GREENVILLE, S.C. - The NCCAA have released the coaches polls for men's and women's basketball. The Malone University women's basketball team is ranked third in the nation and the men's basketball team is ranked eighth.
 
The Pioneer women are undefeated through one month of the season at 8-0 and started the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) slate with a pair of victories over Ursuline College (65-57) and Tiffin University (76-61). The Pioneers are behind 13-0 Campbellsville University and Mid-America Christian University at 9-1.
 
Malone is without a loss mostly thanks to an efficient offense. The Pioneers are ranked third in the NCCAA in field goal percentage at 44.8%, second in three-point field goal percentage at 37.6% and third in free throw percentage at 76.0% as a team. Junior Elena Oliver is third in the NCCAA at 61.0% from the field individually and redshirt sophomore Meredith Randulic is second at 52.6% from deep. Senior Brinn Hunt is also inside the top-ten from three-point range in sixth at 46.2%.
 
The Malone men's basketball team is 6-1 to begin the 2025-26 season and defeated Hillsdale College (63-57) and Tiffin University (52-45) for their first two G-MAC wins. The Pioneers are apart of the loaded Midwest region that features #1 Grace College and #5 Cedarville University.
 
A stout defense that allows the second-fewest points per game in the NCCAA (56.6 opponent points per game on average) has been key for the men's basketball team. The Pioneers are holding opponents to an association-low 36.0% from the field and 24.3% from three-point range. Malone is also one of the top rebounding teams in the NCCAA at 42.3 per game. Senior Emmanuel Oladeru swats away 2.0 shots per game, a mark good for fifth in the NCCAA.
 
The Malone men's and women's basketball teams are on the road at Cedarville University for a doubleheader on Thursday, December 11 beginning at 5:30 P.M.