It looks like Sam Grieger is returning to Lax as probably already noted in the WIAC thread.

Westfield State University Men's Basketball is looking for 1 team for the Rick Martin Tournament 2026

Location: Westfield State University (577 Western Avenue Westfield, MA. 01085)
Friday, November 13, 2026, and Saturday, November 14, 2026

5 Complimentary Hotel Rooms available close to the school
Pizza available after Friday games
Shootaround available for Saturday mornings

For more information, please contact:
Rich Sutter (Head Coach) rsutter@westfield.ma.edu
Wesley Jackson wjackson@westfield.ma.edu (413)433-0733

Westfield State University is looking for games. Flexible with open dates. Please contact:
Rich Sutter
rsutter@westfield.ma.edu

Wesley Jackson
wjackson@westfield.ma.edu
413-433-0733

Looking at the conference's noncon schedules I felt it was necessary to rank them by difficulty (ie. I am bored)

1. Wartburg (Monmouth/NCC/UWRF) Wartburg may have the hardest noncon slate in the country this year. When you are good lots of teams do not want to play you. Luckily their are other good teams in the same boat. Having 3 playoff teams/3 conference champs/both Stagg Bowl participants on your schedule is crazy but here we are. 1-2 feels very realistic, 2-1 is a job well done, 3-0 would insinuate that Wartburg is competing for a national title this year.

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2. Coe (Cornell/UWRF/UWO) Coe has beat Cornell for around 25 years in a row in this game and I expect nothing to change. The other two games will be challenging. Coe played UWRF in a shoot out last year and hung with the eventual national champions. UWRF lost just about all of their production and coach but I would imagine will still be a top half WIAC team. UWO has not been as dominant as they were a decade ago but are still going to be a tough challenge for Coe. 2-1 feels like a win for the Kohawks.

3. ud (UWS/UWP/McMurry) Dubuque plays two WIAC teams as well in the noncon slate with Platteville and Stout. UWP made the playoff last year and UWS was right on the cusp. Dubuque played a close game with UWS last year but couldn't hold on in the second half. They could not run with UWP and got blown out last year. McMurry was above 500 in a poor SCAC and I would imagine the Spartans would be favored in that game. 2-1 feels like a win with 1-2 being more realistic.

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4. Central (Gustavus Adolphus/Northwestern/Belhaven) GA is a top half MIAC team and Belhaven has been a top tier team in the USAC. Neither of these statements make national teir teams quiver but these aren't gimmies either. NW should be a gimmie on the other hand. I would expect Central to be 3-0 after this stretch.

5. NWU (Concordia Morehead/Dakota St/Chicago) NWU opens the season with 3 games that should all be a challenge. Concordia Morehead is a upper tier MIAC team who went 7-3 last year. Dakota St is a NAIA team that I don't know much about other than they have been on NWU's schedule over the last few years and have beaten the Prairie Wolves more often then not. The last team is University of Chicago out of the MWC who has been sitting in the fourth spot in that league for a while. This should be a fun match up to see how the middle of the MWC matches up vs the bottom of the ARC. 1-2 feels like a win for NWU while 0-3 is likely.

6. Simpson (Augustana/Crown/Howard Payne) Simpson starts with two night games to start the season with Augustana, who they lost to last year by one point and finished 7-3 last year, and then Crown, who they blew out and won the UMAC last year. I would expect something similar in these two games with a close game with Augie that could go either way and a blowout vs Crown. They then travel to Texas to play Howard Payne which was below 500 the last two seasons. Feels like 3-0 is a real possibility.

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7. Loras (St Olaf/Northwestern/Benedictine) With a new coaching staff at Loras expectations are high. The noncon features a bottom half MIAC opponent, a UMAC team, and a top half NACC team that Loras has been competitive with for the last few years. Feels like anything below 2-1 is a disappointment and 3-0 is something that is possible if the new staff in town is able right the ship.

8. BV (Benedictine/Lawrence/Minnesota Morris) This is most likely the easiest noncon schedule with a UMAC team and a NACC team that has won 1 game in the last 5 years (yes you read that correctly). Benedictine beat the Beavers 35-0 last year and I think that game will tell us a lot about if BV is better this year than last. Would be huge for the conference's NPI to have a 2-1 BV coming out of the noncon.

Overall I really like how most teams scheduled their non-league games. I felt the bottom of the conference went out and found games they could be competitive in and the top of the league went out and tried to challenge themselves. I think that its possible that the majority of the league is above 500 going into the conference schedule. If that is the case, I like the league's chances of getting another at large bid this year.

Quote from: goodknight on April 25, 2026, 03:03:51 PMTitus Spencer, the 5-11 pg from Holland (MI) Christian High School, has committed to Calvin University.

It seems Titus Spencer is heading to Cornerstone instead.

IF we had most of the D2 schools move down to D3, that may necessitate a split to maintain competitive balance in the division.

O'Brien coming back is huge for Trinity - he's such a huge factor that I think it makes them a slight favorite for the league title given that they lose very little on both sides if memory serves.  Wesleyan is right there as well, they do lose a good amount on D including the DPOTY but most of the offense returns.  I think Williams could be pretty loaded next year with so many injured stars returning, but we have to see it.  They just need to finally stay healthy. I think I'd put the Ephs third heading into the year. 

Overall NESCAC seems really strong next year, especially offensively. Almost all the QBs and loads of star skill guys are back.  Bates is on the rise and this might be the breakthrough year if they figure out QB.  Amherst and Williams seem to have bounced back from their down eras and are on way back to contention.  Midd, Colby and Tufts have ample talent, although I think Colby slips back as that W-L record was a bit unlikely.  Other than Bowdoin and Hamilton, it should be a strong, balanced league and a huge fight for that first playoff spot. 

Quote from: saratoga on Today at 01:23:29 PMTV stations & the press are gathering outside "The Estate" waiting for the white smoke.
We must be getting close. 

 It can't be coach Ken Howard(The White Shadow TV show) who played @ Amherst but passed 10 years ago. 

There is even NIL at the high school level.

Hope's Parker Hovey will expend his final year of eligibility at Indiana Wesleyan.