ORLANDO, Fla. – The 2026-27 basketball season is nearly here as Florida Southern College men's basketball was selected third in the 2026-27 Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, announced by the league on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
 
The Moccasins were tabbed to finish third in this season's poll after a solid 2025-26 season, making it to the conference semifinal matchup and NCAA regionals. Nova Southeastern University, picked No. 1 in the conference, won its sixth straight SSC tournament championship in 2025-26 over the No. 2 team in the conference, Palm Beach Atlantic University. NSU captured nine first-place votes and 11 points, with PBA receiving the remaining two first-place votes and 21 points. The Mocs had 28 points for the third spot in the preseason poll.
 
Florida Southern finished the 2025-26 season 22-11 overall and 13-7 in the conference, culminating in the program's third straight, 35^th all-time, NCAA appearance. FSC had a strong home record of 17-4 as the team beat Embry-Riddle in the SSC quarterfinal before dropping a close matchup against PBA in the semifinal. In the first round of the NCAA regional, the Mocs faced a difficult No. 5 seed Montevallo team that ended the season.
 
Now entering his 12^th season at the helm of Florida Southern, Head Coach Mike Donnelly is joined by Associate Head Coach Mike Makubika for another year, while welcoming back Luke St. Lifer '18 as the team's General Manager. Previously an assistant coach for the Mocs from 2022-25, St. Lifer spent the 2025-26 season as the Director of Operations at VCU before returning to Lakeland in his role as GM.
 
While retaining 10 players from the 2025-26 squad, the Mocs also announced the addition of four transfers and three freshmen to this year's team. On this year's class, coach Donnelly stated: "We feel very good about the potential of this year's recruiting class and our overall roster construction. Our coaching staff worked hard identifying the right people who we believe can help us improve and compete for a championship. We added much-needed length, athleticism, and firepower to our roster. Our newcomers are talented, but more importantly, they are competitive and want to win. They fit our culture well."
 
For the fifth consecutive season, Florida Southern will open the campaign playing host to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, which will take place inside the George W. Jenkins Field House on the campus of Florida Southern, Nov. 7-8. The weekend tips off with the induction ceremony on Friday, Nov. 6, at the Polk Theatre. The two days of basketball will feature 10 of the top NCAA Division II basketball programs from across the country, including the 2026 national champion, Gannon, and runner-up Lander. Black Hills State, Oklahoma Baptist, and Cal State East Bay, who were Elite Eight participants, will join other 2026 NCAA regional participants Point Loma, Washburn, Central Missouri, and West Liberty.

Florida Southern tips off the season on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 5:45 p.m. versus West Liberty, before taking on Black Hills State on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 5:45 p.m. Both matchups will be the first between the programs. The SCB Hall of Fame Classic Page can be located HERE.