The Cornell men’s basketball team has been projected to finish third in the 2025-26 Ivy League Preseason Media Poll, according to an announcement from the conference office. The poll, determined by 21 media members who cover the league, named Yale as the unanimous favorite to retain its league title.
Cornell received a total of 124 votes, placing just behind Harvard, which garnered 126 votes for second place. The Big Red was ahead of Princeton (97), Dartmouth (72), Brown (68), Penn (66), and Columbia (35) in the voting results.
The team is coming off an 18-11 season where it finished as runner-up to Yale in both the regular season and Ivy Madness. Cornell returns two starters, Cooper Noard and Jake Fiegen, who are considered all-league candidates and form one of the top backcourts in the conference. Head coach Jon Jaques ’10 led Cornell to lead Division I last season in effective field goal percentage (.592) and two-point field goal percentage (.608). The team also ranked second nationally in assists per game (19.1) and fourth in scoring offense (85.1 points per game). This summer, Cornell participated in a foreign tour in Italy, winning all three games during a 10-day trip.
The top four teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for Ivy Madness. This event includes both men’s and women’s tournaments and is scheduled for March 13-15 at Newman Arena at Bartels Hall on Cornell’s campus in Ithaca, New York.
In recent years, Ivy League men’s basketball has consistently ranked among the top 13 conferences based on average NET rankings and has maintained a winning record against non-conference opponents over the past three years.
Since 2010, Ivy League teams have achieved eight NCAA tournament wins, with Sweet 16 appearances by Cornell in 2010 and Princeton in 2023.
The upcoming Ivy League Men’s Basketball Media Day will be hosted by Field of 68 on Tuesday, October 28 at 12:30 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast live on Field of 68’s YouTube Channel (@TheFieldOf68) and X account (@TheFieldOf68).
“Yale was the unanimous pick to defend its league crown.”
