DANBURY, Conn. - The Western Connecticut State University's men's basketball team has been selected first in the 2026-27 Little East Conference (LEC) Men's Basketball Preseaon Coaches' Poll. The Wolves collected 61 points and five first place votes, narrowly edging Keene State, which received 60 points and four first place votes. WestConn enters the season as the conference favorite after posting a 21-7 overall record and 12-4 mark in LEC play during the 2025-2026 season, capturing the LEC Tournament Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament.  The Wolves will open the 2026-27 season at home against Manhattanville on Wednesday, November 11 at 7 p.m.

Led by Head Coach Guy Rancourt (8th Season), WestConn returns a veteran core from a team that averaged 80.5 points per game, ranked among the conference leaders in assists (17.1 per game) and steals (12.6 per game), and finished the year with a +9.8 scoring margin.  The Wolves welcomes back several key contributors for the upcoming season. Junior center Marcel Henry (Yonkers, N.Y.) emerged as the team's leading scorer in 2026-26, averaging 15.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and earning All-LEC recognition.  Senior guards Elijah Jean-Guillaume (New Haven, Conn.) and Jonathan Chery (New York, N.Y), junior guards Jaeden Bull (New Castle, Del.), Nick Moore (Amherst, N.Y.), and Armaan Sandhu (Abbottsford, British Columbia) and sophomore Avery Taitt-Christina (Queens, N.Y.) give the Wolves a deep back court.  Jean-Guillaume averaged 7.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and over 1.5 steals per game last winter.