ALLENDALE – The Grand Valley State men's basketball team has been selected to finish first in the GLIAC preseason coaches' poll announced by the league office today. The Lakers led the league with five first place votes.
 
GVSU received 89 points, tying with Lake Superior State at the top who received three first place votes. Michigan Tech was third with 83 points and two vote place votes followed by Ferris State with 68 points and one first place votes. Parkside rounded out the top five with 56 points. 
 
Head coach Cornell Mann enters his fifth season at GVSU. Mann led the Lakers to a 26-7 record in the 2025-26 season and a GLIAC tournament championship for the eighth time in program history. The Lakers defeated Ashland 59-45 in the first round of the NCAA tournament for the first NCAA tournament win since the 2014 season. The 26 wins were tied for fourth for the most wins in a single season in program history. 
 
The Lakers return All-GLIAC defensive team performer Shamus Thompson for his final season in a GVSU uniform. Thompson has earned All-Defensive honors the past two seasons and led GVSU with 6.5 rebounds and 36 blocks last season. Senior Antaune Allen returns after averaging six points and 38% shooting a season ago. Allen scored 16 points in the GLIAC semifinal win over Michigan Tech and 12 points in the GLIAC championship game against Northern Michigan. GVSU also returns Marcus Gray II, Austin Tory, and BJ Walker who will look to contribute this season.
 
GVSU welcomes seven transfers to Allendale this upcoming season. Junior forward Dylan Smith transferred to GVSU after spending two seasons at Davenport. During his two seasons, Smith averaged 10 points and 6.4 rebounds shooting 52% from the field. Smith ranked fifth in the GLIAC last season hauling in 6.8 rebounds per game. The Lakers also welcome junior transfers CJ Mitchell and Rahim Alvarade. Mitchell spent two seasons at Iowa Central Community College where he was a first team All-Region performer as a sophomore…Mitchell holds both the career and single season assist record at Iowa Central CC. Alvarade spent two seasons at Wayne County Community College where he was the MCCAA Co-Player of the Year last season. He averaged over 21 points per game earning All-Region and All-Conference first team honors. GVSU welcomes transfers Ezra Brown (McHenry CC), Parker LePla (Indianapolis), Paris Papadatos (St. Francis), and Gaden Muxlow (Grand Rapids CC) will look to make an impact this season.
 
The Lakers also bring in two true freshmen to the team. Forward Myles Sidney comes to Allendale as the highest ranked recruit in program history. Sidney earned All-Region honors and was ranked at the 18^th best prospect in the state of Virginia in the 2026 class. Guard Marshawn Cocroft joins GVSU after a stellar high school career. Cocroft was a three-time All-State performer and scored over 2,200 points in his career. He led his team to two state finals appearances and was named the conference player of the year twice.
 
2026-27 GLIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

1	Grand Valley State		89 (5)
1	Lake Superior State		89 (3)
3	Michigan Tech		83 (2)
4	Ferris State		68 (1)
5	Parkside		56
6	Northern Michigan		51
7	Purdue Northwest		49
8	Saginaw Valley State		47
9	Wayne State		37
10	Davenport		26
11	Roosevelt		10