KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Southern men's and women's basketball attended the 2025 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Basketball Media Day Monday at The College Basketball Experience in downtown Kansas City.
 
The event was sponsored by Seigfreid Bingham and Brenda VanLengen served as the media day emcee. All 28 MIAA head coaches gathered at the College Basketball Experience to speak on the upcoming season and take questions from media members in attendance.
 
The MIAA Basketball Media Day was streamed live, for free on The MIAA Network.
 
Head coaches Sam McMahon and Ronnie Ressel addressed the media at 1 p.m., CT. Women's basketball players Grace Frazier and Nariah Clay also represented the Lions in Kansas City.
 
McMahon is in his fourth season (41-46 career record) at MSSU. He returns a pair of starters from the 2024-25 squad.
 
Ressel is in his 10th season at the helm of the Lions program. MSSU went 19-14 last season and returns just one starter from that team.
 
The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association also announced Monday its 2025-26 men's and women's basketball coaches and media polls.
 
Washburn, the league's defending men's regular season champion, was picked as the favorite to take home this season's hardware by MIAA head coaches and media representatives.
 
The Ichabods were the unanimous favorite among MIAA head coaches, totaling 169 points and 13 first-place votes. They totaled 346 points and 23 first-place selections from media members who cover MIAA basketball. 
 
On the women's side, the Tigers of Fort Hays State led the coaches poll while the Pittsburg State Gorillas finished as the top team in the media poll.
 
It was a close battle for the No. 1 spot in the 2025-26 coaches preseason poll with the top three teams finishing just four points from one another, while both the MIAA coaches and media members who cover MIAA teams selected the same five teams to house in their top five.
 
2025-26 MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
1. Washburn [13] – 169 points
2. Rogers State [1] – 141 points
3. Central Oklahoma – 137 points
4. Fort Hays State – 134 points
5. Pittsburg State – 127 points
6. Nebraska Kearney – 106 points
7. Central Missouri – 102 points
8. Missouri Western – 79 points
9. Northeastern State – 62 points
10. Emporia State – 59 points
11. Newman – 52 points
12. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 41 points
13. Missouri Southern – 35 points
14. Northwest Missouri – 30 points
[#] - First Place Votes
 
2025-26 MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA POLL
1. Washburn [23] – 346 points
2. Fort Hays State [1] – 297 points
3. Rogers State [1] – 286 points
4. Pittsburg State – 280 points
5. Central Oklahoma – 229 points
6. Nebraska Kearney – 211 points
7. Central Missouri – 186 points
8. Missouri Western – 169 points
9. Emporia State – 159 points
10. Northeastern State – 132 points
11. Northwest Missouri – 108 points
12. Newman – 93 points
13. Missouri Southern – 69 points
14. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 59 points
[#] - First Place Votes
 
2025-26 MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
1. Fort Hays State [2] – 152 points
2. Washburn [6] – 148 points
3. Pittsburg State [5] – 144 points
4. Central Missouri [1] – 138 points
5. Nebraska Kearney – 135 points
6. Missouri Western – 99 points
7. Missouri Southern – 95 points
8. Northwest Missouri – 78 points
9. Northeastern State – 76 points
10. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 73 points
11. Emporia State – 48 points
12. Central Oklahoma – 44 points
13. Rogers State – 28 points
14. Newman – 16 points
[#] - First Place Votes
 
2025-26 MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEDIA POLL
1. Pittsburg State [13] – 326 points
2. Fort Hays State [5] – 299 points
3. Washburn [3] – 276 points
4. Central Missouri [4] – 271 points
5. Nebraska Kearney – 268 points
6. Missouri Western – 227 points
7. Northwest Missouri – 187 points
8. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 185 points
9. Missouri Southern – 176 points
10. Emporia State – 127 points
11. Northeastern State – 111 points
12. Central Oklahoma – 92 points
13. Rogers State – 49 points
14. Newman – 31 points
[#] - First Place Votes
 
 
The 2025-26 NCAA Division II basketball season will officially tip off on Friday, October 31, with MIAA teams competing in D2CCA Tip-Off Classics.
 
The 2026 MIAA Basketball Championships will return to the historic Municipal March 4-8 in downtown Kansas City.