CHARLOTTE, NC – Ahead of the start of the 2026-27 NJCAA basketball regular season next Friday, the first polls of the season are officially out as the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) has four schools ranked and three more receiving votes in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 and 2 Men’s Basketball Preseason polls released on Monday, October 19th.
Of the four ranked teams, three are ranked in the NJCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball top 25 poll, along with one more receiving votes, while the NJCAA Division 2 Men’s Basketball preseason poll has one KJCCC team ranked and two additional teams receiving votes. All four of the ranked teams are ranked inside the top 20 of their respective polls, including all three KJCCC Division 1 men’s basketball teams that are ranked inside the top 15.
Taking a closer look at the NJCAA Division 1 men’s basketball preseason poll, reigning KJCCC regular season co-champion and NJCAA Region 6 Tournament champion Butler is the highest-ranked team from the KJCCC in either poll, as the Grizzlies are ranked number 10 under third-year head coach Eric Nitsche. The Grizzlies dropped a double-overtime thriller to eventual National Champion Howard College in the NJCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals last year and played at one of the fastest paces in all of NJCAA basketball after averaging 104.7 points per game while going 25-10. Two spots back of Butler with the number 12 preseason ranking is Coffeyville Community College, with the Red Ravens coming off a 21-10 campaign in 2025-26. NJCAA Region 6 Tournament runners-up and National Tournament qualifier Barton Community College is ranked number 15 in the poll, while Cowley College is receiving votes after advancing to last year’s NJCAA Region 6 Tournament semifinals before falling to Butler to end their season with a 20-13 mark.
The lone ranked representative from the KJCCC in the NJCAA Division 2 Men’s Basketball preseason poll, Allen Community College is ranked number 20 in the preseason after going 18-12 last year and falling in the NJCAA Region 6 Tournament title game to Fort Scott. The Red Devils are led by fourth-year head coach Patrick Nee, who earned his 200th career coaching victory last year and has made appearances in each of the last two NJCAA Region 6 Tournament semifinals or championship games. Reigning KJCCC regular season champion Johnson County Community College is one of two KJCCC teams receiving votes in the preseason poll, alongside Kansas City Kansas Community College, which will be under the guidance of first-year head coach Taylor Tucker entering the 2026-27 season.
The NJCAA Men’s Basketball Week 1 polls will be released on Monday, November 9th as the regular season will get underway on Friday, October 30th. Polls will then be released weekly on Monday afternoons (Tuesday afternoons on weeks with National holidays on Mondays) through December 14th, before starting up again on January 4th and running through March 1st.
