Storm Men's Hoops Seventh in GAC Poll

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern men's basketball heads into the 2026-27 season in the underdog role after being picked seventh in the GAC Preseason Poll released on Thursday.
 
The Savage Storm earned 59 points in the poll, finishing ahead of Arkansas Tech in eighth with 46 points. Southwestern Oklahoma State followed in ninth, with Southern Arkansas, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Arkansas-Monticello rounding out the poll.
 
Ouachita Baptist was picked to win the league with 115 points and seven first-place votes, while Oklahoma Baptist was second with 110 points and the remaining five first-place nods.
 
Harding checked in third, followed by Southern Nazarene, Henderson State, and East Central.
 
Southeastern comes into the season following a 9-20 outing a year ago that saw them earn the sixth-seed in the postseason tournament.
 
The Storm return three of their top five scorers from a season ago and 58.7 percent of its offense overall.
 
Ethan Wilkerson leads the charge of returners after posting 12.7 ppg a season ago and adding a team-high 5.7 rebounds per outing.
 
He is joined by Santiago Camacho Gomez and Ethan Scott as top five scorers, while Saxon McWiliam and Tyler Long each also started more than 10 games.
 
SE will also see the return of DJ Dill who averaged 12.4 ppg and shot 48 percent from the field as a freshman before missing the 2025-26 season with an injury.
 
The Storm bring in six newcomers, including transfers Jordan Hernandez (Texas-El Paso), Charlie King (Tennessee-Martin), Micah Gibbs (San Diego Mesa CC), and Wamba Ngouateu (Coffeyville CC).
 
Those four transfers will join a pair of freshmen as the new additions to the 2026-27 roster.
 
The Storm open the 2026-27 season with a home contest versus Arlington Baptist on Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Bloomer Sullivan Arena.