By Bill Trocchi

Welcome to the inaugural Mid-Major Power Rankings, where the smaller schools who can hoop at a high level will get some recognition each week during the season. For the purposes of these power rankings and other mid-major reports that appear in this blog, the Mid-Major teams are schools from OUTSIDE the following conferences: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC, MWC, WAC, A-10, C-USA. This list can be debated for hours, and perhaps we will get into it later in the year, but that's the list for now.The SI.com Preseason Mid-Major Power Ten 1. Gonzaga -- Austin Daye is a potential breakout superstar on a team loaded with talent. The Final Four is not out of the question.2. Davidson -- Stephen Curry will have to move over to play some point, but early reports are that is not going to be a problem for the 2008 NCAA tournament darlings.3. St. Mary's -- Guard Patrick Mills enjoyed a superb Olympics for Australia, scoring 20 against Team USA. What's he going to do in the West Coast Conference?4. Siena -- Five starters return on a team that whipped No. 4-seed Vanderbilt in the NCAA tournament. Keep an eye on the Saints at the loaded Old Spice Classic tourney, where they open vs. Tennessee.5. VCU -- Yep, Eric Maynor and Anthony Grant are still there, and that combo will keep the Rams atop the Colonial Athletic Association.6. Creighton -- The up-and-coming Bluejays are poised to win the Missouri Valley as Dana Altman shoots for his 11th straight 20-win season in Omaha.7. San Diego -- Five starters return from a team that beat Kentucky in the regular season and UConn in the NCAA tournament.8. Cleveland State -- The Vikings own the Horizon's two best players -- forward J'Nathan Bullock and guard Cedric Jackson.9. Cal-State Northridge -- Big West favorites welcome back the league's top rebounder (Tremaine Townsend), top assist man (Josh Jenkins) and gunner Deon Tresvant, who led the team in scoring despite coming off the bench.10. MTSU -- Five returning starters have chances to make early statements with games against Vanderbilt and Tennessee.