Loyola garners first preseason NAIA men’s basketball top 5 ranking in coaches poll

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) released its preseason Top 25 poll Wednesday, giving the Loyola Wolf Pack their highest preseason ranking ever.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Loyola University New Orleans men’s basketball team continues to garner national recognition early in the 2021-22 season, and on Wednesday the Wolf Pack were given the No. 5 ranking in the NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll. It’s the third straight season Loyola has appeared in the preseason Top 25, and this year’s ranking is the highest for this particular poll.

It’s also the 15th consecutive poll Loyola has been ranked, reaching as high as No. 3 in November of 2019.

Despite it being a preseason poll, the Pack already has two games under their belt. They started the season with a 78-point win over North American University last Saturday, which was a school record for margin of victory, then Loyola took down Xavier, which received votes in Wednesday’s poll, Tuesday night to begin the season 2-0. The team is set to play Dillard on Thursday, and tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Dent Hall.

Through two games, Loyola has seen production from a ton of players. Senior Josh Leaney led the Wolf Pack in the season-opener with 24 points and six rebounds, and Andrew Fava hit five 3-pointers against the Gold Rush. Brandon Davis, Myles Burns, Terry Smith Jr. and Zach Wrightsil have all had double-digit games as well.

Loyola is the highest-ranked of three Southern States Athletic Conference teams, as Talladega earned a No. 11 ranking while Stillman was voted No. 17. Including those two SSAC opponents, the Wolf Pack is scheduled to play eight games this season with teams currently in the Top 25 or receiving votes. After Loyola plays Dillard, which is also receiving votes, a home game on Thursday, Nov. 4, with No. 6 LSU-Shreveport highlights the non-conference schedule.

You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.