1. Vermont (21-12, 13-3 AE) 

Despite failing to claim the America East regular season title last season for the first time in eight years, AE powerhouse Vermont was once again chosen as the favorite in this year’s AE conference preseason rankings. The Catamounts earned 63 points alongside seven of eight possible first-place votes.

Vermont enters its 2025-26 campaign following a season in which it did not qualify for the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship for the first time since 2021, with a conference-leading two preseason all-conference selections in graduate student guard TJ Long and senior guard TJ Hurley. Hurley averaged 15.8 points per game last year, improving to 17.8 points per game while leading the conference in three-point efficiency at 46.4 percent during AE play. Long, meanwhile, averaged 11.1 points and 3.1 rebounds per game before his season was cut short by injury after eight matches.

The Catamounts, however, will feel the departures of forward Ileri Ayo-Faleye and guard Shamir Bogues, especially on the defensive side of the court. Ayo-Faleye was named to the AE all-defensive teams in 2024 and 2025, finishing second in the conference with 66 blocks. Bogues was also named to two consecutive AE all-defensive teams in 2024 and 2025. The Catamounts will have to rely on their positional size advantage if they hope to return to the big dance.

T2. Maine (20-14, 10-6 AE) 

Entering his fourth season as Maine’s head coach, Chris Markwood has improved the Black Bears’ record each year, culminating in a 20-14 record last year in the program’s second 20-win campaign of the 21st century. After advancing to the AE title game last year, Maine tied for second position in the preseason rankings, earning 47 points and a first-place vote.

The Black Bears suffered the departures of two-time AE Defensive Player of the Year guard Kellen Tynes and 2025 AE second-team all-conference selection guard AJ Lopez. Maine will look for a large growth in contribution from returning senior forward Killian Gribben, who spent two seasons at Siena while captaining the Irish u20 team, where he averaged 13 points and 10.7 rebounds per game as the squad’s captain.

Meanwhile, Southern Missouri State transfer, graduate student forward TJ Biel projects as a potential starter, offering quality two-way production. The most notable of Maine’s newcomers is freshman forward Ace Flagg, the twin brother of the No. 1 selection in the 2025 NBA draft, forward Cooper Flagg. Flagg was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN after averaging 2.6 points and 1.3 rebounds per game as a junior at Montverde Academy. Flagg will look to leverage his inside scoring ability and height to become a regular contributor for the Black Bears.

T2. UAlbany (17-16, 8-8 AE)

The Great Danes enter the season on the backs of a fourth-place finish and their first AE Semifinals appearance under head coach Dwayne Killings. Killings enters his fifth year at the helm of the program with his highest preseason poll ranking, tying Maine for second with 47 points. The Great Danes will be without 2024-25 third-team all-conference honoree guard Byron Joshua, who led the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game.

However, Albany’s returning squad is headlined by sophomore guard Amir Lindsey, the lone underclassman named to the AE preseason all-conference team after a rookie season where he averaged six points and 1.9 rebounds per game before earning AE all-rookie honors. The Great Danes have also added significant height through the transfer portal with the additions of six-foot-10 redshirt senior forward Okechukwu Okeke from FIU and six-foot-nine redshirt junior center Yaya Keita from Oklahoma.

4. UMass Lowell (17-15, 6-10 AE) 

Following a season in which the River Hawks struggled in conference play, earning the final and No. 6 seed in the AE playoffs before falling in the first round to No. 3 Maine 72-64, UMass Lowell was selected to finish fourth in the preseason poll, garnering 39 points and one first-place vote. The River Hawks face a major overhaul heading into their 2025-26 campaign, as their eight leading scorers have exhausted NCAA eligibility.

Highlighting the departures are forward Max Brooks and guard Quinton Mincey, who were respectively named first-team all-conference and second-team all-conference last season. Mincey’s missing presence on the glass will be felt as he averaged 6.3 rebounds per game along with his 17.6 points per game last year. Meanwhile, Brooks led the AE in stocks with 2.7 per game, adding an AE all-defensive nod to his resume.

On the offensive side of the court, the River Hawks look to incoming transfer junior guard Jared Frey, following a 2024-25 campaign in which he averaged 8.3 points per game as a regular contributor off the bench at Stony Brook. Another key transfer for the River Hawks is junior forward Jerrell Roberson II, who joins UMass Lowell following a redshirt 2024-25 season at JMU in which he did not see the court.

5. Binghamton (15-17, 7-9 AE) 

6. Bryant (23-12, 14-2 AE) 

No team in the conference faces as radical an offseason change-up as the Bryant Bulldogs, and their sixth-place preseason poll selection despite winning the conference last year indicates coaches in the AE aren’t bullish on the Bulldogs. After advancing to their second-ever NCAA Tournament, Bryant lost first-team all-conference guards Rafael Pinzon and Earl Timberlake, and the departure of head coach Phil Martelli Jr. to VCU further weakened the roster as he brought with him junior forward Keyshawn Mitchell and senior forward Barry Evans, who was selected to the all-conference second-team last year for Bryant.

The Bulldogs have looked to the transfer portal to rebuild their squad, with a three-man class highlighted by fifth-year combo guard Quincy Allen, who averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game for Chicago State last season. Fellow transfers fifth-year big wing Keegan Harvey, who averaged just 1.3 points per game at George Washington in the 2023-24 season, and graduate-student big wing Lennart Weber, who makes his NCAA Division I debut with the Bulldogs, seem poised to become regular starters for the Bulldogs. In that case, they must take significant steps in their game if Bryant hopes to return to the AE playoffs.

7. UMBC (13-19, 5-11 AE) 

After an eighth-place AE campaign last year, sentiments surrounding the Retrievers are reflected in the preseason poll, as they ranked seventh with 31 points. The Retrievers struggled defensively last year, ranking last in the AE after allowing 78.8 points per game. On the other side of the court, however, UMBC ranked second in the AE, trailing only Bryant with 80 points per game.

UMBC’s most significant departures come from offensive specialists, as they lost three of their four leading scorers, including guards Marcus Banks Jr. and Bryce Johnson, who averaged 16.6 and 16.7 points per game last year, respectively. The Retrievers will need significant offensive jumps from returning junior guard Ace Valentine, who averaged eight points and 3.2 assists per game, if they hope to return to the playoffs. UMBC also hopes to address its issues with size after rolling out the shortest starting line-up in the conference last year, adding six-foot-10 junior forward Jose Roberto Tanchyn to the roster.

8. NJIT (6-25, 3-13 AE) 

Finishing in eighth place in the preseason poll with 13 points is NJIT. After finishing last in the AE in the 2023-24 season, the Highlanders struggled tremendously once more last year, going 6-25 with only five victories over Division I programs.

After posting an AE-worst 65.3 points per game last year, the Highlanders will be without the conference’s leading scorer, junior guard Tariq Francis, who transferred to Rutgers after averaging 19.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. The Highlanders must also reckon with the transfer of graduate student forward Tim Moore Jr., who finished second on the squad in points per game with 12.9 and first in blocks per game with 1.4.

Despite the significant hits to an already abysmal scoring offense, there are signs of life for the Highlanders, as junior guard Sebastian Robinson returns to head coach Grant Billmeier’s squad after a sophomore campaign where he averaged 12 points per game and finished sixth in the AE with 3.4 assists per game. The Highlanders’ squad also returns several freshman contributors, including a conference-high seven sophomores, and Billmier will seek production from them if NJIT hopes to make a splash this year.

9. New Hampshire (8-24, 6-10)

After opening the season with a 2-14 record in nonconference play and a pair of season-ending injuries to senior guard Rex Sunderland and forward Trey Woodyard, the Wildcats rebounded during AE play, going 6-10 thanks in part to the contributions of 2025 third-team all-conference selection senior guard Sami Pissis. Unfortunately for UNH, all three aforementioned players have since transferred, and the Wildcats have been selected to finish ninth in the preseason poll with 12 points.

UNH’s most notable returner is junior forward Davide Poser, who led the Wildcats in minutes last year while shooting a team-high 40.3 percent from beyond the arc. Head coach Nathan Davis also reinforced the squad with a six-man transfer class spearheaded by junior forward Belal El Shakery, who averaged 3.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in eight appearances at Wofford last year, and junior guard Comeh Emuobor, who averaged 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game at Iona last season.