ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the 2026-27 NEC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches. The Lakers received two first-place votes. Junior guard Jake Lemelman and senior guard/forward Tennessee Rainwater were also named to the Preseason All-NEC Team.
Mercyhurst enters the season coming off a 17-17 campaign (10-8 NEC) that ended in the NEC Championship game. The Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed with a 75-72 overtime win at Stonehill in the regular-season finale, then beat FDU 70-61 in the quarterfinals and Stonehill 56-51 in the semifinals, both at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. They fell 79-70 at top-seeded LIU in the title game on March 10.
The run followed a regular season with plenty of highlights. Mercyhurst picked up a 73-65 road win at Loyola Chicago on Nov. 6. Mercyhurst beat then-No. 1 LIU 91-83 at home on Feb. 21, with a career-high 25 points from Qadir Martin. Head coach Gary Manchel earned his 400th win as Mercyhurst head coach on Feb. 5, a 98-89 overtime victory over Saint Francis. Lemelman had a career-high 27 points against Wagner on Feb. 19.
LIU, the defending NEC champion, was the preseason favorite with seven first-place votes. Central Connecticut and Le Moyne tied for third, followed by Wagner in fifth. Fairleigh Dickinson and Stonehill tied for sixth, with Chicago State eighth and New Haven ninth.
Lemelman and Rainwater Honored
Lemelman, a 6-2 junior guard from Newton, Mass., and Rainwater, a 6-7 senior guard/forward from Davenport, Wash. represent the Lakers on the five-player preseason team. Rainwater began his career at Utah Tech and also spent time at Le Moyne before arriving at Mercyhurst. Lemelman accumulated 474 points last season averaging 13.9 per game, he also started in every game in 2025-26 and picked up All-NEC Third Team honors. Rainwater started in seven games and appeared in all 32 for Dolphins last season, he put up 315 points averaging 9.8 per game.
LIU placed three players on the squad: senior guard Vasean Allette, junior guard Daquan Davis and junior forward Jahki Howard.
2026-27 NEC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
- LIU (7)
- Mercyhurst (2)
- (tie) Central Connecticut / Le Moyne
- Wagner
- (tie) Fairleigh Dickinson / Stonehill
- Chicago State
- New Haven
2026-27 Preseason All-NEC Men's Basketball Team
- Vasean Allette, LIU, Sr., G, 6-2, 205 lbs., Scarborough, Ontario, Canada / United Scholastic Academy (TCU/UTSA)
- Daquan Davis, LIU, Jr., G, 6-1, 185 lbs., Baltimore, Md. / Overtime Elite Academy (Florida State/Providence)
- Jahki Howard, LIU, Jr., F, 6-6, 185 lbs., Boston, Mass. / Overtime Elite Academy (Auburn/Utah)
- Jake Lemelman, Mercyhurst, Jr., G, 6-2, 165 lbs., Newton, Mass. / The MacDuffie School
- Tennessee Rainwater, Mercyhurst, Sr., G/F, 6-7, 215 lbs., Davenport, Wash. / Davenport (Utah Tech/Le Moyne)
Mercyhurst opens the 2026-27 season with an exhibition at Louisville on Oct. 28, followed by the regular-season opener at Marquette on Nov. 2. The Lakers also visit Notre Dame on Nov. 5 and Penn State on Nov. 12, with later non-conference trips to JMU, West Virginia, Northwestern, Syracuse and St. Bonaventure. Mercyhurst's home opener is Saturday, Nov. 7, at 4 p.m. against Penn State Shenango at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
NEC play begins Jan. 2 at New Haven, and the Lakers open conference play at home on Jan. 8 against Stonehill at 7 p.m. The rematch with preseason favorite LIU is set for Jan. 21 in Brooklyn and Feb. 4 in Erie at 7 p.m. Home games stream on NEC Front Row, and tickets are available at hurstathletics.com/tickets. Fans can follow the team on X @HurstMBBall and Instagram @hurst.mbb.
