Lancaster, Pa. – (11/5/2025) – The second of in a pair of league announcements, league commissioner Rebecca Mullen has officially released the results of the
2025-2026 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. Defending champion, Neumann University topped the forecasted standings with four of the seven available first-place votes and 46 total points. Their closest competition was Marymount University, who totaled 44 points and garnered the remaining three first-place votes. Gwynedd Mercy University ranked third in the poll with 30 total points.
Behind the Knights (46 total points, 4 first-place votes), Saints (44, 3), and Griffins (30), the he league's eight head coaches ranked Marywood University (27), Centenary University (N.J.) (26, 1), Immaculata University (22), Saint Elizabeth University (19), and Pratt Institute (10).
Under the direction of long-time Head Coach John Baron, Gwynedd Mercy University opened the 2024-2025 season with a historic 13-0 start that included the patriarch's 400th career win (W, 84-83 vs. Immaculata University on Jan. 11) and propelled the Griffins to a 21-5 finish. The Red and Gold, Marymount University, and Neumann University finished with identical 9-3 AEC records; after several tie breakers were exhausted, point differential during the regular season separated the Knights as the top seed while opposing the Saints and Griffins in the #2/#3 semifinal, respectively. There, the Saints proved to be the better team despite a 26-point performance from All-AEC First Teamer, graduate guard
Shawn Summers Jr. (Montclair, N.J.). Summers was joined on the All-AEC roster by senior guard
Aquil Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) who garnered his third All-AEC Second Team selection (2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2024-2025).
The 2025-2026 season begins on Saturday, November 8, when the Griffins travel to Rosemont College for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off.
The complete results of the
2025-2026 AEC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll are listed below and available using the provided links.
2025-2026 AEC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Rank.Team |
Total Points |
First-Place Votes |
| 1. Neumann University |
46 |
4 |
| 2. Marymount University |
44 |
3 |
| 3. Gwynedd Mercy University |
30 |
|
| 4. Marywood University |
27 |
|
| 5. Centenary University (N.J.) |
26 |
|
| 6. Immaculata University |
22 |
|
| 7. Saint Elizabeth University |
19 |
|
| 8. Pratt Institute |
10 |
|
