ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Missouri Valley Conference announced its Players to Watch List for the upcoming 2026-27 men's basketball season on Wednesday morning. A trio of Bulldogs in Jon Carroll, Owen Larson, and Eli Shetlar were placed on the watch list.

Carroll, a transfer from Morehead State, spent the last season with the Eagles and played two seasons of junior college at North Central Missouri College. While at Morehead he garnered selections to the All-OVC Second Team and All-Newcomer Team, while helping lead the Eagles to a share of the OVC regular season title. Carroll finished the 2025-26 season ranking first in the OVC in total rebounds with 262, averaging a team-high 7.9 per game. He posted eight double-doubles, shot 58-percent from the field averaging 11.2 points a game and scored in double figures 18 times to go along with pulling down 10+ rebounds in 11 different games.

Larson played in 25 games with 23 starts, averaging 10.0 points for the Bulldogs last season. He had a season-high 25 points in the MVC Tournament Quarterfinals in an upset win over No.1 seed Belmont, scored 22 points in a home victory versus Murray State and tallied 21 points in win at Indiana State. The junior pulled down a season-high of nine rebounds in a road game at Illinois State and compiled a season-high of eight assists in the MVC Tournament Semifinals against Belmont. Larson shot 39-percent from the field (87-218) and 28.6-percent from beyond the arc (36-126).

A wing from Wichita, Kansas, Shetlar was a MVC Scholar-Athlete Team selection and CSC Academic All-District Team selection last season. He played in all 34 games with 21 starts, averaging 9.1 points. He had a career-high 26 points versus Belmont, making eight three-point shot and his eight triples against the Bruins are tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. Shetlar also had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds against Southern Illinois. He made 77 three-pointers which is tied for 14th for a single season and shot 39-percent from beyond the arc (77-195).

The Bulldogs begin their season on Nov. 4 against Central College from the Knapp Center in Des Moines. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT.

A full list of the MVC Men's Basketball Players to Watch List can be found below.

2026-27 MVC Men's Basketball Players to Watch List
Jack Smiley, Belmont
Eoin Dillon, Belmont
Timoty van der Knaap, Bradley
Xander Alarie, Bradley
Trevon Payton, Bradley
Owen Larson, Drake
Jon Carroll, Drake
Eli Shetlar, Drake
AJ Casey, Evansville
Bryce Quinet, Evansville
Ahmad Henderson II, UIC
Andy Johnson, UIC
Mekhi Lowery, UIC
Rashund Washington Jr., UIC
Johnny Kinziger, Illinois State
Chase Walker, Illinois State
Malik Messina-Moore, Illinois State
Noah Cleveland, Illinois State
Jackson Cooper, Indiana State
Karmani Gregory, Indiana State
Greyson Uelman, UNI
Tate McCubbin, UNI
Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, UNI
Ian Smikle, UNI
Roman Doman, Murray State
Brigham Rogers, Murray State
Mark Padjen, Murray State
Mathis Courbon, Murray State
Jalen Haynes, Southern Illinois
Donovan Hill, Southern Illinois
JT Pettigrew, Valparaiso
Rakim Chaney, Valparaiso
Justus McNair, Valparaiso
Carter Hopoi, Valparaiso