We define a mid-major and eligibility as anyone, not in a top 10 Major Conference. There have been pretty distinct tiers in recent years developed both in money, average finish, and multi-NCAA bids.
Power 6: Big 12, SEC, ACC, Big East, Big 10, Pac 12
Major: AAC, WCC, Atlantic 10, MWC
Mid Major: led by CUSA, MVC, CAA, WAC, MAAC, Big West, Sun Belt, SoCon, Horizon, MAC
I thought it would be fun to think about what the lowest-ranked conference you could realistically build a top-25 team from. We have UAB ranked #31 in the preseason, so you could certainly build a team IMO with their guys and some of the other top players from North Texas and WKU in that league.
Our Top 25
Let’s quickly take a few of the borderline top 25 teams by our rankings and see what where their top players ranked in the ADJeff model nationally of returners.
#23 UConn
| 12 | Adama Sanogo |
| 116 | Tristen Newton |
| 298 | Andre Jackson |
#24 Florida
| 10 | Colin Castleton |
| 130 | Trey Bonham |
| 159 | Will Richard |
| 280 | Kyle Lofton |
#25 Creighton
| 6 | Ryan Kalkbrenner |
| 162 | Baylor Scheierman |
#26 St. Louis
| 17 | Francis Okoro |
| 96 | Javonte Perkins |
| 221 | Fred Thatch Jr. |
| 231 | Yuri Collins |
| 251 | Gibson Jimerson |
#27 Texas A&M
| 29 | Tyrece Radford |
| 74 | Henry Coleman |
#28 Memphis
| 11 | Kendric Davis |
| 41 | Deandre Williams |
| 263 | Keonte Kennedy |
That gives you a sense of what kind of talent level you probably need to have a chance. Some of these teams were ranked lower because of coaching or continuity, but most have some high-end elite talent.
CUSA
Here is where CUSA players came in.
| 61 | Tylor Perry | North Texas |
| 75 | Jordan Walker | UAB |
| 92 | Max Fiedler | Rice |
| 112 | Jamarion Sharp | WKU |
| 157 | Abou Ousmane | North Texas |
| 198 | Ladarius Brewer | UAB |
| 203 | Dayvion McKnight | WKU |
| 236 | KJ Buffen | UAB |
| 253 | Trey Jemison | UAB |
| 260 | Montre’ Gipson | Charlotte |
| 283 | Tavin Lovan | UAB |
| 297 | Eric Gaines | UAB |
A Tylor Perry, Jordan Walker backcourt, with Jamarion Sharp behind them on defense would be a Top 25 team in my estimation with all that other incredible depth and the coaching of Grant McCasland. Eric Gaines was a 27-minute-a-game player on a top-25 LSU team last year so when you can bring a guy like that off the bench you probably got a top-25 team. The depth and fit work here in the hypothetical.
Southern Conference
The SoCon possesses the best collection of high-end talent of any of the Mid Majors in my opinion. Where it falls apart some for them is the depth, on the wings and that some of this high-end talent is in the post is a bit overkill as they couldn’t all play together.
| 13 | Jake Stephens | Chattanooga |
| 30 | Jalen Slawson | Furman |
| 43 | B.J. Mack | Wofford |
| 127 | Mike Bothwell | Furman |
| 118 | Ques Glover | Samford |
A three-man post rotation of Stephens, Slawson, and Mack with Bothwell and Ques Glover in the backcourt and Bob Richie coaching would still be a serious team to deal with. I think they could find enough perimeter wing role players around the league to crack into the top 20 still. These were some of the nice additions they made this offseason that probably help fill out that hypothetical team and 6th man off the bench.
| Keondre Kennedy | 6-6, 180 | 14.8ppg, 5.1rpg | UMBC |
| Justice Smith | 6-6, 190 | 20.6ppg, 7.0rpg (D2) | Mansfield |
| DeAnthony Tipler | 5-10, 175 | 13.4ppg, 2.5rpg (2021) | Coastal Carolina |
*Bubba Parham as well if his health is better as the wildcard. The Southern Conference would have the highest upside IMO.
These next few conferences, there best I think could contend for the top 25 but not as sure a bet.
MVC
| 86 | Garrett Sturtz | Drake | MVC |
| 94 | Ben Krikke | Valpo | MVC |
| 105 | Rienk Mast | Bradley | MVC |
| 143 | Tucker DeVries | Drake | MVC |
| 153 | Roman Penn | Drake | MVC |
| 176 | Ben Sheppard | Belmont | MVC |
| 178 | Marcus Domask | Southern Illinois | MVC |
A lot of depth here, star power isn’t as great though.
CAA
| 54 | Aaron Estrada | Hofstra | CAA |
| 91 | Charles Thompson | Towson | CAA |
| 98 | Cam Holden | Towson | CAA |
| 170 | Shykeim Phillips | UNCW | CAA |
The CAA is a little light on bigs but I think that’s at least better if these guys could play together. They probably have the next best chance behind the SoCon and CUSA.
MAC
| 66 | Enrique Freeman | Akron | MAC |
| 76 | Sy Chatman | Buffalo | MAC |
| 80 | JT Shumate | Toledo | MAC |
Dwight Wilson is another big-time name depending on their health. The problem is all of their talents is concentrated in the post. The fit would be an issue and a couple would be wasting away on the bench at all times.
| 48 | Kevin Samuel | South Alabama | SB |
| 101 | Jordan Brown | Louisiana | SB |
| 141 | Felipe Haase | Southern Miss | SB |
| 154 | Austin Trice | Old Dominion | SB |
The fit would be an issue on this team as well with all bigs. Greg Parham’s health would help a lot.
| Other Top 100 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 42 | Andre Kelly | UCSB |
| 72 | Antoine Davis | Detroit |
| 82 | Nelly Junior Joseph | Iona |
These three mid-major players also cracked the top 100 in adjusted efficiency, but the rest of their conferences are light on the kind of talent you could see doing it. We’ve seen teams not do anything with Kelly and Davis with nothing around them too. I think there are a few conferences you could build a top 45 team and probably get an at large like those or the American East, or at least the bubble. There might be enough for that level.
Conclusion
I think you could build a top 25 team fairly easily with CUSA and Southern Conferences best. Maybe even a top 15-ranked one. The CAA and MVC would have a chance but not likely although they probably have enough for large teams. The MAC and Sun Belt would be long shots. That’s my take.
So could we build a team from the entire pool to challenge for the top 5?
Why not just for fun.
| 13 | Jake Stephens | Chattanooga |
| 30 | Jalen Slawson | Furman |
| 42 | Andre Kelly | UCSB |
| 43 | B.J. Mack | Wofford |
| 48 | Kevin Samuel | South Alabama |
| 54 | Aaron Estrada | Hofstra |
| 61 | Tylor Perry | North Texas |
| 66 | Enrique Freeman | Akron |
| 72 | Antoine Davis | Detroit |
| 75 | Jordan Walker | UAB |
| 76 | Sy Chatman | Buffalo |
| 80 | JT Shumate | Toledo |
| 82 | Nelly Junior Joseph | Iona |
| 86 | Garrett Sturtz | Drake |
| 91 | Charles Thompson | Towson |
| 92 | Max Fiedler | Rice |
| 94 | Ben Krikke | Valpo |
| 98 | Cam Holden | Towson |
| 101 | Jordan Brown | Louisiana |
| 103 | Tosan Evbuomwan | Princeton |
| 105 | Rienk Mast | Bradley |
| 112 | Jamarion Sharp | WKU |
| 115 | Darius McGhee | Liberty |
| 118 | Ques Glover | Samford |
| 119 | Antwan Walker | Bryant |
| 127 | Mike Bothwell | Furman |
| 141 | Felipe Haase | Southern Miss |
| 143 | Tucker DeVries | Drake |
| 151 | Dylan Penn | Vermont |
| 153 | Roman Penn | Drake |
| 154 | Austin Trice | Old Dominion |
| 157 | Abou Ousmane | North Texas |
| 163 | Jordan Dingle | Penn |
| 167 | Xavier Pinson | New Mexico State |
| 170 | Shykeim Phillips | UNCW |
| 176 | Ben Sheppard | Belmont |
| 178 | Marcus Domask | Southern Illinois |
| 179 | KJ Simon | Tennesse Martin |
| 183 | Justin Amadi | JMU |
| 184 | Ahsan Asadullah | Lipscomb |
| 190 | Seneca Knight | Illinois State |
Here are some of the players in the Top 190.
I think a team of some mix of…
Jake Stephens, Andre Kelly, Kevin Samuel, Aaron Estrada, Antonie Davis, Jordan Walker, Darius McGhee, Jordan Brown, Ques Glover and Tylor Perry could beat Gonzaga or UNC which are our Top 2.
C Stephens
F Brown
F Estrada
G Davis
G Walker
If you have a team good enough to bring players like Darius McGhee or Andre Kelly, or Tylor Perry off the bench you got a team good enough to compete for #1 I think.
#1 Gonzaga
| 4 | Drew Timme |
| 28 | Malachi Smith |
| 126 | Rasir Bolton |
| 177 | Julian Strawther |
#2 North Carolina
| 5 | Armando Bacot |
| 31 | Pete Nance |
| 193 | R.J. Davis |
| 266 | Caleb Love |
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