The Bradley Braves were picked fourth in the 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball preseason poll. The league released only the top five.
PEORIA — The Bradley Braves have been picked to finish fourth in the 2025-26 Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll of head coaches, team staff and league media.
The league released the top five ranked teams, and says it does not plan to list the rest of the 11-team results.
Illinois State was picked No. 1 with 478 points, named to the top spot on 32 of the league's 46 ballots. It's the first time the Redbirds have been picked for the top spot since 2001-02, and their fifth time overall.
Northern Iowa was second with 442 points (8 first-place votes). Murray State checked in at third with 385 points (4 first-place votes). Bradley was fourth at 370 points, and Belmont was fifth at 340, with neither team netting first-place votes.
Bradley, UNI, Murray State and Illinois State were all top-five selections in the preseason poll ahead of last season. The Braves were a near-consensus No. 1 last preseason.
The Field of Five
The top five teams were identified in the 2025-26 Valley preseason poll.
Here is an estimate on what the 11-team field might look like, based on knowledge of a few ballots:
- 1. Illinois State
- 2 Northern Iowa
- 3. Murray State
- 4. Bradley
- 5. Belmont
- 6. Drake
- 7. UIC
- 8. Southern Illinois
- 9. Indiana State
- 10. Valparaiso
- 11. Evansville
Coming next in the Valley
The Missouri Valley Conference has scrapped its preseason Player of the Year and all-conference teams for a new format. The league will compile a so-called "watch list" with 20 players MVC worthy of attention for the 2025-26 season.
They are compiled from nominees sent in by the 11 teams. Bradley's nominees are most likely two of three players from a group that includes guards Demarion Burch, Jaquan Johnson and Alex Huibregtse and big men A.J. Smith, Corey Thomas and Ahmet Jonovic.
The MVC schedule is expected to be released later this week.
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or [email protected]. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: MVC preseason poll: How Bradley men's basketball team fared
Category: General Sports
