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10 non-power conference teams to watch during the 2025-26 season

This is ONLY September!

Check below for our list of 10 non-power conference teams to watch during the 2025-26 season.

In no particular order:

Gonzaga: You can’t make a list of non-power conference teams to watch without highlighting the Bulldogs, who will boast one of the sport’s best power forward/center combinations this season with Graham Ike (17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Braden Huff (11.0 points, 3.4 rebounds). A pair of redshirt guards — Braeden Smith (Colgate) and Jalen Warley (Virginia) — will play major roles on the perimeter along with high-scoring veterans Adam Miller (Arizona State) and Tyon Grant-Foster (Grand Canyon). The years change, but the product in Mark Few’s program does not. This will be the final year in the WCC for the Bulldogs before they transition to the new Pac-12 during the 2025-26 season. 

San Diego State: Brian Dutcher has averaged 24.8 wins per season in the eight years since he’s taken over the Aztecs’ program and it says here that he’ll likely be in that range again in 2025-26. San Diego State’s ability to retain three all-conference caliber players — Magoon Gwath (8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds), Reese Waters (9.6 points in 2023-24), and Miles Byrd (12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds) — in this climate speaks volumes about the infrastructure of this program. The 7-foot Gwath won Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors last season as a freshman while Waters and Byrd give Dutcher a lethal wing combination. Several key role players — BJ Davis (9.0 points), Pharaoh Compton (5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds), Miles Heide (4.1 points), and Taj DeGourville (5.1 points) — return after averaging double figure minutes on last year’s team that reached the NCAA Tournament. A slew of transfers — Latrell Davis (San Jose State), Jeremiah Oden (Charlotte), and Sean Newman (Louisiana Tech) — also figure to play major roles in the Aztecs’ rotation. The Mountain West goes through Viejas Arena — again. 

Utah State: Mountain West Player of the Year candidate Mason Falslev (15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 steals) anchors a quality foundation for the Aggies, who won 26 games last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in their first year under Jerrod Calhoun. A pair of transfer guards with power conference experience — MJ Collins (Vanderbilt) and Kolby King (Tulane) — will log major minutes alongside Falslev on the perimeter while 6-10 import Zach Keller (Utah) should get plenty of mileage down low. Karson Templin, Drake Allen, and Tucker Anderson also return as steady veterans who averaged double figure minutes a year ago. With Calhoun pulling the strings, a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance feels very much within reach. 

Saint Mary’s: Losing veteran guard Jordan Ross to the transfer portal was a bit of an offseason surprise, but betting against Randy Bennett would be like betting against Christian Bale in a Batman movie. The troika of Mikey Lewis (8.2 points), Paulius Murauskas (12.1 points, 7.7 rebounds), and Harry Wessels (5.3 points, 3.4 rebounds) provides a sturdy nucleus of players who have played major minutes in the Gaels’ program. San Diego transfer Tony Duckett averaged 10.4 points last season and should immediately fill a role on the perimeter while Pacific transfer Jazz Johnson (4.6  points, 3.8 rebounds) is another 7-footer with WCC experience. Bennett is also high on the potential of 6-3 sophomore Joshua Dent, who appeared in 24 games last season as a freshman. Business as usual in Moraga? You better believe it. 

Memphis: This rendition of the Tigers isn’t as talented as the past few, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not going to be capable of being one of the better non-power conference teams in the sport. Dug McDaniel (Kansas State) and Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State) give Penny Hardaway an experienced presence at both point guard and center while Curtis Givens (LSU), Sincere Parker (McNeese), Quante Berry (Temple), Zachary Davis (South Carolina), and Ashton Hardaway (Saint Mary’s) should fill in everything in between. Memphis doesn’t have what it’s had, but it still has enough to win the American Athletic Conference and reach the NCAA Tournament. 

San Francisco: Chris Gerlufsen’s ability to retain both Ryan Beasley (9.0 points) and Tyrone Riley (9.6 points, 6.0 rebounds) was huge. The Dons’ loaded transfer class of Vukasin Masic (Portland), Mookie Cook (Oregon), David Fuchs (Rhode Island), and Guillermo Diaz Graham (Pitt) was also massive. San Francisco has consistently been in play to be the WCC’s third-best team behind both Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s over the past few seasons. The potential emergence of the 6-4 Riley could take this program where it’s yet to go under Gerlufsen — the NCAA Tournament. 

UC Santa Barbara: Elite guard play has willed the Gauchos to two of the last five NCAA Tournaments. Joe Pasternack is hopeful that history repeats itself a third time. The 48-year old head coach flexed his recruiting prowess during the offseason when he landed both Aidan Mahaney (UConn) and Miro Little (Baylor) via the transfer portal. They’ll form a potent perimeter alongside All-Big West wing Jason Fontenet (9.9 points) while former Vanderbilt big man Colin Smith (8.7 points) should be a force in the post if he’s healthy. Keep a close eye on the 6-3 Mahaney, who struggled last season at UConn, but averaged 13.9 points during each of the first two years of his college career when he was at Saint Mary’s. If he’s back in vintage form, the Gauchos are in business. 

VCU: The Rams’ last six head coaches — Ryan Odom, Mike Rhoades, Will Wade, Shaka Smart, Anthony Grant, and Jeff Capel — have all taken teams to the NCAA Tournament. Phil Martelli Jr. could be the seventh and it could happen as early as 2026. The former head coach at Bryant, Martelli took a pair of forwards — Barry Evans and Keyshawn Mitchell — from his team that won the American East last season and reached March Madness. Five other transfers — Tyrell Ward (LSU), Ahmad Nowell (UConn), Jadrian Tracey (Oregon), Jordann Dumont (Villanova), and Lazar Djokovic (Charleston) — arrive with prior power conference experience. Holdovers Brandon Jennings, Michael Belle, Terrence Hill, and Christian Fermin all averaged 6.2 minutes or more on last season’s team that reached the NCAA Tournament under Odom. This is not a rebuild — it’s a reload. 

Loyola Chicago: Drew Valentine has done everything since the Ramblers joined the Atlantic 10 except win an outright conference regular season title and earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament. Both could happen in 2026. Veteran guard Justin Moore (7.7 points, 5.3 assists) and 6-10 junior Miles Rubin (9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 blocks) give Loyola Chicago major answers at point guard center while an underrated transfer class of Xavier Amos (Wisconsin), Deywilk Tavarez (Charleston), Joshua Ola-Joseph (Cal), Dom Harris (UCLA), and Kayde Dotson (New Mexico) is very good for the mid-major level. There’s a really good team here if Valentine can put the right pieces between Moore and Rubin. 

Towson: Is this the year? A combined 88 wins and a pair of CAA regular season titles over the past four years have made the Tigers one of college basketball’s most consistent mid-major programs, but Pat Skerry has yet to lead Towson to the NCAA Tournament. The power of retention may change that in 2026. Last season’s CAA Player of the Year — Tyler Tejada (16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds) — is back for another tour of duty and 6-1 junior Dylan Williamson (14.6 points) also returns after earning All-CAA caliber honors a year ago. Skerry is also bullish on 6-9 sophomore Caleb Embeya as a potential breakout guy after he averaged 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds as a freshman. A pair of transfers — Tyler Schmidt (VALPO) and Jack Doumbia (Wright State) — arrive as likely starters after averaging in double figures last season. Another 20-plus win season feels inevitable for this program, but as usual, how the Tigers play during three days in March during the CAA Tournament will ultimately determine how they’re perceived nationally.

Leftovers