HENNIKER, N.H. - The New England College men's basketball team was voted to finish 13th in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) preseason poll conducted by the league's 13 head coaches. 

Atop the poll were the defending GNAC champions, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, who received 12 of the 13 first-place votes and 168 total points. They were followed by the University of Saint Joseph in second with 149 points and Albertus Magnus in third with 143 points and the final first-place vote. 

The remainder of the projected playoff pool consists of Lasell in fourth, Norwich in fifth, Rivier in sixth, Mitchell in seventh, and Regis at the eighth spot. Emmanuel, Dean, Elms, Colby-Sawyer, and NEC round out nine through 13.  

The 'Grims kick off the 2025-26 season on Friday, November 7th, as they welcome the Panthers of Plymouth State University to town for a 7:00 PM season-opening matchup. The Pilgrims will look to jump up the GNAC standings this season, and they will begin conference play on Monday, January 5th against Dean College.  

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