McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University men's basketball team will begin the 2024-25 season ranked 16th in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25, as announced on October 23. The team received 233 points and is the only representative from the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin to make it into the top-25 rankings.

Leading the poll is Trine with 597 points and 14 first-place votes. UW-Platteville follows closely with nine first-place votes and a total of 589 points, while John Carroll rounds out the top three with 540 points.

Illinois Wesleyan brings back several key players from a successful previous season where they won the CCIW Regular Season Championship and finished with a record of 19-8. Returning players include all-conference athletes Nick Roper, Harrison Wilmsen, and Hakim Williams.

The Titans are set to play two Division I exhibition games starting on Sunday, October 27, at DePaul University. They will officially kick off their season on November 8 by hosting the fifth annual Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational. In this tournament, Illinois Wesleyan will face No. 24 California Lutheran at 5 p.m., followed by a match between No. 2 UW-Platteville and ninth-ranked Calvin.

The initial regular season poll for D3hoops.com will be published on November 25.

The complete list of rankings features teams such as Washington U., Christopher Newport, Trinity (Conn.), Randolph-Macon, Emory, Calvin, Keene State, Trinity (Texas), St. John's, Tufts, Nebraska Wesleyan, Wisconsin Lutheran, Guilford, Carnegie Mellon, Mount Union, Maryville (Tenn.), Hope, New York University, Hampden-Sydney, Cal Lutheran and Williams.

D3hoops.com compiles its Top-25 through votes from a panel consisting of coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members nationwide. Points are distributed based on a descending scale from 25 to one point.