ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - Cal State San Bernardino has been selected as the favorite in a tightly contested 2026-27 CCAA Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Pollo Campero.
 
Cal State San Bernardino collected 178 points and six first-place votes to edge Cal Poly Humboldt by just two points for the top spot. The Lumberjacks received two first-place votes and 176 points. Defending CCAA regular-season and tournament champion Cal State East Bay earned four first-place votes and 167 points to place third.
 ​​
Cal State Dominguez Hills received the remaining two first-place votes and finished fourth with 163 points. Just 15 points separated the top four teams in the voting, with each receiving multiple first-place votes.
 
Cal Poly Pomona was selected fifth with 129 points, followed by Cal State LA (116), Cal State San Marcos (101) and Cal State Monterey Bay (99). Chico State and Stanislaus State tied for ninth with 77 points apiece.
 
UC Merced was picked 11th with 58 points. New CCAA member Fresno Pacific followed with 49 points, while San Francisco State (46) and Menlo College (33) completed the 14-team poll.
 
Cal State San Bernardino enters 2026-27 looking to move back toward the top of the conference after finishing 11-11 in CCAA play and 14-15 overall last season. The Coyotes finished just outside the six-team CCAA Tournament field, but closed the regular season by winning five of their final eight contests, including victories over Cal Poly Humboldt and Chico State. CSUSB has been one of the conference's most successful postseason programs in recent years, winning the 2023 CCAA Tournament Championship and reaching the NCAA national semifinals in back-to-back seasons (2023 & 2024).
 
The 2026-27 CCAA men's basketball season gets underway Friday, Oct. 30, when Cal State San Bernardino faces Western Washington at the Central Washington D2 Tip-Off Classic. Conference play begins Thursday, Dec. 3. The CCAA Men's Basketball Tournament will expand to seven teams when it returns to Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino on March 3-6.