ATLANTA, Ga. -- Covenant men's basketball was picked fourth in the CCS preseason poll, announced the conference on Tuesday.

The Scots earned 13 points in the voting process.

After a berth to the CCS Tournament last season, head coach Josh Brown and newly minted assistant Myles Hendrick look to rise further in the standings in 2026-27, as they lead a roster full of experience.

The roster features five seniors, four juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen for Brown and Hendrick, who hove to further develop their schematic mantra.

The senior class is headlined by back-to-back CCS Defensive Player of the Year Pierce Smith, who swatted a program-record 81 shots last year, while averaging 14.3 points and 7.6 boards a game. He, along with Thomas Malcolm, Zach Amonett, Luuk Dusek, and James White hope to bring senior leadership to the group.

Among the juniors are guard Korbin Long, who averaged 9.1 points and 3.6 assists as the floor general last season, along with Noah Pence, who proved to be a bench scoring machine. Cole Carroll adds additional playmaking, while Zach Wescher hopes to make an impact in his return from injury.

The final two returners are sophomores Bolton Born and Chris Kunard, with Born landing a CCS Rookie of the Week honor last season and Kunard looking to recover from an injury that sidelined him last year. 

The freshman class features guards Cole Bennett and Jack Fox, who aspire to contribute right away.

The schedule begins with headlines, as the Scots travel to Greenville, Ill. to face two prominent system offense teams in DIII, Greenville and Grinnell, tabbed the fastest weekend in college basketball. They will play at home for the first time on Nov. 20, as they host the 84 Lumber Classic once again.

The Scots also have a pair of exhibition games on tap, facing Chattanooga on Nov. 9 and Samford on Dec. 30. Their CCS season begins on Jan. 5 against Asbury at Barnes PE Center, and a week later, they host Max Out Barnes against Piedmont. Legacy Weekend returns on Feb. 6 against Huntingdon as well.

The final stretch concludes against LaGrange on Feb. 20, with the CCS Tournament on tap for the following weekend. 

Belhaven, the reigning CCS champions, was selected first in the preseason poll with 25 points and five of six first-place votes.

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