2026-27 MAC Top 10 Players: Skaljac Leads a Deep Race

2026-10-14

The MAC's best-player debate reaches beyond a returning scoring list. This ranking weighs expected role, proven production, team context and availability. It is an MMH preseason assessment, rather than the official coaches' all-conference ballot.

Our first choice is Luke Skaljac, but the separation at the top is modest. Jackson Paveletzke's return, Evan Mahaffey's versatility and Kamrin Oriol's arrival give the race several credible directions. Current official rosters control player inclusion where they differ from Blue Ribbon.

1. Luke Skaljac — Miami (Ohio)

Historical production: 2025-26: 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.

Skaljac is our first choice because his expected role connects individual growth to the strongest team forecast. He can create advantages without making every possession about his own shot. Ipsaro's return should allow him to work both on and off the ball, while Miami's shooting gives his passing a productive destination.

What to watch: Increasing his scoring responsibility while preserving the decision-making that makes the offense work.

2. Jackson Paveletzke — Ohio

Historical production: 2025-26: 17.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

Ohio's current roster lists Paveletzke as a fifth-year player, making this a different forecast from the yearbook's initial roster picture. His established creation gives Boals a dependable organizer alongside Simmons. With more scoring around him, he can remain the lead guard without having to solve every difficult possession alone.

What to watch: How well the new guards share the offense and how much the improved depth helps the defense.

3. Evan Mahaffey — Akron

Historical production: 2025-26: 10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

Mahaffey's value stretches beyond his scoring average. Akron can use him as a handler, a forward or an interior connector, and that flexibility becomes more useful around Staveskie and Oriol. He is a strong award candidate if the Zips build a championship-level team around several new pieces.

What to watch: Turning his versatility into a consistent team identity under Dustin Ford.

4. Kamrin Oriol — Akron

Historical production: 2025-26 at North Florida: 20.9 points and 4.2 assists per game; 40.2% from three.

Oriol is a material addition to the current Akron roster and belongs in a league-wide player discussion. His prior production shows both scoring volume and perimeter accuracy. Playing alongside Staveskie and Mahaffey should create a different shot distribution, so this ranking values the skills he brings rather than assuming the same scoring average.

What to watch: How efficiently he scores while sharing creation with Akron's other veterans.

5. Chansey Willis Jr. — Kent State

Historical production: 2025-26 at Minnesota: 6.3 points and 3.3 assists per game in an injury-shortened season.

Willis has already demonstrated his ability to lead a MAC offense: he averaged 16.8 points and 5.8 assists at Western Michigan in 2024-25. His return to the league gives Kent State a creator with a familiar level of competition. Henry's ballhandling can help distribute that responsibility.

What to watch: Sustained availability after his foot injury and the fit with a largely new starting group.

6. Javan Simmons — Ohio

Historical production: 2025-26: 15.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game; 53.6% from the field.

Simmons gives Ohio a proven source of interior offense. He does not need to become a perimeter-first player for the roster to work; guards who create and forwards who space the floor can keep his strengths central. Paveletzke's return also preserves a familiar relationship between the lead guard and the post.

What to watch: Maintaining efficient interior scoring while contributing to better defensive possessions.

7. J.J. Starling — Buffalo

Historical production: Syracuse career: 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game across 88 appearances.

Buffalo announced Starling's signing in September, after the roster discussed in Blue Ribbon. He brings a long record of ACC experience to a league in which his ability to create can matter immediately. The Bulls have other ballhandlers, which gives them a way to use him as a scorer without making him their only source of offense. The figures above are career averages, not 2025-26 averages.

What to watch: Perimeter efficiency and how he settles into a new guard hierarchy.

8. Mohammad Habhab — Eastern Michigan

Historical production: 2025-26: 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

Habhab gives Eastern Michigan a productive big who can pass as well as finish. Donlon's deeper roster should allow him to play with more support and different frontcourt partners. The impact case is strong if that depth helps the Eagles turn his individual production into more consistent results.

What to watch: His defensive role and how the offense functions with multiple skilled bigs.

9. Tahj Staveskie — Akron

Historical production: 2025-26 at Incarnate Word: 17.3 points and 4.1 assists per game; 37.3% from three.

Staveskie brings experienced creation and perimeter scoring to Ford's first team. Oriol's addition changes the workload, but it can also help Staveskie avoid carrying a new offense by himself. He has a credible path to all-conference impact as the guard who directs Akron's other pieces.

What to watch: Balancing his own scoring with the work of getting a deep lineup good shots.

10. Angel Montas Jr. — Toledo

Historical production: 2025-26 at UMass Lowell: 15.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game; 50.9% from the field.

Montas offers productive Division I scoring and the flexibility to play around several different Toledo lineups. The Rockets can use him with a larger frontcourt or ask him to operate as a smaller forward. That versatility is valuable on a roster whose guard and wing availability carries uncertainty.

What to watch: Finding the position and defensive matchup that make his scoring most useful.

Just outside the top 10

Sean Jones has all-league upside for Toledo, with recent availability keeping him outside this initial ten. Almar Atlason and Evan Ipsaro can be major offensive pieces for Miami. Danny Carbuccia's playmaking is central to UMass, while Austin Parks gives Toledo a returning post anchor. Christian Henry, Josiah Shackelford and Rob Lee Jr. also merit close attention.

Dhani Miller is a freshman to watch at Kent State. We have not assigned him an established college production level before he plays a game. Justin Kirby is a returning breakout candidate at Miami, and Phat Phat Brooks remains essential to Central Michigan's improvement.

Sources and methodology

Research cutoff: October 14, 2026. Blue Ribbon 2026-27, printed pages 257-270, supplies the primary preseason background. Current official rosters and biographies update eligibility labels and roster membership. Statistics are historical and retain their source season; an injury-limited sample is identified where material. No minute, scoring or award outcome is guaranteed by this ranking.

Additional primary references: Paveletzke's Ohio biography, Oriol's Akron biography, Starling's Buffalo signing, and Kent State's current roster.

Read the MAC conference preview and why Buffalo is MMH's sleeper.