Belhaven was picked first in the Collegiate Conference of the South men’s basketball preseason coaches poll, the league announced Tuesday. The defending tournament champions earned 25 points and all five first-place votes submitted by the conference’s six head coaches.
LaGrange placed second with 18 points, followed by Asbury with 17 and the remaining first-place vote. Covenant had 13 points, Huntingdon 11 and Piedmont six.
Belhaven finished 13-12 overall and 7-5 in conference play last season, then won three games to claim its first CCS Tournament title and earn its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The No. 3-seeded Blazers beat Covenant 113-77 in the quarterfinals and second-seeded Huntingdon 85-73 in the semifinals. They defeated LaGrange 92-73 in the championship game before losing 69-63 in overtime to nationally ranked St. Thomas (Texas) in the NCAA opening round. Belhaven finished the season 16-13.
The Blazers averaged a program-record 88.2 points per game. They recorded 512 assists and 315 steals, both second-highest single-season totals in program history, and tied the program mark with 159 blocked shots.
Eight players return, including seven who accounted for 50.2% of the team’s scoring. Seniors CJ Minton and Dan Robinson, both All-CCS first-team selections, lead the returning group. Minton averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and made a team-high 61 3-pointers while shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc. He averaged 21.3 points over Belhaven’s three tournament wins and was named tournament MVP.
Robinson led the Blazers with 410 points, 119 assists and 59 steals. In 28 appearances, he averaged 14.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals. He had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the championship game.
Senior guard DJ Jones returns after averaging 9.3 points and 3.2 rebounds in 29 games, including 15 starts. Senior Kam Beverly averaged 6.1 points and 3.5 rebounds and recorded 22 blocks. Christian McGahan, Jaylen Sanford, Ryan Tillman and Kade West also return; Sanford missed last season after a preseason injury.
Belhaven’s 2026-27 schedule lists Centenary as its opening opponent Friday at Rugg Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
