MOUNTAIN WEST MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- San Diego State
- Utah State
- Boise State
- Grand Canyon
- New Mexico
- UNLV
- Colorado State (tied 7th)
- Nevada (tied 7th)
- Wyoming
- San Jose State
- Fresno State
- Air Force
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MWC TEAM:
-Andrew Meadow – Boise State
-Jaden Henley – Grand Canyon
-Brian Moore Jr. – Grand Canyon
-Elijah Price – Nevada
-Deyton Albury – New Mexico
-Miles Byrd – San Diego State
-Reese Dixon-Waters – San Diego State
-Magoon Gwath – San Diego State
-Kimani Hamilton – UNLV
-Mason Falslev – Utah State
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-San Diego State barely snuck into the NCAA Tournament last year and were blown out by North Carolina in the First Four. Expectations are higher this year and they should be able to land safely inside the bubble. Three key starters are back, two of whom earned preseason honors. Reese Dixon-Waters also returns after missing last season due to an injury. Sean Newman Jr. also transfers in from Louisiana Tech and I think he is a really nice addition to the roster. I think this is a top-25 caliber team that will play their way into the rankings as the season goes on.
-Utah State just keeps winning despite coaching changes and roster turnovers. They won 26 games last year and made it into the NCAA Tournament, and while they are once again undergoing a roster overhaul the expectations are still high. Mason Falslev is one of the best players in the conference and while he cannot do it alone, he will be joined by some transfers who have experience in high level conferences and who came to Utah State presumably to get more minutes. I do not know if I would have them picked as high as 2nd, but they have shown they can reload and they have proven me wrong when I have doubted them before.
-Boise State has won 20+ games in each of the last four seasons and while they missed the NCAA Tournament last year (albeit barely) they are consistently playing on the level of an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. They probably deserve a little more respect as a program than what they have gotten. Having said that, they do not appear to have a lot of experience this year. I never want to just overlook this team, but I think it will be hard for them to land inside the NCAA Tournament bubble.
-Grand Canyon enters their first season in the Mountain West after becoming the dominant program in the WAC, as well as one of the top Under the Radar programs in the nation, in recent years. Just one starter is back from last year’s team, but this is a program that is willing to spend NIL money and Bryce Drew once again has a talented roster. Caleb Shaw is one of the best outside shooters in the nation, Dennis Evans and Nana Owusu-Anane both return from injury, Brian Moore Jr. was a big time scorer at Norfolk State last year, and Jaden Henley was a solid player at UNLV. They are picked 4th. I think part of the reason is that the MWC brass may just not know them that well. I think they can finish higher than 4th. I think they can finish higher than 2nd. I think they can win the league. I know they lost some very talented players from a year ago, but think the roster they’ve put together can step up and that this will be a top-25 caliber team as the season plays out.
-After two really solid seasons where they won 26 and 27 games, New Mexico is in restart mode. Coach Richard Pitino left for Xavier and Eric Olsen now takes over. He is tasked with replacing all five starters from a team that made the Round of 32. Tajavis Miller from North Dakota State is a solid pickup from the portal, but the Lobos are lacking in D-1 experience this year. I do not think they will sink to the very bottom of the league, but I do think they are in a bit of a rebuild mode.
-UNLV just cannot seem to get any traction going. It feels like they should be able to build themselves up into a team that makes regular runs at the NCAA Tournament, but it has been a long time since that has happened and the expectations are that it will not happen this year. Myles Che transfers in after having a good year at UC Irvine and is a fantastic outside shooter. Al Green is another guy who can hit from the outside who transfers in from Louisiana Tech, and Howie Fleming Jr. comes in from UTRGV. All three of those guys shot over 40% from beyond the arc last year, so UNLV does have one thing: shooters!
-Colorado State has had back-to-back 25+ win seasons and made the Round of 32 last year. They have a new coach in Ali Farokhmanesh this year and he is tasked with replacing nearly the entire starting lineup. Augustinas Kiudulas put up impressive numbers at VMI last year, and Josh Pascarelli was a standout player at Marist, but other than those two they lack proven experience. I have more questions than answers about the Rams this year.
-Nevada is coming off a rough season where they won just 17 games and may be in for a long ride again this year as Steve Alford has to rebuild most of his roster. Tayshawn Comer comes in after putting up big numbers at Evansville, and they have some standout JUCO players as well. I do not expect this team to contend for the league title, but I do think they will be at least a little better than they were a year ago.
-It has been a rough few years for the Wyoming Cowboys and they may be in for another rough one this year. Sundance Wicks went 12-20 in his first year as head coach a season ago. Just one starter returns from that team. They did get a few notable pickups in the portal as Khaden Bennett (Quinnipiac) and Leland Walker (Florida Atlantic) both averaged double-figures a season ago. They will need to rely on them if the Cowboys are going to win more games this year.
-It was just there years ago when San Jose State actually won 21 total games, but it has been a tough ride since then. They were an underwhelming 15-20 last year and finished just 8th in the conference. This year expectations are even lower. Colby Garland comes in from Drake and JaVaughn Hannah comes in from Western Michigan: both were double-digit scorers. San Jose State’s issue is that while Tim Miles is an excellent coach, his superpower was building and developing programs and players. That is difficult to do in the transfer-heavy era we are in now. As soon as a player starts to develop, they leave. It will likely be another long and frustrating year for San Jose State.
-Fresno State won just 6 total games last year and does not have much in the way of proven D-1 talent this year. They have looked overseas to try and land some international players that can spark some life into the Bulldogs.
-It is just hard to win at any service academy. Winning is something Air Force did very little of last year. They were just 4-28 on the season. Joe Scott, who actually had success during a previous stint at Air Force, is the head coach. It is hard to put together a program that is consistently strong when you have to work within the parameters that the service academies do.
