LATROBE, Pa. – The Penn State Altoona men's basketball team was predicted by Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference coaches to finish in third place this season, as the league released the results of its 2025-26 preseason coaches' poll on Tuesday morning.

Pitt-Greensburg placed first in the poll, while Penn State Behrend came in second. Defending AMCC champion Pitt-Bradford took fourth place.

Head coach David McGreal enters his ninth season with the Penn State Altoona men's basketball program, and the Lions are coming off of a strong 2024-25 campaign in which they went 18-10 overall, 12-4 in the AMCC, and reached the conference championship game.

Named in the preseason poll as "Players to Watch" for Penn State Altoona this season were senior guard Kaden Claar (Portage, PA/Portage) and junior forward Nehemiah Frye (King George, VA/King George).

Claar ranked second in the AMCC last season in free throw percentage (83.6), sixth in steals (46) and three-point field goal percentage (38.7), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8), ninth in steals per game (1.6), 11th in three-pointers made (46), 16th in points (353) and free throws made (61), and 19th in points per game (12.6), field goals made (123), field goal percentage (46.6), and assists (56).

Frye finished third in the AMCC last year in field goal percentage (59.0), 18th in field goals made (128), 19th in points (325) and points per 40 minutes (19.1), 22nd in offensive rebounds (35) and points per game (11.6), 23rd in total rebounds (112), 25th in three-point field goals made (24) and defensive rebounds (77), 27th in rebounds per game (4.0), and 30th in free throws made (45).

Penn State Altoona men's basketball tips off its 2025-26 schedule at home this Friday, November 7 against Christopher Newport University at 6 p.m.