class of 2027.
Year 2 of the Doug Gottlieb era at Green Bay proved that his first year was a fluke, notching 18 wins and a third-place finish. While expectations were low last year, this season’s expectations are much higher, and for good reason. Marcus Hall comes back for his senior campaign, and is joined by fellow holdovers LeBron Thomas, Mac Wrecke, Keewan Van Kauwenberg and Maruan Cicic, D2 transfer Stuart Erhart II, and juco transfer Ahmere Carson. The Phoenix had originally planned for IU Indy transfer Jaxon Edwards to play a major role, but he was injured and is out for the season. However, Green Bay was fortunate to find someone to take his place: former All-Horizon League first teamer and Detroit Mercy star Orlando Lovejoy. The Phoenix have also brought in another late addition who can make an immediate impact in Aiden Hadaway, lately of Ohio. As of now, though, it looks like Green Bay may not have these two available, courtesy of a ruling in favor of the NCAA in Kentucky.
Oakland returns Warren Marshall IV and Nassim Mashhour, who went down with a knee injury early last season. William Kassi, who redshirted last year, is active and will see some action this campaign as well. To fill out the roster, Greg Kampe hit the transfer portal again, securing guard R.J. Taylor from Northern Iowa, forwards Belal Al Shakery and Chris Fields, Jr., and, most recently, the 6-11 ex-Robert Morris forward Chris Hill. With a non-conference schedule that will feature only one home game and a ton of power-conference competition, the Grizz will be a on a steep learning curve to start things off, with the hope that it pays off in league play.
Looking to put the injury-plagued 2025-26 season behind them, Milwaukee will rely on veterans Danilo Jovanovich, Isaiah Dorceus and Chandler Jackson to lead the way. Coach Bart Lundy also hit the portal and snagged Tre Norman, who spent his collegiate career across town at Marquette, and Al Amadou, who played at St. Joe’s last season. Juco shot blocker Nate Malosa should also bolster the Panther frontcourt. And easing his way back from a devastating injury will be John Lovelace, Jr., who Milwaukee fans hope will bring a spark when he makes his way back onto the court.
The APR postseason ban may leave Detroit Mercy out of the NCAA Tournament picture this season, but the Titans are no less dangerous than they were last season. Lance Stone, Tyler Spratt and Je’kel Cotton return in the backcourt, and London Maiden and Xavier Istomin-Monroe figure to play roles up front. As has been Mark Montgomery’s way during this tenure, Detroit Mercy will be awash in freshman talent, with local products Chance Houser and Greg Grays leading the way. He’s also identified new blood from the non-D1 ranks, with Wayne State’s Jordan Briggs and Augustana’s Elias Palsson joining the team. Plus, Ayden Carter, who went down with an injury halfway through the season, is back and poised to be a major factor in the Titan rotation.
The primary question of whether Northern Kentucky could weather a year in which the roster was nearly new was answered with an emphatic yes, as the Norse won 20 games and returned to the Horizon League Tournament semifinals. This season, coach Darrin Horn gets back to what he’s used to, with a gang of holdovers led by Ethan Elliott, Donovan Raokotonanahary and Ryan Tolliver. The Norse also welcome two more Australians, Noah Pagotto and Will Shortt, along with transfers B.J. Davis-Ray from SMU and Eric Acker from LaSalle.
The return of Northern Illinois to the Horizon League, coupled with the arrival of new head coach Matt Majkrzak, brings a new level of both intrigue and uncertainly, primarily because the entire roster from the Huskies’ final year in the MAC has departed. That said, Majkrzak has opted to split his roster makeup between Division II transfers, including a handful of players who followed him from Northern Michigan, and Division I transfers, with former Horizon League Freshman of the Year and ex-South Dakota guard Uzziah Bunton topping the list. Add into the mix–court cases depending–Max Wiesbrod, who played for Majkrzak at NMU before transferring to Northern Iowa for the past two seasons.
The good news for Purdue Fort Wayne is that DeAndre Craig has returned. That said, there’s an air of uncertainly with the Mastodons, given the number of new faces dotting the roster. That means transfers such as Ashton Williamson and Anthony Isaac, Jr. will be called upon to shoulder the load alongside Craig. Size up front will be a question mark as well, which may be answered through D2 transfer Edir Ortiz and redshirt freshman Quentin Morgan.
Despite having a swath of talent that came through the transfer portal, Youngstown State struggled last season, narrowly avoiding the fate of a first-round game. That group is now gone, with only Jaiden Haynes as the sole holdover. But once again, the Penguins look to the portal to shore up their roster, and notable transfers included Jeff Nwankwo, Linus Holmstrom and Dom Aekins. YSU will also be banking on Kelvin Amoako, the big man from D2 UIndy, to clean up the glass.
It’s back to the drawing board for Cleveland State, which will have an all-new roster for the second year in a row. The difference for coach Rob Summers this time around will be the size, something that was glaringly lacking in his first campaign. Seven of the new Vikings are 6-8 or taller, led by Indiana State transfer Derek Vorst and Wright State transfer Alex Bruskotter. The backcourt has also experienced a revamp, with D2 transfer Micah Bays, CJ Stinson and Jordan Lowery, among others, expected to shoulder the load.
One of the core components of Ben Howlett’s system at IU Indy was the constant movement of players on and off the floor. The same can be said for the roster year-over-year as well, as Reece Hagy and Kameron Tinsley are the sole scholarship players back for the Jaguars. Rotating into the roster are non-D1 transfers Precious Idiaru, Peyton Heiss and Markus Pastorcic-Straun. However, there are more D1 transfers in this mix this time around, with Gus Atchison from Idaho State, Pat Curtin from Bucknell and Jason Clarke, Jr. from Appalachian State on board.
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