ODESSA, Texas (October 19, 2026) – Heading into the 2026-27 University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball season, the Falcons were projected to finish 13th in the Lone Star Conference, receiving 294 total points in the preseason polling of league head coaches, media and sports information directors and announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon (Oct. 19). The Falcons will be looking to prove the rankings wrong and make the postseason for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

UTPB Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Tolin said, "I think our guys have worked really hard to try and move our program forward. I hope they will use this poll as motivation."

UTPB finished its 2025-26 season 10-18 overall and 6-14 in the LSC. The Falcons tied for 13th place in the LSC standings and finished sixth in the LSC in points per game (78.4), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.346), seventh in 3-pointers made per game (7.9), sixth in free throw percentage (.746), third in made free throws (478), fourth in free throw attempts (641), and tied for fourth in rebounds per game (36.4).

UTPB will have to replace its two All-LSC players from last season. Graduate student Tash Lunday was named Third-Team All-LSC while senior Sharrod Taylor was named Honorable Mention.

2026-27 LSC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
DBU is predicted to win its third consecutive Lone Star Conference men's basketball regular season title according to the 2026-27 preseason poll.

DBU totaled 841 points and collected 35 of the possible 51 first-place votes to be the favorite. Head coach Blake Flickner's Patriots went 29-7 overall and 18-2 in league play last season. DBU also won its second straight LSC tournament title and reached the championship game of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional, which it hosted. The Patriots finished ranked No. 15 in the nation.

Eastern New Mexico is picked as the conference runner-up with 751 points and six first-place votes. Head coach Daven Vo's Greyhounds went 26-6 overall and 17-3 in LSC play last season. They tied for second place in the league and reached the LSC tournament title game. ENMU also earned a berth in the regional and finished ranked No. 13 in the country.

Two-time LSC champion Lubbock Christian is predicted to finish in third place with 735 points and two first-place votes. The Chaps went 27-6 overall and 17-3 in league play last season. LCU tied for the conference's runner-up spot, earned a bid to the regional and finished ranked No. 14 in the nation.

St. Edward's is the fourth-place pick with 670 points and one first-place vote. The Hilltoppers, who went 25-9 overall and 13-7 in LSC play in 2025-26, advanced to regional semifinals.

Western New Mexico is the fifth-place selection with 657 points and four first-place votes. The Mustangs, which went 22-8 overall and 15-5 in league play, advanced to the LSC tournament and regional for the first time in program history.

St. Mary's, which advanced to the regional semifinals last year, is picked to finish in sixth place with 615 points. West Texas A&M, which has won 11 LSC championships and five out of the last nine, is selected for a seventh-place finish with 596 points and one first-place vote. Two-time LSC champion Angelo State is eighth with 499 points and one first-place vote. Texas A&M-Kingsville, which is also a two-time LSC champion, collected 439 points to round out what would be the potential nine teams to qualify for the LSC tournament

UT Tyler rounded out the top 10 with 399 points and received the final first-place vote.

Oklahoma Christian is picked 11th with 333 points, followed by UT Dallas (316 points), 2017 LSC champion UT Permian Basin (294 points), nine-time LSC champion Midwestern State (260 points), Texas A&M International (200 points), Cameron (125 points) and Sul Ross State (73 points).

2026-27 LSC Men's Basketball Preseason Player to Watch
Senior guard Tyler Hamilton, a business marketing major from Detroit, Michigan, was named to the LSC Players to Watch list. Hamilton has scored over 1,300 points in his career played for St. Clair County Community College (SC4) and Ferris State University before joining UTPB for the upcoming season. In two seasons at Ferris State, he averaged 11.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He played in 34 games during the 2024-25 season, serving as a key spark off the bench for a Bulldogs' team that reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. However, in 2025-26 he was limited to just seven games. Hamilton started his collegiate path at SC4, averaging 12.9 points per game in his two seasons. He started in 40 of 65 games for the Skippers and averaged 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists per game and 1.3 steals while shooting 44.5 percent. During his second season at SC4 in 2023-24, Hamilton was the Skippers' top player and earned All-MCCAA, First Team All-MCCAA Eastern Conference, MCCAA All-Defensive Team, and JUCO All-Region honors. As the Skippers' go-to guy, Hamilton put together a really impressive season, starting in 34 of 35 games while averaging 17.7 points per game (3rd in the conference), 5.8 assists per game (2nd in the conference), 1.6 steals per game (led the team), and 4.3 rebounds per game, all while shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 39.5 percent from behind the arc, and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Season Opener Draws Near
The LSC men's basketball season begins as early as Oct. 30.

LSC Hoops Week is Oct. 19-23. Watch interviews from all 17 men's basketball teams and the preseason player of the year on the conference's YouTube page.

All 17 LSC men's basketball teams are eligible to win the regular season title and advance to the LSC and NCAA Division II postseason tournaments.

The nine-team LSC men's basketball tournament is scheduled for March 2 on campus and March 5-7 at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. Tickets will go on sale in February.

The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball South Central Regional is scheduled for March 13-14, 16 at a site to be determined. The Elite Eight is set for March 23, 25, 27 at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.

All LSC men's basketball games can be viewed live on FloCollege. Monthly, yearly and family subscriptions are available.

The Falcons will open their 2026-27 season at home vs. the University of the Southwest (N.M.) starting at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, from the Falcon Dome.