Mocs Basketball Team Picked to Win the SoCon
(gomocs.com) Coming off a historic 2024-25 season, the Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team was picked to finish first in the 2025-26 preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll while featuring a trio on the all-league team, the conference office announced during its media day event on Wednesday morning in Greenville, S.C.
Chattanooga, the 2024-25 Southern Conference regular season champions, gathered 77 total points and five first-place votes in the preseason poll to narrowly claim the top spot over Furman (73, 5 first-place votes). Samford (62) and ETSU (61) rounded out the top four with sizable separation from fifth-slotted UNCG (43).
Graduate transfer guards Teddy Washington Jr. and Jikari Johnson, as well as redshirt sophomore forward Collin Mulholland, all earned selections on the Preseason All-Southern Conference squad. The Mocs were the only team who featured three individuals on the preseason team.
Chattanooga capped off its 2025 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship season with a 29-9 overall record, tying the most wins in a single season in program history. UTC captured its 13th SoCon regular season title last season behind a 15-3 record as the 15 league victories were second-most in the program’s history.
The Mocs, led under fourth-year head coach Dan Earl, won 17 of its final 18 games last year including five-straight to end the season with an NIT title. Since arriving in the Scenic City ahead of the 2022-23 season, Earl’s 68 wins are the most for a UTC head coach over their first seasons at the helm.
Chattanooga opens the 2025-26 campaign on Monday, November 3, at home inside McKenzie Arena against NAIA-member Union Commonwealth (KY) at 7 p.m. (ET). The Mocs, who carry 499 all-time wins in the Roundhouse, will open its season with a special NIT banner-raising moment, in addition to celebrating its potential milestone victory.
2025-26 Southern Conference Preseason Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Chattanooga (5) 77
2. Furman (5) 73
3. Samford 62
4. ETSU 61
5. UNCG 43
6. VMI 41
7. Western Carolina 32
8. Mercer 30
9. Wofford 21
10. The Citadel 10
2025-26 Preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year
Rickey Bradley Jr, Sr., G, VMI
2025-26 Preseason All-Southern Conference team
Jaylen Smith, Jr., G, ETSU
Cooper Bowser, Jr., F, Furman
Tom House, Sr., G, Furman
Jadin Booth, Gr., G, Samford
Dylan Faulkner, Jr., C, Samford
Jikari Johnson, Gr., G, Chattanooga
Collin Mulholland, R-So., F, Chattanooga
Teddy Washington Jr., Gr., G, Chattanooga
Rickey Bradley Jr, Sr., G, VMI
Marcus Kell, R-Jr., F, Western Carolina
