Western Kentucky basketball returns three double digit scorers, an increasingly rare feat for a strong mid-major program.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Western Kentucky basketball
40-year-old head coach Hank Plona has been competent in his first two seasons, both of which were defined by heavy roster turnover. Now, he returns a conference-leading 48.7% of last year’s minutes, with a portal class capable of sliding into missing roles. Conference USA has had unique tournament champions in each of the last nine seasons, but WKU is our favorite to break that trend as they look for their second automatic bid since 2024.
Head coach: Hank Plona (3rd season overall, all at Western Kentucky)
2025-26 record: 18-14 (11-9)
2026 postseason finish: Lost in Conference USA quarterfinals (96-87) to Kennesaw State
Notable departures:
- Grant Newell (13.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.0 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- TBA
Projected Rotation
PG: LJ Hackman (6-3, 200, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.6 APG
SG: Armelo Boone (6-2, 175, So.)
2025-26 stats: 10.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.3 SPG
SF: Teagan Moore (6-5, 210, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 18.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 SPG, 52.9 FG%, 42.9 3P%
PF: EJ Walker (6-7, 253, So.)
2025-26 stats: 2.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 0.4 APG (South Carolina)
C: Emondrek Erkins-Ford (6-9, 220, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.0 APG (Jacksonville State)
6: Bryant Selebangue (6-9, 215, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.8 APG (9 GP)
Note: Availability concerns both on the injury and eligibility fronts
7: Sharron Young (6-0, 160, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG (Akron)
8: Noah Norgaard (6-2, 195, So.)
2025-26 stats: 7.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 37.2 3P% (UNC Greensboro)
9: Gabe Weis (6-6, 170, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 239 ranked recruit
Western Kentucky basketball team MVP: Teagan Moore
Much of our confidence in mid-major programs revolves around player retention, and Teagan Moore’s decision to run it back at WKU perfectly exemplifies this notion. Of the five members of last season’s all-CUSA first-team, Moore is the only returnee, making him an obvious preseason favorite for the conference’s Player of the Year.
Not only did Moore finish second in the league with 18.7 points per game, but he did so with incredible efficiency. Per Torvik, he finished with a 63.2 field goal percentage on short twos, 44.3% on long twos, and 44.4% from deep. Only three other Division 1 players can make this claim, minimum 50 shot attempts from each level.
The biggest strength of Moore’s game is his physicality, though. He has an incredible ability to finish tough layups through contact, and is an asset on the defensive end against larger wings. You can nitpick on Moore’s room for improvement against quicker guards, but at the end of the day, he was a perfect plug-and-play role player for a good high-major, and decided to he would rather remain the guy at Western Kentucky.
Western Kentucky basketball make-or-break player: EJ Walker
With the tandem of Moore, Armelo Boone, LJ Hackman, and Sharron Young coming over from Akron, the WKU backcourt looks to be in great shape. The frontcourt is a major question mark, however. Bryant Selebangue may not play at all and Emondrek Erkins-Ford was pedestrian for a below .500 Jacksonville State team. Unless you want to rely on an undersized, albeit talented freshman in Gabe Weis, the upside lies on the shoulders of South Carolina transfer EJ Walker.
On the bright side, Walker, the second highest rated 2025 recruit in the state of Kentucky, did get meaningful minutes against some of the best teams in college basketball in his first season. He should already be an impact defender with immense size and mobility at the four spot. The offense is the real ‘make-or-break’ aspect of Walker’s game, though. While he did show small spurts of shooting touch and rim running ability in his lone SEC season, he was often a liability with the ball in his hands.
If a step down in competition and a new system can indeed maximize Walker’s raw offensive skillset, the Hilltoppers can suddenly create a serious gap from the rest of Conference USA.
Key statistic: Bench minutes percentage
Last season was a lot of trial and error from Western Kentucky. 40.1% of their total minutes were distributed to non-starters, the 22nd most in Division 1. The season before, Plona’s bench usage was also well above the D1 average of 31.2%, that time at 36.9%.
With more roster continuity, and a transfer portal class designed to fill specific holes rather than replace a chunk of the roster, it is reasonable to expect that percentage to drastically decrease in 2026-27. If our projected rotation holds up, Young is the only bench player that can be penciled in for significant playing time right off the bat. It would not be surprising to see Hackman (21.6 MPG in 2025-26) and Boone (24.4 MPG) play closer to 30 minutes per game, the way the roster is constructed.
Of course, some combination of bench players emerge unexpectedly on every team, but it is easier to get a read of the WKU roster hierarchy than the first two seasons of Plona’s tenure.
Western Kentucky basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in Conference USA
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament round of 32 exit