Belhaven opens its 2026-27 men’s basketball season Friday against Centenary at Rugg Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. The Blazers enter the season as the Collegiate Conference of the South preseason favorite after winning the league tournament last season.
Belhaven received all five first-place votes and 25 points in the coaches poll, seven points ahead of second-place LaGrange. Asbury placed third with 17 points and the remaining first-place vote, followed by Covenant, Huntingdon and Piedmont.
In coach Boomer Roberts’ first season, the Blazers went 16-13 overall and 7-5 in conference play. As the tournament’s No. 3 seed, they won three games in five days: 113-77 over Covenant, 85-73 over second-seeded Huntingdon and 92-73 against LaGrange in the championship game. The title earned Belhaven its first NCAA Division III Tournament berth. The Blazers lost 69-63 in overtime to nationally ranked St. Thomas (Texas) in the opening round.
Seniors CJ Minton and Dan Robinson lead the returning backcourt. Both earned All-CCS first-team honors last season. Minton was also the conference tournament MVP, while Robinson made the all-tournament team. They combined for 718 points and 184 assists, though Minton played in 19 games.
Minton averaged a team-high 16.2 points per game and made 61 3-pointers, shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc. Robinson led Belhaven with 410 points, 119 assists and 59 steals in 28 appearances, averaging 14.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals.
Belhaven has eight players back from last season, including seven who accounted for 50.2% of the team’s points and 54.1% of its assists. Seniors DJ Jones, Kam Beverly and Christian McGahan are expected to take on larger roles. Redshirt junior Jaylen Sanford also returns after missing the 2025-26 season with a preseason injury.
The Blazers scored a program-record 88.2 points per game last season and recorded 512 assists, the second-highest single-season total in school history. Their 315 steals ranked second in program history, and their 159 blocked shots tied the school record. Belhaven forced an average of 18.9 turnovers per game.
Centenary went 11-16 overall and 8-8 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play last season. The Gents reached the conference tournament semifinals after beating Colorado College 65-53 in the quarterfinals. The teams are tied 2-2 in meetings since 2015, with Belhaven winning the past two. They are scheduled to meet again Dec. 5 in Shreveport, Louisiana.
After Friday’s opener, Belhaven’s schedule lists a Nov. 11 game against Southeastern Baptist in Laurel, Mississippi, followed by home games against Millsaps on Nov. 17 and LeTourneau on Nov. 21. The Blazers are scheduled to begin CCS play Jan. 5 against LaGrange.
