2026-27 UAC Top 10 Players: Rashaud Marshall Leads the List
2026-10-27
These are Mid-Major Hoops' ten best projected UAC players entering 2026–27. The ranking weighs actual 2025–26 performance, expected responsibility and roster fit. It is an editorial impact forecast, not an official all-conference team or a ranking of recruiting reputations.
1. Rashaud Marshall — Austin Peay
6-8 C · Sr. · Returning
2025–26 Austin Peay: 31 GP; 29.3 MPG; 16.3 PPG; 6.8 RPG; 1.2 APG.
Marshall is MMH's preseason No. 1 because his 16.3 points and 6.8 rebounds already came in a central role at Austin Peay. He supplies a frontcourt scoring foundation that does not require the Governors to discover their primary source of offense during the season. Playing with returning point guard Zyree Collins also gives that production a familiar organizing structure.
The challenge is sustaining efficiency while opponents concentrate on the two established returners and test the younger supporting cast. Marshall's rebounding must remain part of the package; Austin Peay needs complete possessions as much as points. Blue Ribbon also selects him as its conference player of the year. MMH's ranking reflects his proven production and immediate importance, with the supporting lineup determining how far that individual advantage carries the team.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
2. Ty Robinson — Central Arkansas
6-4 G · R-So. · Returning
2025–26 Central Arkansas: 34 GP; 27.6 MPG; 14.2 PPG; 5.6 RPG; 2.0 APG.
Robinson averaged 14.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 34 games, making him the leading individual reason to trust Central Arkansas's returning core. His rebounding adds value beyond the scoring column, and the existing relationships with Luke Moore and Cole McCormick reduce the uncertainty around his role. He enters the season knowing where his production belongs in the offense.
MMH projects UCA first because those returning pieces should help one another. Robinson can benefit if Tucker Anderson's return adds another credible offensive option, while Moore continues to organize. The next step is making his production consistently decisive against the top of the new league. His combination of full-season evidence, continuity and importance to a contender places him just behind Marshall.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
3. Zyree Collins — Austin Peay
6-0 PG · So. · Returning
2025–26 Austin Peay: 31 GP; 29.4 MPG; 13.5 PPG; 3.1 RPG; 4.3 APG.
Collins averaged 13.5 points and 4.3 assists as a freshman, establishing himself as a central decision-maker well before most players have a settled college role. His partnership with Marshall gives Austin Peay two established ways to pressure a defense. Collins can influence the team by creating his own attempts and by getting the ball to the frontcourt before the defense is fully set.
A young supporting cast makes his judgment especially important. The Governors need him to recognize when to control a possession and when a freshman teammate has earned a chance to attack. His ranking projects a second-year improvement without assuming every part of that development will be linear. Austin Peay's ceiling depends heavily on how efficiently he handles the additional attention.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
4. Jah'Likai King — Little Rock
6-2 G · Sr. · Newcomer
2025–26 UMBC: 32 GP; 32.1 MPG; 14.0 PPG; 3.3 RPG; 1.5 APG.
King averaged 14.0 points in 32.1 minutes across 32 games at UMBC. That is a sustained Division I scoring role and an important point of stability for Little Rock's almost entirely rebuilt roster. He arrives with evidence that he can remain productive while opponents prepare for him as a featured scorer.
The Trojans have other players who need touches, particularly Aaron Clark and several junior-college additions. King's value will increase if he can preserve his scoring threat while fitting into a shared hierarchy. New coach Travis Ford has enough perimeter options to avoid asking one player to solve every possession. King ranks fourth because his recent college evidence is stronger than that of many high-upside newcomers in the league.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
5. Caleb Blackwell — Tarleton State
6-1 PG · 5th · Newcomer
2025–26 UTEP: 28 GP; 30.3 MPG; 10.6 PPG; 2.6 RPG; 2.9 APG.
Blackwell brings 10.6 points and 2.9 assists from UTEP, with 30.3 minutes per game across 28 appearances. Tarleton's new lineup needs a guard who has already managed substantial responsibility, and Blackwell offers the clearest basis for believing the pieces can be organized. His career has included Alabama A&M and South Plains before UTEP; those stops are context, not substitutes for his actual 2025–26 line.
The Texans have several experienced complementary scorers, making Blackwell's choices more important than a large increase in his individual average. If he gets the group into useful possessions and limits the number that end with a forced shot, Tarleton's ceiling rises. He is the central player in MMH's sleeper case because a rebuilt roster is much easier to trust when the lead-guard role has a credible answer.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
6. Aaron Clark — Little Rock
6-5 W · R-Jr. · Newcomer
2025–26 Pepperdine: 32 GP; 32.2 MPG; 15.2 PPG; 3.4 RPG; 2.7 APG.
Clark's 15.2 points and 2.7 assists at Pepperdine give Little Rock a proven Division I scoring addition. His size on the perimeter should let the Trojans use different backcourt combinations without requiring every creator to have the same role. Blue Ribbon identifies him as the UAC newcomer of the year.
The important distinction is between being able to score and helping a new roster produce efficient offense. Clark must fit alongside Jah'Likai King and whichever point guard best organizes the group. A clean hierarchy could allow him to attack more favorable situations than he would as the only threat. The ranking reflects both his existing production and the opportunity to contribute immediately, while recognizing that Little Rock's defensive balance is still unsettled.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
7. Mier Panoam — UT Arlington
6-2 PG · Sr. · Newcomer
2025–26 Xavier: 7 GP; 6.0 MPG; 0.9 PPG; 0.9 RPG; 0.7 APG.
Panoam is the largest projection on this list. His actual 2025–26 Xavier line was seven appearances, 6.0 minutes and 0.9 points per game. Those numbers are not replaced with a more favorable earlier season. The case rests on his earlier college experience, the larger role available at UT Arlington and the need for a reliable organizer among several additions with limited recent minutes.
That uncertainty is part of the ranking. If Panoam handles the transition back to a major role, he can help UTA turn its size and recruiting talent into useful possessions. If he does not, the Mavericks will need another answer at the point. Seventh acknowledges his importance and potential while avoiding the claim that his recent Xavier sample established him as one of the league's most productive players.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
8. Drey Carter — North Alabama
6-9 F · Gr. · Newcomer
2025–26 Fairmont State (NCAA II): 30 GP; 28.5 MPG; 16.8 PPG; 7.6 RPG; 2.9 APG.
Carter averaged 16.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists at Division II Fairmont State. The all-around line matters more than the scoring alone: North Alabama needs a forward who can help move the offense and recover possessions while a new backcourt takes shape. His previous Wright State experience adds context to the transition.
The jump in competition remains real, so the ranking does not project his exact Division II averages into the UAC. It projects a useful role as a frontcourt scorer and secondary decision-maker. Mike Evbagharu's passing and rebounding could make that fit easier. Carter reaches the top ten because he offers several paths to helping the team, even if the scoring translates at a lower volume.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
9. Jalen Lyn — Little Rock
6-4 G · Jr. · Newcomer
2025–26 Southern Idaho (NJCAA/3C2A): 35 GP; 29.6 MPG; 16.5 PPG; 3.7 RPG; 2.1 APG.
Lyn's final College of Southern Idaho report lists 35 appearances, 16.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Those final numbers supersede the smaller sample and higher scoring average retained in an earlier biography and the yearbook. The corrected line still presents a strong case for immediate rotation minutes.
Little Rock does not need Lyn to become its only scorer. It needs him to help sustain pressure when the starting guards sit and to earn a larger role if he is the more effective option. That creates a realistic path to impact even on a crowded perimeter. The uncertainty is the junior-college-to-Division-I transition, particularly whether he can finish and make decisions at the same pace against longer defenders.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
10. Justin McCarter — Eastern Kentucky
6-6 W · R-Jr. · Newcomer
2025–26 Northeast Oklahoma AM (NJCAA/3C2A): 28 GP; N/A MPG; 17.3 PPG; 7.7 RPG; 3.9 APG.
McCarter's final Northeastern Oklahoma A&M totals produce 17.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists across 28 games. The minute totals are incompletely reported, so MPG remains N/A. His combination of scoring, rebounding and passing is the reason for the ranking, not an unreliable minutes figure or a similarly named player's record.
Eastern Kentucky needs creation from its new perimeter group, and McCarter offers a way to distribute that responsibility beyond one point guard. If he translates as a secondary creator and rebounder, the Colonels can get more from their returning forwards and shooters. Tenth is an upside projection with a clear condition: the broad junior-college contribution has to survive against Division I pressure, rather than merely become a high-volume scoring role.
Official player biography · Prior-school season reference
Other players to watch
Noah Bolanga, Luke Moore, Cole McCormick, Tyrese Lacey, Cameron Brown, Ansar Osman and Aleix Sempere could all force their way into the conversation. Lacey's biography and corroborated season databases disagree, so his exact production should not be treated as settled. The league also has several well-regarded first-year players, including Cam Ryans, Bradley Floyd and Trevaun Clark, whose college impact remains a projection.
Research note
The supplied Blue Ribbon yearbook, current official biographies and final prior-school statistics support these evaluations. Numbers are labeled for their actual team and competitive level. The accompanying conference preview contains the complete ten-player rotations, and the individual audit documents source conflicts and N/A fields. No earlier season is substituted for 2025–26.