KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dalton State will begin the 2026–27 season receiving national recognition, as the Roadrunners received votes in the Gared-NAIA Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
 
The preseason recognition follows a successful 2025–26 campaign in which the Birds finished 24–9 overall and 13–5 in the Southern States Athletic Conference. Dalton State captured the SSAC Tournament championship and advanced to the second round of the NAIA National Championship after defeating Shawnee State (Ohio) in its opening-round contest.
 
Grace (Ind.) holds the top position in the preseason poll after receiving 14 of the 19 first-place votes. Defending national champion Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) is ranked second with four first-place votes, while Arizona Christian received the remaining first-place vote and begins the season at No. 3. Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Indiana Wesleyan complete the top five.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
This is the 106^th NAIA Top 25 Coaches Poll to be released since the men's basketball program has been eligible for national rankings. They have been ranked or received votes in 58 of the 106, with a top ranking of #1 on two occasions. The most recent came on October 27, 2015.
 
THE POLL

Rank	Institution [First-Place Votes]	2025–26 Record
1	Grace (Ind.) [14]	31–4
2	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) [4]	35–1
3	Arizona Christian [1]	25–8
4	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	31–4
5	Indiana Wesleyan	28–6
6	Nelson (Texas)	26–6
7	Georgetown (Ky.)	24–8
8	Langston (Okla.)	29–8
9	LSU Shreveport (La.)	28–6
10	Cumberlands (Ky.)	24–9
T-11	Keiser (Fla.)	25–6
T-11	Oklahoma Wesleyan	30–4
13	Ave Maria (Fla.)	29–6
14	Loyola (La.)	22–8
15	Eastern Oregon	22–9
16	College of Idaho	21–11
17	The Master's (Calif.)	21–10
18	Georgia Gwinnett	25–7
19	Concordia (Neb.)	19–12
20	Hope International (Calif.)	26–7
21	Pikeville (Ky.)	27–5
22	Madonna (Mich.)	24–8
23	William Carey (Miss.)	28–5
24	Wayland Baptist (Texas)	24–8
25	Morningside (Iowa)	22–8

Receiving Votes: Bellevue (Neb.), Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.), Bethel (Ind.), Columbia (Mo.), Dalton State (Ga.), Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Faulkner (Ala.), Friends (Kan.), Graceland (Iowa), Grand View (Iowa), Huntington (Ind.), Indiana Tech, IU Kokomo (Ind.), IU South Bend (Ind.), Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Life (Ga.), LSU Alexandria (La.), McPherson (Kan.), Mid-America Christian (Okla.), Montana Tech, Northwestern (Iowa), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Southeastern (Fla.), Taylor (Ind.), William Penn (Iowa) and Williams Baptist (Ark.).
 
The Roadrunners will begin their regular-season schedule on Tuesday, October 27, with a road contest against Bryan (Tenn.). Dalton State will then travel to Columbia International (S.C.) on Friday, October 30.
 
The Birds make their home debut on Friday, November 6, when they face Tennessee Wesleyan at 7 p.m. at Bandy Gym as part of the Roadrunner Basketball Classic. Dalton State will complete the two-day event against St. Thomas (Fla.) at 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 7.
 
The NAIA coaches' poll will continue through the fall semester, with the final coaches' ranking scheduled for December 16. Beginning November 11, the poll will be released on a biweekly schedule before transitioning to rankings determined by the NAIA Men's Basketball National Selection Committee.
 
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FIND NEWS AND FOLLOW THE BIRDS: News and updates from Dalton State's men's basketball team is posted on dsroadrunners.com and on X (@DStateBBall), Facebook (@DStateBasketball) and Instagram (dstatebball). Be sure to follow to keep pace with the Birds!
 
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