NAPERVILLE — Carthage, last season’s outright College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) men’s basketball champion, is the pick to repeat atop the league race again in 2025-26, according to preseason coaches’ poll released by the league office on Thursday morning.

2025-26 CCIW Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Team (First-place votes)	Points
1. Carthage (8)	64
2. Illinois Wesleyan (1)	57
3. Elmhurst	41
4. Wheaton	37
5. North Park	35
6. Augustana	33
7. North Central	31
8. Millikin	16
9. Carroll	10

Eight first-place votes and 64 total points were distributed to the Firebirds on ballots collected earlier this month – the maximum possible point total. The Firebirds will be seeking consecutive league titles for the first time since the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons. Carthage was ranked eighth nationally in a preseason poll unveiled by D3hoops.com on Wednesday.
 
Thursday’s announcement marked the first time Carthage has been the preseason CCIW favorite since 2010-11.
 
Illinois Wesleyan collected the remaining first-place vote and finished second with 57 points. The Titans were last season’s CCIW Tournament champion and ultimately advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. IWU was also in the 2025-26 preseason D3hoops.com poll at #16 on Wednesday.
 
Elmhurst was picked third in the CCIW race with 41 points, followed by Wheaton (37) and North Park (35) to round out the top five. Augustana (33), North Central (31), Millikin (16) and Carroll (10) completed the poll.
 
The 2025–26 men’s basketball season begins on Nov. 7, with conference play scheduled to start on Dec. 3.