ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team has been chosen to finish third in the 2025-26 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll it was announced today by the conference office. Voted on by 21 media members that cover the league, Yale was the unanimous pick to defend its league crown.
Cornell received 124 votes overall, two behind second-place Harvard. The Big Red was well clear of Princeton (97), Dartmouth (72), Brown (68), Penn (66) and Columbia (35) in the voting.
The Big Red is coming off an 18-11 season that saw it finish as the runner-up to Yale in both the regular season and Ivy Madness. Cornell returns two starters in all-league candidates
Cooper Noard and
Jake Fiegen, giving the Big Red one of the top backcourts in the conference. Under the direction of head coach
Jon Jaques '10, Cornell led Division I in effective field goal percentage (.592) and two-point field goal percentage last season (.608), while ranking second in assists (19.1 apg.) and fourth in scoring offense (85.1 ppg.). The big Red enjoyed the opportunity to take a foreign trip this summer, going 3-0 during a 10-day trip of Italy in July.
The top four teams will earn spots to Ivy Madness. The event, which combines the men's and women's tournaments, is set for March 13-15 at the Newman Arena at Bartells Hall on Cornell's campus in Ithaca, N.Y.
Based on the average NET rankings, Ivy League men's basketball has ranked as a top-13 conference in each of the last three years, recording a winning non-conference record in all of those years.
Since 2010, the league has enjoyed eight wins in the NCAA tournament, including a pair of trips to the Sweet 16: Cornell (2010) and Princeton (2023).
The 2025 Ivy League Men's Basketball Media Day, hosted by the Field of 68, one of college basketball's leading digital platforms, is set for Tuesday, October 28, beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Field of 68 Ivy League basketball media day show will air live on the
Field of 68 YouTube Channel (@TheFieldOf68) and
X account (@TheFieldOf68).
2025-26 Ivy League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Yale - 168 (21 first-place votes)
2. Harvard – 126
3. Cornell – 124
4. Princeton – 97
5. Dartmouth – 72
6. Brown – 68
7. Penn – 66
8. Columbia - 35
