Wheeling, W. Va. - After building the program over his first five years, year six was a breakout year for Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Richardson and the Wheeling Men's Basketball program. They would have their best season since the 2017-2018 season, earning the #3 seed in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Men's Basketball Tournament, their highest finish since that same season. On Tuesday, the MEC released their annual Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference's head coaches, and the Cardinals would end up taking the #5 spot in the field.
After starting their season with an exhibition against West Virginia University, the Cardinals continued to challenge themselves throughout the non-conference schedule. They earned a win in their season-opener against CAL-U, before going 2-2 by the start of their MEC schedule. As the MEC slate began, the Cardinals would get on a roll, winning five of their first six as they headed into January. After going 5-4 in January, the Cardinals would breakout in the final month of the season. The run started with an 88-84 win over Frostburg State, and the team would go on to win each of their final five games of the regular season, They capped the run with a 93-91 win at home over eventual MEC Champions West Liberty University, earning the #3 seed and a first round bye in the MEC Tournament. However, their run would come to an end with a 96-71 loss to Concord, bringing the year to an end.
The Cardinals return a lot of their veteran talent from a season ago, led by reining MEC Freshman of the Year Ayden Goll. Goll burst onto the scene with the Cardinals in 2025-2026, leading the team by averaging 18.1 points per game, while finishing with a team-best 129 assists. Goll was routinely in double digits in scoring and, during his team's final regular season run, he would average 19.4 points per game, including a 32-point effort against Glenville State on February 21. Along with his Freshman of the Year award, Goll would also receive First Team All-MEC honors for his efforts, and finished as the fourth-leading scorer in the conference. Goll will look to build on his strong freshman season as he looks to lead the Cardinals back to the tournament in 2027.
The veteran of the group is graduate student Alex Smith. Who enters his fifth year with the Cardinals and was the defensive leader a season ago. He finished with a team-best 52 steals on the season, while finishing second on the team in both rebounds (167) and assists (126). Smith led the MEC in Assists/Turnovers last season, sitting at 2.9, while sitting top five in both steals and assists. Along with the returning veterans, Richardson went out and got some size with 11 new faces joining this year's team, including six transfers who will bring a veteran presence of their own. Under the net, the Cardinals will rely on Moustapha Sanoh and Kwynsie Pittsnogle to pull in the rebounds and get Wheeling the ball back on offense.
Leading the 2026-2027 MEC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll are the defending MEC Champions West Liberty University, receiving 11 first-place votes and 121 points overall. Glenville State would finish right behind them, receiving one first-place vote and 101 points, while Fairmont State also received 101 points in the vote of the head coaches. The entire 2026-2027 MEC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll is listed below:
1. West Liberty (11) - 121
2. Glenville State (1) - 101
3. Fairmont State - 101
4. Charleston - 98
5. Wheeling - 84
6. Concord - 61
7. Frostburg State - 56
8. West Virginia State - 47
9. Shawnee State - 46
10. Davis & Elkins - 43
11. Point Park - 23
12. West Virginia Wesleyan - 11
The Wheeling University Men's Basketball team opens the 2026-2027 season on Monday, November 9, when they take on Ashland with tip-off at 7:30 PM.
