AUSTIN, Texas — St. Edward's men's basketball is off to its best start since the 2014-15 season, climbing into the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II National Rankings at No. 14.
The Hilltoppers are 9-0 with quality wins over Central Washington and DBU, who were ranked No. 18 and 3 in the NABC Preseason Poll.
St. Edward's is one of four Lone Star Conference teams in the top 25. Lubbock Christian ranks fifth, St. Mary's is No. 13, and West Texas A&M is No. 15. Angelo State is receiving votes.
The Hilltoppers lead the LSC in field-goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 36.9 percent shooting, which ranks 14th nationally. St. Edward's also ranks third in the conference in assists per game (16.7), blocks per game (3.9), defensive rebounds per game (26.78), scoring defense (63.7), and scoring margin (18.8).
Freshman point guard
RYDER BRADLEY has the third-most total assists in the country, and won the LSC's first Offensive Player of the Week award this season.
BLAKE NIELSEN leads the team in scoring at 17.2 points per game, with 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. Andre Cook earned
HoopsDirt.com National Coach of the Week.
NABC Division II Coaches Poll (Nov. 25, 2025 – Pre-Season Poll)
Record Points Previous
1. Nova Southeastern, Fla. (16) 3-0 400 1
2. Washburn, Kan. 6-0 383 2
3. Daemen, N.Y. 6-0 363 4
4. Point Loma, Calif. 4-0 343 7
5. Lubbock Christian, Texas 6-0 292 25
6. Missouri S&T 2-0 281 8
7. Southern Nazarene, Okla. 4-0 254 20
8. Alabama Huntsville 3-1 252 6
9. Gannon, Pa. 3-0 238 22
10. Fairmont State, W.Va. 3-1 215 5
11. North Georgia 4-0 200 NR
12. Michigan Tech 5-1 197 13
13. St. Mary's, Texas 4-0 193 NR
14. St. Edward's, Texas 8-0 163 NR
15. West Texas A&M 5-0 155 NR
16. Assumption, Mass. 4-0 145 NR
17. West Liberty, W.Va. 3-1 142 11
18. Florida Southern 4-1 119 15
19. Oklahoma Baptist 4-0 104 NR
20. Dominican, N.Y. 3-0 84 NR
21. Concordia-St. Paul, Minn. 3-0 82 NR
22. Grand Valley State, Mich. 4-0 80 NR
23. Black Hills State, S.D. 3-1 69 17
24. Miles, Ala. 3-0 55 NR
25. Carson-Newman, Tenn. 3-0 51 NR
