CAA Preview: 2026-27 College Basketball Predictions & Best Bets Recap
Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) and Troy Chewning (@Troychewning) break down the CAA college basketball preview for 2026-27, going one through 13 with UNC Wilmington on top. It ends with both of them taking John Groce and Charleston to win the conference tournament.
Speedy Claxton’s Breakthrough And A Loaded Coaches League
Hofstra is the story coming in. Speedy Claxton had won regular season titles before. Last year was the breakthrough, with Hofstra beating King Rice and Monmouth for the conference championship. Troy Chewning credits the guys Claxton brought in from Loyola Chicago. He also notes Hofstra carries more preseason hype after getting through the tournament. Wilmington had another special year under Takayo Siddle, and Towson and Stony Brook both landed at 9-9. Then came the basement, home to North Carolina A&T and Northeastern. That last one stings for Ryan McIntyre, because the Huskies are his guys. So the CAA comes into 2026-27 with a defending champ at Hofstra and a regular season power in Wilmington that won it going away.
This is a coaches league, and the guys spend real time on it. Bill Coen has been at Northeastern forever, even if he isn’t really built for the portal. King Rice is in his 16th year at Monmouth, and his teams always play hard. Pat Skerry has made Towson probably the best program in Maryland over the last five or six years. Zach Spiker, a Morgantown native, is somehow already in year 11 at Drexel. Brian Earl also has William & Mary playing like a top half team. Then come the new hires. Jimmy Williams jumps from Anderson to Campbell, and John Groce leaves Akron for Charleston. That Groce move gets the loudest reaction, because Akron was making the tournament on the regular.
Stock Up On Hampton, Stock Down On Campbell
Troy Chewning goes with Hampton as his stock up team, and the case is all about the portal. Ivan Thomas, an Ed Cooley guy heading into year three, finished 7-11 last year. But the reinforcements are real. Seth Hubbard comes over from Milwaukee and Jamie Mitchell arrives from Jackson State. Max Frazier joins from Central Connecticut, and there’s also a nearly 10-point-per-game scorer coming in from Bryant. Ryan McIntyre likes that one a lot. His own stock up is Towson. Last year’s 9-9 was Skerry’s worst CAA finish. The year before, Towson won the regular season at 16-2. He also adds Northeastern on a bounce back, and he promises the Huskies will not finish in the basement.
Chewning buys the Towson call, since proud programs tend to boomerang back. He’s less sold on Northeastern, but he figures you ride with your boy. Stock down took longer. William & Mary got a look because Brian Earl brings back almost nothing, though the transfers are pretty good. So the guys settle on Campbell. Nobody loves hating on a new coach. But Jimmy Williams is bringing five or six of his Division II players from Anderson into this league. That’s a big step up. It also makes Campbell a fun test case, because plenty of D2 players who scored over 20 a game are trying to transfer up. This season shows how a whole roster of them holds up.
The CAA College Basketball Preview Rankings, One To 13
Both hosts put UNC Wilmington first, and it isn’t close in their eyes. The Seahawks won the league at 15-3 last year, with Charleston right behind at 14-4. Troy Chewning points to an older Stony Brook transfer in Luster and a Nelson kid with Navy in his past. Ryan McIntyre says Wilmington brings back enough continuity and keeps adding high major dudes. So Takayo Siddle is the pick to repeat. Charleston sits second on both boards, because Groce’s floor is extremely high. Chewning even thought about Charleston for first. But a first-year coach still has to learn the layout. And the bar should come down a bit, with 14-4 or even 13-5 good enough to win it this time.
Three through 10 is where it gets messy. McIntyre thinks that whole group could be separated by about two games. Chewning reaches for Monmouth at three, because King Rice landed Jakai Sanders. He also likes Lorion Walker from A&T and Ashton Walker from La Salle. That bumps Hofstra to four on his board, with Towson fifth. McIntyre starts with Hofstra third and Towson fourth. Later he revises and slides Towson up to third over Hofstra. He then pushes Hampton into the top five, calling it an older team that did good work in the portal. The middle stays tight after that. Chewning runs William & Mary sixth and Hampton seventh. McIntyre goes Monmouth sixth and William & Mary seventh.
The bottom half has real disagreement. Chewning puts Drexel eighth, and he needs Ladrixus Pitman scoring from the D2 ranks to keep Spiker in the middle tier. Stony Brook goes ninth for him, a step-by-step build for the Seawolves. McIntyre flips those two. He takes Geno Ford’s Stony Brook eighth and Drexel ninth, both around .500. Elon is the consensus at 10, with Randall Pettus and Bryson Coakley back. Then it splits again. Chewning likes A&T at 11 behind Delaware State’s Ponce James and a Lancaster kid from Alcorn. He has Northeastern 12th with Lohr back and Campbell last. McIntyre goes Northeastern 11th and Campbell 12th, then calls A&T the worst team in the league at 13.
Charleston To Cut Down The Nets
The guys agree on the tournament, and it’s Charleston. Troy Chewning calls Groce a perfect fit at a program that knows how to win conference tournaments and get bids. How fast it gels in year one is the question mark. So is Tavari Johnson. If Groce gets him eligible, it really helps Charleston’s case. Ryan McIntyre wanted to pick Towson badly. But he knows Skerry’s teams always break his heart in March. So he lands on Charleston too, because he’s watched Groce win a pile of conference tournaments. That includes last season in person, when Groce won one with Akron. Two votes for the same team in a league this bunched up says plenty. Charleston is the play.
Player of the year hinges on one question. If Tavari Johnson is eligible, Chewning says he wins it. McIntyre adds that Charleston might take the regular season too in that case. Without him, the race opens up. Luster or another UNC Wilmington piece is the fallback, and Charleston still has options under Groce. Justin Moore also gets a mention as the Philadelphia kid playing guard for Hofstra. Coach of the year is murkier. Chewning floats King Rice if Monmouth gets to third, then leans Siddle because Wilmington is good enough. McIntyre rides Pat Skerry and the Towson bounce back. He doesn’t see Groce winning it unless Charleston takes the regular season. Those budgets mean Charleston and Wilmington are expected to win.
What’s Next On The Hoops Calendar
The College Basketball Experience keeps rolling through the conference previews. Monday covers the Missouri Valley, the MAC and the West Coast Conference. Tuesday is the first quadruple header, with the American, Mountain West, A10 and Pac-12. The ACC follows on Wednesday. The next Monday brings the Big East and Big Ten, and that Tuesday is the SEC and Big 12. Then, on the Wednesday before the season, the crew does Final Four and futures bets. Colby Dant (@thecolbyd) and Ryan McIntyre will also be boots on the ground in Rock Hill on Sunday night, November 1. And for everyone asking, Noah Bieniek (@NoahB77_) did not get fired. He’s dealing with some things and should be back next week, or the week after. Twenty down, 12 to go.
Podcast Chapters
00:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
00:49 Welcome to the CAA Conference Preview
02:02 Breakthrough Year for Speedy Claxton
04:09 Coaches: King Rice, Pat Skerry & John Groce
09:07 Stock Up and Stock Down
12:01 Who Wins the Regular Season, One to 13
21:28 Tournament, Player and Coach of the Year
25:01 Upcoming Schedule
27:55 Sign-Off & Socials
