Miami Is the No. 1 Mid-Major Before the Season Even Starts

Apparently, we're the reasonable ones now.

Miami spent last season making an increasingly uncomfortable number of people explain why an undefeated basketball team still needed to prove itself. This season, the RedHawks haven't played an official game, and a national panel of coaches has already put them first.

Miami opens the 2026–27 season atop the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25, receiving 18 of 31 first-place votes. Last October, the RedHawks began this poll at No. 10. Twelve months, a perfect regular season and an NCAA Tournament victory later, the starting position looks a little different.

The conference called Miami the favorite last week. Now the expectations extend well beyond the MAC.

The view from the top

Miami collected 755 points, finishing 34 ahead of second-place High Point. More than half the voting panel put the RedHawks first, and Miami received twice as many first-place votes as its closest challenger.

Source: CollegeInsider preseason poll, October 28, 2026. Selected teams shown.

Kent State also received votes, giving the MAC another presence just outside the rankings. Miami leads that group, but the conference still supplies plenty of teams capable of making a preseason favorite miserable.

The scope matters here: CollegeInsider ranks teams from a defined group of conferences. This is a national coaches' poll within that field, rather than the AP Top 25. It is still a substantial endorsement of where Miami stands entering November.

Respect has become an expectation

Last season's résumé explains why Miami gets the benefit of the doubt. The RedHawks went 31–0 in the regular season, won the MAC regular-season championship and beat SMU in the NCAA Tournament on the way to a program-record 32 wins.

But those accomplishments belong to a team that has changed. The challenge now is turning the credibility that group earned into results with this roster.

There is continuity worth believing in. Miami returns 11 players, and Evan Ipsaro and Luke Skaljac both earned preseason All-MAC first-team recognition. Travis Steele begins his fifth season with experienced guards and a program whose recent success gives opponents every reason to prepare seriously.

That changes the emotional starting point. Fans can spend less time campaigning for recognition and more time arguing about whether Miami is meeting the expectations it already has. A dangerous development for everyone's blood pressure.

Monday brings the first answer

The opener arrives Monday, November 2, at James Madison. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+, giving Miami an immediate road test before anyone gets too comfortable admiring the ranking.

A viewing tip our family recently discovered: if your Disney+ bundle includes ESPN, or you have an eligible linked ESPN subscription, you can access ESPN+ programming through the Disney+ app. Check your plan before buying another subscription. If you have kids, there's a decent chance Disney+ already lives on your television. Finally, something for the parents between episodes of Bluey.

What matters first is how this group functions: who creates dependable offense, how the rotation fits together and whether Miami can finish possessions when the game gets difficult. Those answers will tell us more than another round of preseason applause.

For now, enjoy the position. A year ago, Miami began tenth in this poll and climbed. This year, the coaches have handed the RedHawks the top spot and left the next move to them.