RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – The Ouachita men's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the Great American Conference preseason poll, as chosen by the head coaches in the league.
Following a second consecutive 20-win season, Coach
Dennis Nutt has the Tigers poised for another successful season, as he enters his 16th season at the helm of the Ouachita men's basketball program.
Last season saw the Tigers finish second in the GAC regular season with a 23-7 overall record and 18-4 record in league play. Ouachita narrowly missed the conference championship game, after falling in a three-point overtime loss in the semifinals.
Ouachita returns junior guard
Crew Flowers, one of three players who averaged double-digit scoring last season. The Fort Worth, Texas native was second on the team in points per game (11.0) and added 32 assists and 44 steals.
In the backcourt, the Tigers return their two leading rebounders from the 2025-26 season in
Jaxon Conley and
Christian Parks who recorded 5.6 rebounds per game and 6.8 rebounds per game, respectively.
Another key returner is
Hobert Grayson who is back at Ouachita after a one-year stint at Ole Miss. In 2024-25, Grayson was named GAC Player of the Year, GAC Defensive Player of the Year, and GAC Newcomer of the Year, the first player in conference history to earn three superlative awards in the same season. The Gonzales, Louisiana native finished that season averaging a double-double at 21.8 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Ouachita opens the 2026-27 campaign at the GAC-NSIC Challenge in Little Rock. The Tigers will face Wayne State on Friday, November 13 at 3 p.m., followed by a matchup with Augustana on Saturday, November 14 at 3 p.m.
| Rank |
Team |
Total Points
(1st place votes) |
| 1 |
Ouachita Baptist |
115 (7) |
| 2 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
110 (5) |
| 3 |
Harding |
101 |
| 4 |
Southern Nazarene |
86 |
| 5 |
Henderson State |
78 |
| 6 |
East Central |
73 |
| 7 |
Southeastern Oklahoma State |
59 |
| 8 |
Arkansas Tech |
46 |
| 9 |
Southwestern Oklahoma State |
45 |
| 10 |
Southern Arkansas |
45 |
| 11 |
Northwestern Oklahoma State |
19 |
| 12 |
Arkansas-Monticello |
13 |
