The No. 2 preseason ranking is the highest for the Ichabods since being picked No. 2 in the 2012-13 preseason poll.
The Ichabods are coming off one of the best seasons in program history with the NCAA Final Four appearance, an NCAA Central Regional Championship and an MIAA regular season title with a 30-4 overall record after going 17-2 in MIAA play.
Washburn was ranked No. 1 in the nation last season for five consecutive weeks and finished tied for fourth in the 2025 NABC final poll after spending the entire season ranked in the top 10.
The Ichabods were picked atop the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media Polls. In the MIAA Coaches Poll, Washburn received 13 of 14 first-place votes and the Ichabods received 23 of 25 first-place votes in the Media Poll.
Junior Jack Bachelor has started 45 of 64 career games as an Ichabod, averaging 12. 6 points. The former Washburn Rural star ranks third all-time at Washburn in assist average at 4.8, fourth in career free throw percentage at .828 and seventh in career assists with 304.
Bachelor started all 34 games last season, averaging 13.6 points and earning NABC second-team all-district honors, first-team All-MIAA and All-MIAA defensive honors.
Senior Sam Ungashick has started 30 of 55 career games as an Ichabod, averaging 8.1 points for his career. Ungashick is a career 34 percent shooter from 3-point range, hitting 57 of 170 attempts.
Senior Brady Christiansen has played in 93 career games with 31 starts, averaging 6.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. Christiansen ranks 11th in career rebounds in program history with 577.
Dillon Claussen played in 34 games last season as a freshman, averaging 7.4 and 3.9 rebounds while adding 25 blocks and 15 steals. Claussen tied a career-high with 17 points against Lenoir-Rhyne in the NCAA national quarterfinal on 7 of 7 shooting.
The Ichabods will have to replace starters Andrew Orr, Jacob Hanna, Brayden Shorter and Michael Keegan off last year's team, but along with the returners, Washburn has added four experienced transfers.
Bryson Smith averaged 11.4 points with a team-high 131 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game for Northeastern State last season while starting all 29 games. Smith previously averaged 14.8 points at Dallas College North Lake where he helped his team claim the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Championship.
Isaiah Saams-Hoy started all 28 games at Alaska Fairbanks in 2024-25, leading the team in points (455), points per game (16.3), assists (99), steals (44) and blocks (29).
Jeremiah Jones led Mary (S.D.) in scoring in 2024-25, averaging 11.9 points while recording 85 steals, including eight steals in a single game to set a school record.
Marcus Glock is a transfer from Northwest Missouri, where he started 19 of 28 games and averaged 9.1 points and 2.5 rebounds while hitting a team-high 51 3-pointers and shooting 42 percent from deep.
Smith, who came in over the summer to work with his new teammates, said he feels like that has helped him jell with his fellow Ichabods.
"That helped a lot, actually,'' Smith said. "Just coming to a new team can be very nerve-wracking. There's a lot of new faces and new personalities and I feel like that month of us being here practicing built the team bond better and we got closer together.
"So when we came back on campus for school we already knew each other, so it definitely helped.''
