What a finish to the DII men’s basketball season. Gannon won its first national championship in dominant fashion over Lander, which pulled off one of the biggest upsets of this century in ending Nova Southeastern’s run to a repeat. All of that sent the final Power 10 rankings of the 2026 into a tailspin.
The Sharks weren’t alone. There were some wild upsets, including two No. 8/No. 1 upsets in the first round. Power 10ers Washburn and Anderson (SC) both made stunning early exits from the tournament, albeit the Ichabods were short Dillon Claussen, who arguably made the Washburn machine go. West Liberty, Palm Beach Atlantic, Eastern New Mexico and Lubbock Christian — four teams that spent quite some time in the Power 10 rankings this year — all surprisingly were home after the first round.
These are my final Power 10 rankings of the 2026 season. Also remember, there haven’t been these rankings since the tournament started, so with all those shockers, you can expect some change. There is no voting committee; just a mess of spreadsheets, stats, selection metrics and hours of watching DII men’s basketball. It should be said that making the DII Men’s Elite Eight doesn’t determine a team’s final ranking — often times, some DII Men’s Elite Eight teams don’t even make the Power 10. This year they all did, which makes it an outlier and shows the dominance of the top-ranked teams this season. These Power 10 rankings are looking at the season as a whole, and in the regionalized style of DII, sometimes the Elite Eight doesn’t paint a clear picture of which teams were, in fact, among the best.
The DII final men’s basketball Power 10
No. 1 Gannon | Previous: 5. The Golden Knights were a top five team in the Power 10 rankings all season long. They dropped that stunner in the PSAC championship game in the final seconds by one point and that ignited one of the more dominant runs to the national championship in recent history. They won their Atlantic Region games by an average of 16.7 points per game and were even stronger in the DII Men’s Elite Eight, winning by 26, 18 and 23 in the championship game. This squad had five players that could be standouts on other teams, but together, learned their roles and were unstoppable.
No. 2 Nova Southeastern | Previous: 1. Yes, the Sharks were upset. Yes, it was a game in which they were completely dominated from essentially start to finish. However, Lander played arguably their best game in program history to pull off the upset, and one game does not determine a season. The Sharks still finished with a top 3 KPI and compiled a 31-2 record. They led DII in scoring, assist-to-turnover ratio and were top five in assists, rebounds and turnovers. They ended the season winners of 105-straight games at home, which is a DII record, and they still finished one game shy of playing in their fourth-straight national championship game. Lander was the better team that day, but Nova Southeastern was one of the best all season long.
No. 3 Washburn | Previous: 2. I can understand how people may be confused that Washburn finishes above Daemen and Lander. Two of those teams went to the DII Men’s Elite Eight, the other was upset in the first round. While Minnesota Duluth played a great basketball game and was the better team that day, Washburn was missing their leading scorer in Dillon Claussen. That is a different outcome if Claussen plays, and Washburn may have gone much further. Metrics tell the tale. Washburn was the top team in the Central and one of the best in all DII by about every measure.
No. 4 Lander | Previous: First five out.The Bearcats were a bit higher in the Power 10 than the national rankings, and it was because they were playing extremely well down the stretch. It is now clear they played even better in the tournament, shutting down two top 10 offenses and nationally ranked Daemen in a thrilling run to the finals. While the Bearcats weren’t at their best in the season finale, they made a memorable run, one in which Greyson Pritzl became a star on the national stage that will not be forgotten any time soon.
No. 5 Daemen | Previous 4. The Wildcats once again utterly dominated the East Region, not losing a game in its region. They fell just short of the national semifinals, falling to Lander by three points in a tightly contested battle. We may never see what Daemen had this season again, going 32-2 with all five starters returning from the prior season.
No. 6 Michigan Tech | Previous: NR. This won’t be a popular pick, especially coming in over the Pioneers. The Midwest Region was no joke this year with four teams in the top 25. The Huskies had a much more difficult road to the DII Men’s Elite Eight, defeating a top 10 team and top 25 team to get there, whereas the Pioneers faced no ranked opponents on their road to Pittsburgh. Once there, they suffered the same fate as the Pioneers — a loss in blowout fashion — however, Michigan Tech’s loss came at the hands of the eventual national champions, who blew out everybody.
No. 7 Cal State East Bay | Previous: 3. The Pioneers were the story of the season. They improved by 22 wins from the year prior, reaching unimaginable heights, winning their first CCAA and West Region title. However, they weren’t truly tested until the DII Men’s Elite Eight, where they fell to No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist by 23 points. Tyree Campbell was key to the turnaround and deserving of national player-of-the-year honors but make no mistake: This was a team effort from top to bottom.
No. 8 DBU | Previous: 6. The Patriots check in ahead of the team that ousted them from the tournament because again, this is a look at the whole season. The Patriots had the better RPI and PI in their region and even after the upset by Black Hills State, DBU finished with a higher KPI. Black Hills State played a nearly flawless second half, dominating DBU, but what the Patriots did this season after a slow start was worthy of a top 10 finish.
No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist | Previous: First five out. The Bison carried the torch not just for the program, but for an entire conference. When they punched their ticket to the DII Men’s Elite Eight, it wasn’t simply their first trip to the quarterfinals, it was the first time a GAC team ever made it that far into the tournament. That simply wasn’t good enough for the Bison, as they pulled off the 23-point upset over Cal State East Bay, becoming the first GAC team to ever reach the semifinals. That was where the road ended, but not before capturing the attention of an entire nation. The Bison finished 31-4, Terry Coner Jr. was among DII’s best scorers, and the program set a new bar that will be tough to top.
No. 10 Black Hills State | Previous: NR. Ah, the Yellow Jackets in March; there is simply nothing like it. The No. 6 seed in the South Central Region upset both No. 3 Lubbock Christian and No. 1 DBU to win their third regional title in five seasons. At this point, they simply aren’t upsets anymore. If you see Black Hills State in the bracket, go ahead and pencil it in for the DII Men’s Elite Eight. The Yellow Jackets dominated the RMAC to another conference title, had an All-American in Cam Lowe and caused madness in March yet again. That adds up to a top 10 finish.
First five out (in alphabetical order)
- Anderson (SC): Yes, the Trojans were stunned by an upstart Young Harris team, but this was a historic season for Anderson. Despite the early exit, the Trojans still had the fourth-best KPI.
- Grand Valley State: The Lakers had a slew of wins against nationally ranked teams, including two-straight in the GLIAC tournament to win the conference title.
- Indiana (PA): Dallis Dillard was an All-American and this team made it all the way to the Atlantic Region final, where it gave Gannon its only close game of the tournament.
- Lenoir-Rhyne: The Bears had the No. 7 offense and despite being the No. 4 seed, made it to the Southeast Region finals where they were clipped by red-hot Lander.
- West Liberty: If you took away Virginia Union, this team is 27-3, but the Panthers handed the Hilltoppers their first and last loss of the season. This team grew as the season progressed and now look ready for another run to the tournament in 2026-27.
NCAA.com honors
Player of the year: Pace Prosser, Gannon. Nova Southeastern’s Dallas Graziani is very deserving, driving the engine of DII’s most explosive offense for four years running. Tyree Campbell of Cal State East Bay was also worthy, being the star of DII’s biggest turnaround in 2026. However, after watching the tournament, Prosser was the man that led the all-out charge for Gannon’s first national championship. Prosser was at his best in some of the Golden Knights biggest games of the season and became a stronger shooter as the season went on. His biggest game of the season was the national championship when he went for 28 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Great players play great when the lights shine brightest, and Prosser did that time and time again during a three-loss, national championship season.
NCAA.com All-DII First Team: Tyree Campbell, Cal State East Bay; Dallas Graziani, Nova Southeastern; Lazerek Houston, Central Missouri; Pace Prosser, Gannon; Jaquay Randolph, Southern Wesleyan.
NCAA.com All-DII Second Team: Carl Cleveland, Young Harris; Dallis Dillard, Indiana (PA); Cam Lowe, Black Hills State; Amondo Miller Jr., Lubbock Christian; Zach Philipkoski, Daemen
Coaches of the year: Bryan Rooney, Cal State East Bay and Omar Wattad, Lander. Easton Bazzoli of Gannon of course deserves a nod, but he has established a program of excellence. Rooney took a team that was 11-17 just one year ago to a 33-1 record, their first-ever CCAA championship, their first-ever West Region championship and a spot in the DII Men’s Elite Eight. Wattad helped Lander return to the DII Men’s Elite Eight for the first time since the 1990s and then pulled off two tremendous upsets. The Bearcats went from 15-14 to a 30-win team seemingly overnight.
