MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Junior guard Zach Wolinski '28 of the Wesleyan men's basketball team earned Preseason All-American honors, as announced on Wednesday afternoon by D3hoops.com. Wolinski earned a Fifth Team nod on the Preseason All-American list and is one of just two NESCAC players (Babacar Pouye of Bates) among the 25 total student-athletes named to the list.

• D3hoops.com Preseason All-Americans

Wolinski's game and role evolved immensely from his rookie season into his sophomore year as the shooting guard led the team in scoring all throughout the season. He finished the 2025-26 campaign third overall in the NESCAC at 18.1 points per game, scoring 10+ points in 29-of-30 games played last season. Wolinski went from averaging 4.1 PPG in his first-year season all the way up to 18.1 PPG as a sophomore. His scoring prowess was on full display in games against Bowdoin and Colby to wrap up the regular season in 2025-26, as he scored 32 against the Polar Bears and 33 against the Mules on back-to-back days.
 
Wolinski heads into the 2026-27 season as the NESCAC's leading returning scorer from last season while he also led the conference in minutes played (1,031) and minutes per game (34.4), appearing in all 30 possible games last season and starting 29. He shot at a 45.4 percent clip from the floor while hitting 85.9 percent of his free throw attempts. No player in the NESCAC made and attempted more free throws than Wolinski last season, as he went 146-for-170 from the charity stripe.
 
Wolinski made 54 three-pointers while adding 3.7 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game, finishing the year with a 1.59 assist/turnover ratio.
 
The Cardinals are coming off a 23-7 season while Wesleyan went 9-1 in NESCAC play, earning the #1 seed for the NESCAC Tournament where they finished as the league's Runner-Up. Wesleyan later advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and second time in program history.