RICHARDSON, Texas – Fresh off back-to-back NCAA Second Round appearances, the St. Mary's University Men's Basketball team has been selected to finish sixth in the Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll, the league announced on Monday.
 
The Rattlers, which are a vastly different looking team from a year ago with only three returning lettermen, collected 615 points in the vote by the league's coaches, communications personnel and media members. StMU was the only team picked among the top eight to not receive a first-place vote.
 
DBU totaled 841 points and collected 35 of the possible 51 first-place votes to be the favorite. The Patriots won their second straight LSC tournament title and reached the championship game of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional, finishing the year ranked No. 15 in the nation. Eastern New Mexico was voted second with six first-place nods and 751 points, while Lubbock Christian grabbed two first-place votes and 735 points for third. St. Edward's and Western New Mexico round out the top five.
 
St. Mary's opens the 2026-27 season at Colorado School of Mines on Friday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. (CT) and will do so with an entirely new starting lineup as the Rattlers lost four starters to graduation and one to the transfer portal.
 
Miles Gibson, a senior guard from Oklahoma Christian, was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year. He averaged 17.6 points and 7.5 rebounds last season as an LSC All-Conference Second-Team selection. He had seven double doubles, a pair of 30-point games and added 31 steals.