Teams › SoCon · Compare Samford with another team
Samford
Samford returns 69% of last season's minutes and rates #128 on offense and #278 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: -8.4 to +6.3.
Why we have them here
Samford's preseason projection of -1.0 (No. 190 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth -3.2, less than the -1.0 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 178 at the end of 2025-26) adds +0.1, about its neighbours' -0.1; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add +1.8. It returns 69% of last season's minutes, about the same as teams ranked near it (65%). The projection leans most on Cooper Noard (+1.5), Jaxon Pollard (+0.0) and Cade Norris (-0.1); the newcomer who matters most is Cooper Noard, a transfer from Cornell, at +1.5. Its 80% range, -8.4 to +6.3, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 61% · Transfer 31% · Other newcomer 9%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 684 | Cooper Noard | G | 6-2 | 4 | Transfer | Cornell | 25 | +2.3 | +1.5 |
| 1711 | Jaxon Pollard | F | 6-7 | 3 | Returning | Samford | 15 | -0.1 | +0.0 |
| 1744 | Cade Norris | G | 6-4 | 2 | Returning | Samford | 27 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
| 2362 | Braeden MacVicar | F | 6-11 | 3 | Transfer | Coastal Carolina | 13 | -0.8 | -0.2 |
| 2733 | Cooper Davenport | F | 5-11 | 0 | Other newcomer | 8 | -1.3 | -0.3 | |
| 3047 | Zach Lamey | G | 6-3 | 2 | Returning | Samford | 11 | -1.4 | -0.4 |
| 3067 | Caleb Harrison | F | 6-9 | 1 | Returning | Samford | 10 | -1.4 | -0.4 |
| 3212 | JD Gossett | F | 6-5 | 0 | Other newcomer | 9 | -1.7 | -0.4 | |
| 3891 | Corey Brown | G | 6-4 | 2 | Returning | Samford | 10 | -2.2 | -0.5 |
| 4622 | Kam Martin | G | 6-4 | 2 | Returning | Samford | 17 | -2.5 | -1.1 |
| 4633 | Isaiah Campbell-Finch | G | 6-0 | 1 | Returning | Samford | 21 | -2.3 | -1.2 |
| 4698 | Ty Davis | G | 6-4 | 2 | Transfer | Creighton | 13 | -3.0 | -1.0 |
| 4777 | Win Miller | G | 6-3 | 3 | Transfer | Belmont | 10 | -3.5 | -0.9 |
| 5070 | Judson Bjornstad | F | 6-8 | 2 | Returning | Samford | 10 | -4.8 | -1.2 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat Nov 07 | at |  UNLV #139 | -7.8 | 26% | |
| Fri Nov 13 | vs |  Wright State #165 | +5.0 | 66% | |
| Wed Nov 18 | at |  South Carolina Upstate #268 | -2.5 | 42% | |
| Sun Nov 22 | vs |  UNC Asheville #245 | +7.5 | 73% | |
| Tue Nov 24 | at |  Georgia Tech #140 | -7.4 | 28% | |
| Wed Dec 02 | at |  UAB #158 | -6.4 | 30% | |
| Sat Dec 05 | at |  Tennessee Tech #280 | conf | +1.1 | 53% |
| Sat Dec 12 | at |  Presbyterian #243 | -3.5 | 39% | |
| Sat Dec 19 | vs |  Wofford #306 | conf | +6.9 | 71% |
| Tue Dec 22 | at |  Chattanooga #226 | conf | -0.6 | 48% |
| Tue Dec 29 | at |  Alabama #17 | -22.2 | 4% | |
| Sat Jan 02 | vs |  East Tennessee State #171 | conf | +2.2 | 57% |
| Wed Jan 06 | at |  Furman #110 | conf | -5.6 | 32% |
| Sat Jan 09 | vs |  The Citadel #345 | conf | +9.4 | 78% |
| Wed Jan 13 | at |  Mercer #231 | conf | -1.1 | 46% |
| Sat Jan 16 | at |  Western Carolina #152 | conf | -3.8 | 38% |
| Mon Jan 18 | vs |  VMI #350 | conf | +10.2 | 80% |
| Thu Jan 21 | vs |  UNC Greensboro #246 | conf | +4.7 | 65% |
| Sat Jan 23 | at | The Citadel #345 | conf | +4.6 | 65% |
| Sat Jan 30 | at | Wofford #306 | conf | +2.5 | 58% |
| Wed Feb 03 | vs | Furman #110 | conf | -0.6 | 48% |
| Sat Feb 06 | vs | Western Carolina #152 | conf | +1.6 | 55% |
| Thu Feb 11 | at | UNC Greensboro #246 | conf | -0.7 | 48% |
| Sat Feb 13 | at | VMI #350 | conf | +4.8 | 65% |
| Thu Feb 18 | vs | Chattanooga #226 | conf | +3.9 | 62% |
| Sat Feb 20 | vs | Tennessee Tech #280 | conf | +5.9 | 68% |
| Wed Feb 24 | vs | Mercer #231 | conf | +4.4 | 64% |
| Sat Feb 27 | at | East Tennessee State #171 | conf | -3.2 | 40% |
Projected margin is from Samford's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.