NAPERVILLE – Defending College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s basketball champion Illinois Wesleyan is the preseason choice to repeat as league champions in 2024-25, according to a poll conducted by the nine league head coaches earlier this month.
 
2024-25 CCIW Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Team (First-place votes)	Points
1. Illinois Wesleyan (5)	61
2. Carthage (4)	60
3. Elmhurst	46
4. Augustana	40
5. North Central	32
6. Carroll	31
T7. Millikin	19
T7. North Park	19
9. Wheaton	16

The Titans, ranked 16th nationally in a preseason D3hoops.com poll released on Wednesday, received five first-place votes and 61 points from the CCIW ballots. Illinois Wesleyan is aiming to build on last season’s 19-win team that went 14-2 in the conference schedule to win the outright CCIW championship for the second time in the last three seasons. Friday's announcement also marked the second time in the last three seasons the Titans have been the preseason league favorite.
 
The remaining four first-place votes went to Carthage, which earned 60 points to finish a single point behind IWU. The Firebirds were 17-10 overall last season with a 10-6 mark in conference play. Carthage – a recipient of votes in the preseason D3hoops.com national rankings – also won a CCIW Tournament quarterfinal last February for the second consecutive season.
 
Defending CCIW Tournament champion Elmhurst was slotted third on Friday with 46 points. It was the third tournament title for the Bluejays since 2020. Augustana was fourth in the 2024-25 league poll with 40 points, followed by North Central in fifth position with 32 points.
 
Carroll logged 31 points for sixth spot in the poll. Millikin and North Park tied for seventh with 19 points and Wheaton was ninth with 16 points.
 
Opening night is slated for Friday, Nov. 8 when three CCIW teams play their season openers. CCIW play begins on Wednesday, Dec. 4.