The Sun Belt Conference had a four-way tie at the top at the end of the regular season last year. Arkansas State, James Madison, South Alabama, and Troy tied for first place when conference play concluded. Ties at the top of conferences happen often, but it’s rare that we see a four-way tie. If anything, it speaks to the parity and unpredictability of the SBC. However, we’ve found one team that should stand alone by the end of the 2025-26 campaign.
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2025-26 Sun Belt Conference Basketball Champion Best Bet
Troy to win the Sun Belt Conference
Troy only returns one starter from last year’s team that won a share of the regular season championship. The good news is that it’s forward Thomas Dowd. Dowd averaged 9.5 points and 6.9 rebounds in 34 starts last year as a sophomore. He could emerge as a Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year candidate.
The only transfer portal addition in the Troy starting lineup is JUCO transfer Cobi Campbell. Coming in from North Idaho, Campbell should start at shooting guard for the Trojans. Campbell played at the JUCO level in 2023-24, but redshirted last year due to injury. Cobi Campbell was originally recruited to Troy in 2023.
The rest of the starting lineup at Troy? It’s all internal guys that have been in the program for several seasons. Sophomore Cooper Campbell will start at point guard next to his brother, Cobi. Cooper can distribute and hit from deep range. He shot 35.6% from beyond the arc in limited minutes last year.
Redshirt sophomore Kerrington Kiel will start at small forward for the Trojans. Kiel played limited minutes last year, but did post a double-double in conference play against ULM.
Victor Valdes will join Dowd in the post. Valdes averaged 16.8 minutes per game as a sophomore last year. Valdes adds muscle to the starting lineup and was a capable shooter from deep range last year.
Corbin Green transferred from Texas Tech to Troy this past offseason. Green is in his senior season, but rarely saw the floor for the Red Raiders. He did see action in the two previous seasons for Air Force. He figures to be one of the first options off the bench for Troy this season.
Forwards Theo Seng and Jerrell Bellamy should see expanded roles this season. Both played bench roles for Troy last year.
Rounding out the bench is a pair of freshmen. Javen Colbert and Emmanuel Clarton could all see action in the Trojans’ rotation this year. Colbert profiles as a scoring combo guard, but needs to add weight. Clarton could see time at the three or four.
Troy head coach Scott Cross has built a solid program that relies on player development. While some of these players may seem like they need experience, almost everyone has been in the program for multiple seasons and knows their role. Cross has won at least 20 games in each of the last four seasons. The 2025-26 season may see Troy take its lumps in the non-conference schedule, but this is a solid group that should be ready to compete in the Sun Belt when conference play starts. Lock up the Trojans to get back to the top of the conference this year.
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