Jim Ferry Media Day Interview
Boston, Mass.– The defending America East Champion UMBC men's basketball team was selected to finish second in the 2026-27 Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league office announced today.
Vermont (62 points) received seven first-place votes and was selected as the preseason favorite, while the Retrievers (46) and Binghamton (45) received the other two first-place votes. NJIT (38), Bryant (36), UAlbany (34), UMass Lowell (31), Maine (14), and New Hampshire (13) completed the voting.
The Retrievers welcome 12 newcomers to the fold after participating in the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in their 40 seasons of Division I basketball last season. The Dawgs punched their ticket to the Big Dance after winning the America East Conference championship in front of a sold-out Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
UMBC set a program-best .875 Division I conference winning percentage (14-2) during their remarkable run. Achieving 24 wins, just one shy of the program record, they also won 12 straight games before their NCAA First Four loss. Moreover, UMBC went 15-2 at home and finished 8-0 In league play this past season. During the America East Tournament, they won three more at the 'Peake, securing their first undefeated home conference season.
In recognition of this success, Ferry was named America East Coach of the Year and was a national Coach of the Year finalist for the prestigious Hugh Durham Award. He became the third UMBC coach to win the award and secured his 400th career win, the first in program history. Ferry earned a multi-year contract extension last April.
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2026-27 schedule features a demanding non-conference lineup, marquee road matchups against nationally recognized programs, and an eight-game home conference schedule as the Retrievers prepare to defend their America East Conference championship.
The schedule begins in October with exhibition contests against LIU (home) and Fordham (away), giving the Retrievers valuable opportunities to prepare for the regular season. The game against LIU will precede a match-up between former ACC rivals Maryland and Georgia Tech. Both games will be played at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena beginning at 2:30 p.m.
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UMBC officially opens the season on Nov. 2 with a road game at George Mason before embarking on a challenging non-conference schedule. The Retrievers will travel to Marist, Ohio State, Iowa, George Washington, Army, Delaware State, Wagner, and Grand Canyon while welcoming McDaniel, Iona, Lancaster Bible, Bucknell, and Coppin State to Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
The Retrievers will also compete in the Under Armour 410 Invitational, a new college basketball tournament featuring four local programs: Loyola University Maryland, Morgan State University, Towson University and UMBC. The Dawgs will host Morgan State on Nov. 12 and will face either Towson or Loyola at Towson on Nov. 14.
America East action begins in Baltimore on Jan. 2 against NJIT. The Retrievers will host UAlbany, Vermont, UMass Lowell, Bryant, Maine, New Hampshire, and Binghamton during conference play while making return trips to each league opponent. The regular season concludes on March 2 when UMBC hosts Binghamton.
All conference games will air on ESPN+ as part of AE on ESPN.
The regular season ends on Tuesday, March 2, and the top eight programs advance to the #AEPlayoffs quarterfinals on Saturday, March 6, where the top four seeds will host contests in their home gyms. The two highest seeded winners will host semifinal games on Tuesday, March 9 and the winners will advance to play the championship at the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 13 at 11 a.m.
