Southern Miss guard Isaac Taveras named Sun Belt preseason Player of the Year
The league’s coaches also placed Taveras on the preseason first team, while picking Southern Miss to finish seventh in the 14-team conference.
Southern Miss guard Isaac Taveras was named the Sun Belt Conference’s preseason Player of the Year on October 19, 2026, after a vote by the league’s coaches. The senior also made the preseason All-Sun Belt first team, giving the Golden Eagles the conference’s top individual preseason honor ahead of the 2026-27 men’s basketball season.
The coaches’ assessment of Southern Miss as a team was more reserved: they picked the Golden Eagles seventh among 14 schools. The Hattiesburg American reported that Southern Miss received two first-place votes despite that ranking. SuperTalk Mississippi reported that Taveras was the only Golden Eagle selected for a preseason All-Sun Belt team.
How the Sun Belt coaches ranked Southern Miss
Arkansas State was picked to win the regular-season title, with James Madison second. Troy, South Alabama, Marshall and Louisiana filled the next four places, putting Southern Miss immediately behind them. The poll reflects votes from the conference’s 14 coaches, according to SuperTalk; it sets expectations before play begins rather than awarding a place in the standings.
Southern Miss finished last season 19-16 overall and 9-9 in Sun Belt play, the Hattiesburg American reported. That record provides context for the seventh-place projection, while Taveras’s individual selection points to the importance coaches place on his return. He entered the transfer portal in the offseason, then withdrew and announced on June 5 that he would return to the program, according to the same report.
Taveras’s production and Southern Miss’s opening games
Taveras averaged 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds last season. SuperTalk reported that he also averaged 2.3 assists across 22 games; the Hattiesburg American put his steals average at a team-high 2.2 per game. His scoring and rebounding figures help explain why coaches singled him out even as they placed his team in the middle of the preseason poll.
Before joining Southern Miss, Taveras played his freshman season at Fresno State and his sophomore season at South Plains Community College, the Hattiesburg American reported. At Southern Miss last season, he was the team’s second-leading scorer. The preseason recognition follows that production and his decision to stay with the Golden Eagles for his senior year.
Southern Miss is scheduled to host an exhibition against LSU New Orleans at Reed Green Coliseum on October 21 at 6 p.m. Central time. Its regular season is due to begin at home against Tougaloo on November 2 at 7 p.m. Central time, according to the Hattiesburg American. Those games will be the team’s first chance to play after the coaches’ selections.
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Sources and context
- Southern Miss basketball's Isaac Taveras named Sun Belt preseason Player of the YearHattiesburg American (republished by Yahoo Sports)
- MCBB: Southern Miss guard Isaac Taveras tabbed as Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year - SuperTalk MississippiSuperTalk Mississippi Media
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.