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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- New Mexico State
- Stephen F. Austin
- Grand Canyon
- Abilene Christian
- Utah Valley
- Cal Baptist
- Sam Houston
- Seattle U
- Tarleton
- Lamar
- UTRGV
- Dixie State
- Chicago State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:
-Fardaws Aimaq – SO, C – Utah Valley
-Jovan Blacksher Jr. – JR, G Grand Canyon
-Montre’ Gipson – SR, G – Stephen F. Austin
-Demarkus Lampley – SR, G – Sam Houston
-Jabari Rice – JR, G – New Mexico State
-Ty Rowell – JR, G – CA Baptist
-Darrion Trammell – SO, G – Seattle U
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:
-Teddy Allen – JR, G – New Mexico State
-Johnny McCants – SR, F – New Mexico State
-Coryon Mason – SR, G – Abilene Christian
-Reggie Miller – SR, G – Abilene Christian
-Reed Nottage – SO, G – Cal Baptist
-Roti Ware – SO, G – Stephen F. Austin
-Trey Woodbury – JR, G – Utah Valley
-Hollands Woods II – SR, G – Grand Canyon
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-New Mexico State could not catch a break last year. It was seemingly one pause after another and they even ended up not being able to play in their home state for a while. This year, with everything being (mostly) back to normal in regards to practice and play, I expect the Aggies to be at the top of the league once again. They are immensely talented and have an exciting mix of returning experience players and key transfers. New Mexico State is always one of the top UTR programs that we think can make noise in the NCAA Tournament and this year doesn’t appear to be any different. It also looks as though this will be the curtain call for New Mexico State in the WAC, as they plan to become full members of Conference USA.
-Stephen F. Austin comes over from the Southland where they were a regular frontrunner, and should raise the quality of basketball in this conference (for a little while at least). Four starters are back from last year’s team, and expectations are high. This is a program that routinely racks up a lot of wins and I expect that to continue this season. They should also get some help from some key transfers.
-Grand Canyon won the league last year and went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time but they are in rebuilding mode this year. Just one starter is back, and while the long term health of the program is still very strong a lot of players will need to step into new roles this season.
-Abilene Christian also went to the NCAA Tournament last year! They won the automatic bid from the Southland and proceeded to knock off Texas in the Round of 64. This is a program that has come very far very fast since making the jump to D1, and while I don’t think they’ll be quite as good as they were a year ago three starters are back and I think they could definitely be in the mix. Brette Tanner takes over as head coach: he does have his work cut out for him but he also has some pieces to work with.
-Utah Valley has a good core of players returning, including a couple of guys who can really score in Fardaws Aimaq and Trey Woodbury. They could be a bit of a dark horse in this league this season
-Cal Baptist finished in the middle of the pack last year, and appears to be heading back to that spot this year. They do look to be facing a bit of a roster overhaul, but should still be fine.
-Sam Houston is also a WAC newcomer after being a consistent Southland frontrunner. Four starters are back, and I’m a little surprised there wasn’t a little more love for the Bearkats. This could be their only season in the WAC, as they will be leaving for CUSA along with New Mexico State very soon. As for this year, they have quite a bit of experience to rely on and I think they’ll finish in the top half of the league, and maybe make even more noise than that.
-All five starters are back for Seattle. Like a lot of teams it was tough to get into a flow last year but there is reason to be optimistic this year. They have two guys who can really score/shoot from the outside in Darrion Trammell and Riley Grigsby. If they can step it up defensively then they could be dangerous because the offensive weapons are definitely there.
-Last year was a real struggle for Lamar, and that will likely be the case again this year as well. Three starters are back, but with just a ten win season a year ago I can foresee them once again having trouble keeping up with the top half of the league.
-It was difficult for UTRGV to even play their season last year after their head coach Lew Hill passed away during the season. Matt Figger, who had a good run at Austin Peay, now takes over and he’s got some rebuilding to do with only two regular starters back.
-Tarleton State and Dixie State continue their transition process to D1, and like nearly all transition teams they could be in for a bit of a rough ride.
-Last, and least…Chicago State. They are in their last season in the WAC, which is probably a good thing so long as they can find a new home. They continue to be among the worst programs in all of D1 and I’m not expecting a whole lot of improvement this year. They have been completely overhauled, though, with a new coach and just three returning players, so we will see if this translates into a fresh new start for them.