Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
West Virginia Wesleyan (Exhibition)
10/19/2026 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Marshall picked 5th in Preseason Poll
NEW ORLEANS – Marshall Men's Basketball 5th year guard Noah Otshudi has been selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference First Team, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
In the same announcement, the Herd has been picked 5th in the SBC Preseason Poll. The SBC Media Days will be held this week as the regular season tips off in two weeks.
Otshudi is back for Marshall as the team's leading returning scorer and assist leader, he averaged 14.5 PPG with 3.4 assists per contest (110 total) in 2025-26. The Hamilton, Ontario native also connected a team-leading 93 free throws for a team-best .845 FT percentage last season. Finishing 7th in the league with his 110 assists, Otshudi possessed a 1.3 assist to turnover ratio.
Otshudi's 167 made field goals finished 15th in the league last year, his 21 made 3-point field goals were 20th in the league, and he was one of 24 players in the conference to surpass the 400-point threshold with his 448 points tallied last year. Otshudi scored a season-high 30 points in a conference game against Coastal Carolina (Jan. 14) and had an additional three games with 20+ points. He finished in double figures in 25 of the 31 games he played.
Attached below is the full list of preseason awards for the league, as well as the full coaches poll.
2026 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Awards
Preseason Player of the Year:
Isaac Taveras, Southern Miss [4th Yr. | G | Santo Domingo, D.R.]
Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
Adante' Holiman, Old Dominion [4th Yr. | G | McAlester, Okla.]
Peyton Law, South Alabama [5th Yr. | F | Calhoun, Ga.]
Jacob Meyer, Georgia State [4th Yr. | G | Covington, Ky.]
Noah Otshudi, Marshall [5th Yr. | G | Hamilton, Ontario, Can.]
Isaac Taveras, Southern Miss [4th Yr. | G | Santo Domingo, D.R.]
Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Tameron Ferguson, Arkansas State [3rd Yr. | G | St. Cloud, Minn.]
Preston Fowler, James Madison [2nd Yr. | F | Vernon, Conn.]
Dallas Gardner, Georgia Southern [4th Yr. | G | Charlotte, N.C.]
Gage Lattimore, James Madison [3rd Yr. | G | Greensboro, N.C.]
Layne Taylor, Arkansas State [3rd Yr. | G | Farmington, Ark.]
Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
Jacoi Hutchinson, Troy [4th Yr. | G | Laurel, Md.]
Jamyron Keller, Louisiana [4th Yr. | G | St. Matthews, S.C.]
Jalen Langsy, South Alabama [3rd Yr. | G | Shakopee, Minn.]
Kyran Tilley, Louisiana Tech [3rd Yr. | G | Louisville, Ky.]
K.J. Windham, James Madison [3rd Yr. | G | Indianapolis, Ind.]
2026 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Arkansas State (3) – 182
2. James Madison (9) – 176
3. Troy – 143
4. South Alabama – 136
5. Marshall – 125
6. Louisiana – 117
7. Southern Miss (2) – 109
8. App State – 105
9. Georgia Southern – 85
10. Georgia State – 79
11. Old Dominion – 76
12. Louisiana Tech – 64
13. Coastal Carolina – 58
14. ULM – 15
Parentheses indicate first-place votes
Marshall fans will be able to see the Herd for the first time this week with an exhibition contest Thursday evening, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. against West Virginia Wesleyan. The game against WVWC as well as next week's exhibition on Oct. 28 against UPIKE is free to attend.
For more information on how to see the Herd all season long at the Cam Henderson Center, visit the Marshall Men's Basketball Tickets page.
For all the latest information about Marshall Men's Basketball, follow @Herd_MBB on Twitter and @HerdMBB on Instagram.
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