The Wabash College basketball team received one first-place vote and 63 points to rank third in the 2024-25 North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Poll released on Wednesday.
The College of Wooster picked up six first-place votes from the conference coaches and earned the top spot in the poll with 78 points. Denison received the remaining first-place vote as part of 68 total points to place second in the poll. Wittenberg is ranked behind Wabash in fourth place with 45 points. Oberlin is fifth with 42 points. DePauw and Ohio Wesleyan tied for sixth place with 40 points apiece. Kenyon (18 points) and Hiram (11 points) round out the 2024-25 preseason poll.
The Little Giants, winners of the past three NCAC men’s basketball tournament championships, regular-season conference champions in 2022 and 2024, and an NCAA Division III national semifinalist team in 2022, finished last season with a 20-9 overall record and a 13-3 mark in NCAC games. Wabash earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament by winning its third consecutive conference tournament title. The Little Giants lost to 25th-ranked Coe College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Three starters graduated from head coach Kyle Brumett’s 20-9 squad, including 2024 Third Team Region 7 selection Ahmoni Jones. The two-time First Team All-NCAC and conference tournament MVP averaged 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds last season to lead the Little Giants in both categories. Starters Avery Beaver (11.7 ppg) and Sam Comer (10.4 ppg) also departed due to graduation.
Wabash returns plenty of offensive firepower. Senior guard Vinny Buccilla averaged 11.7 points a game in 22 starts last season. He shot 41% from the field and made 39 three-point baskets. Junior Rich Brooks averaged 8.9 points in 24 appearances in his first season at Wabash last year. He shot 41% from the field and 33% from behind the three-point arc for the year.
Seven-two transfer center Noah Hupmann came on strong down the the stretch for the Little Giants in 2023-24. The senior averaged 3.7 points and 5.2 rebounds a contest. He blocked 74 shots in 27 games to set a new Wabash single-season record. Hupmann earned all-tournament honors after setting a new conference tournament record with 16 blocked shots in three games. Gavin Schippert joins Hupmann in the front court after averaging 3.3 points and 4.8 rebounds a contest last season. The junior post player shot 46% from the field and connected on 15 three-point attempts to shoot at a 31.3 % clip from beyond the arc.
Randy Kelley and Josh Whack are expected to share time at the guard positions for Wabash. Kelley scored 5.0 point per game in 24 appearances with six starts last season. Whack played in 20 contests and averaged 2.1 points per game. Sophomore Nate Matelic averaged 4.5 points and 1.6 rebounds a contest in 23 games with four starts as a freshman in 203-24.
Six freshmen are part of the 2024-25 Wabash basketball roster, joining the 13 returning players from last year’s squad.
Wabash opens the regular season Nov. 8 at the Trine University Classic. The Little Giants face Heidelberg University in the opener at 5 p.m. before playing Trine University 3 p.m. Nov. 9.
