2026-27 Southern Conference Top 10 Players: MMH's Preseason Picks
2026-10-22
These are Mid-Major Hoops' projected top ten players for 2026–27, preserving the existing editorial order. This is a forecast of impact, not a ranking of last season’s scoring averages. Transfers, different competition levels and injury comebacks make that distinction essential. Every statistical line below is an actual 2025–26 line at the named school; N/A is used when no applicable or verified value exists.
1. Rickey Bradley Jr., VMI
Projected role: G; returning primary creator, injury comeback. Path: VMI returner.
2025–26 actuals — VMI, NCAA D-I: 0 GP, N/A MPG, N/A PPG, N/A RPG, N/A APG.
Bradley leads the preserved MMH ordering as a comeback bet. VMI confirms that injury cost him the entire 2025–26 season, so there is no last-season scoring line to support this spot. His projected role is to return as a primary creator alongside TJ Johnson. Health and the restoration of that role will decide whether the ranking holds.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
2. TJ Johnson, VMI
Projected role: W/F; featured scorer and rebounder. Path: VMI returner.
2025–26 actuals — VMI, NCAA D-I: 31 GP, 35.6 MPG, 18.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.4 APG.
Johnson supplies the clearest recent production near the top of the list: 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds across 31 games. His 35.6 minutes per game also show how heavily VMI leaned on him. Bradley’s return could change the distribution of shots, but Johnson remains the most established scoring and rebounding reference in the projected lineup.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
3. Charles Johnston, Furman
Projected role: C; rebounding and interior hub. Path: Cal State Monterey Bay → Furman.
2025–26 actuals — Furman, NCAA D-I: 35 GP, 28.2 MPG, 9.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.7 APG.
Johnston’s 9.0 rebounds per game give Furman a foundation inside. He also averaged 9.8 points and 1.7 assists in 35 appearances. MMH projects him as an interior hub beside Marcus Kell, with his continued eligibility an explicit condition of the forecast. His value to the favorite is broader than a points-only comparison captures.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
4. Marcus Kell, Furman
Projected role: F; primary scoring forward. Path: Western Carolina → Furman.
2025–26 actuals — Western Carolina, NCAA D-I: 31 GP, 29.3 MPG, 13.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.9 APG.
Kell changes sides within the conference after averaging 13.6 points at Western Carolina. He gives Furman a scoring forward to pair with Johnston’s rebounding. The 31-game season provides a substantial league-level sample, and the projected partnership is a central reason MMH keeps the Paladins first.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
5. Cam Lowe, Wofford
Projected role: W; featured scoring addition. Path: Colorado State → Black Hills State → Wofford.
2025–26 actuals — Black Hills State, NCAA D-II: 35 GP, 32.2 MPG, 17.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.7 APG.
Lowe arrives at Wofford after a 17.0-point, 6.4-rebound season at Black Hills State. Those are Division II actuals. The ranking projects that his scoring translates into a featured role alongside Chace Watley; it does not assume the same average carries directly into the SoCon. His arrival is one of the biggest personnel variables behind Wofford’s third-place MMH pick.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
6. Cooper Noard, Samford
Projected role: G; featured scorer. Path: Cornell → Samford.
2025–26 actuals — Cornell, NCAA D-I: 28 GP, 27.5 MPG, 18.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.0 APG.
Noard brings an 18.2-point Cornell season to Samford. His production makes him a natural featured scorer in a rotation with several ball-handling options. The question is how that offense fits around him and what the frontcourt can supply. As with Johnston, continued eligibility is a condition of the projection.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
7. Chace Watley, Wofford
Projected role: G; returning perimeter scorer. Path: Wofford returner; no prior college.
2025–26 actuals — Wofford, NCAA D-I: 32 GP, 24.8 MPG, 9.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.3 APG.
Watley averaged 9.7 points in 24.8 minutes as a Wofford freshman. He now projects as an important returning scoring option alongside incoming players Lowe and Jacob Daniels. The ranking anticipates growth; it should not be read as a claim that Watley already matched the higher scoring averages elsewhere on this list.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
8. BJ Ward, ETSU
Projected role: PG; lead ball handler. Path: Southeast Missouri State → ETSU.
2025–26 actuals — Southeast Missouri State, NCAA D-I: 33 GP, 30.2 MPG, 10.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 3.7 APG.
Ward averaged 10.9 points and 3.7 assists at Southeast Missouri State before joining ETSU. His lead-guard role can give the other additions a clearer structure. ETSU’s second-place MMH forecast depends in part on turning that experience into a coherent attack while its frontcourt settles.
HS recruiting: No. 7 Missouri, class of 2023 — Prep Hoops, reported at 2022 commitment. Sources and verification note.
9. Brady Shoulders, Mercer
Projected role: G/W; rebounding and secondary creation. Path: Lyon County HS (KY); Mercer returner.
2025–26 actuals — Mercer, NCAA D-I: 29 GP, 30.7 MPG, 9.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.9 APG.
Shoulders’ 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists accompany his 9.3 points, making him an important connecting player in Mercer’s projected rotation. He played 30.7 minutes per game in 29 appearances. New scoring around him could make that rebounding and secondary creation especially useful.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
10. Tate Darner, Chattanooga
Projected role: G/W; returning scoring hub. Path: Santa Fe HS (FL); Chattanooga returner.
2025–26 actuals — Chattanooga, NCAA D-I: 30 GP, 27.5 MPG, 9.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.7 APG.
Darner averaged 9.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in thirty games. Chattanooga’s incoming guards and forwards will change the lineup around him, but he provides a returning offensive reference. MMH’s ranking projects a larger impact from that base rather than treating newcomers’ lower-division totals as certain translations.
HS recruiting: N/A. Sources and verification note.
All eleven team rotations and the complete 110-player audit accompany this article. Recruiting N/A indicates an unavailable verified public rating, not an assertion that the player was unranked. Court-related eligibility context: Mid-Major Madness.