Rock Hill, S.C. – The Big South Conference announced its men’s basketball preseason poll and all-conference teams at the annual Basketball Media Day presented by Food City on Wednesday. Winthrop was voted to finish third while first-year Eagle Spence Sims was named preseason all-conference.
The annual event was held at The Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City, Tenn., which is home to the 2026-27 Big South Basketball Championships.
Head coach Mark Prosser‘s squad has 11 new faces and five returners as the Eagles look to continue competing for a Big South Championship. Winthrop has played in the Big South Title game three straight years.
This is the 13th straight season the Eagles have had at least one player as a preseason all-conference selection. Sims transferred to the Eagles after spending last season with Gardner-Webb where he averaged 9.9 ppg, the third-best scoring average on the team. He led the Runnin’ Bulldogs with 71 made three-pointers, shooting 43 percent behind the arc. Sims ranked 8th in the league with 2.2 threes per game. He led Gardner-Webb seven times in points which included a career-high 29 points against the Eagles inside the Winthrop Coliseum on Jan. 3. In that game he also dropped in a career-high seven threes.
Winthrop has been third or higher in 11 of the last 12 preseason polls, with being voted the preseason favorite three times in that stretch. Last season the Eagles were 5th in the preseason poll and finished second in the league standings with an 13-3 mark. The Eagles won 23 games in 2025-26 for a second straight season and third time in five seasons under Prosser.
High Point was voted as the league favorite in the preseason poll, receiving 7-of-9 first-place votes. Presbyterian College (two first-place votes), Winthrop, Longwood, UNC Asheville, Radford, Charleston Southern, USC Upstate, and Gardner-Webb.
Winthrop is set to open the 2026-27 season on Monday, Nov. 2 at 9 a.m. against Queens in the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. The game will be played at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center near downtown Rock Hill, S.C. Click Here to purchase tickets to the game.
2026-27 Big South Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
First-Team
Cam’Ron Fletcher, High Point (Preseason Player of the Year)
Jason Rivera Torres, High Point
Jaylen Peterson, Presbyterian
Carl Parrish, Presbyterian
CJ Brown, High Point
Second-Team
Alphonzo Billups III, Longwood
Isaac Garrett, High Point
Triston Wilson, Presbyterian
MJ Williams, Longwood
Spence Sims, Winthrop
2026-27 MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
| Rk – School (first-place votes) | Points |
| 1 – High Point (7) | 79 |
| 2 – Presbyterian College (2) | 69 |
| 3 – Winthrop | 57 |
| 4 – Longwood | 54 |
| 5 – UNC Asheville | 43 |
| 6 – Radford | 34 |
| 7 – Charleston Southern | 33 |
| 8 – USC Upstate | 21 |
| 9 – Gardner-Webb | 15 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 9 points, followed by 8 points for second-place, and so on.
Story courtesy of Winthrop Athletics.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
