1. New Mexico State
2. UMKC
3. Grand Canyon
4. Utah Valley
5. CSU Bakersfield
6. Texas-Rio Grande Valley
7. Seattle
8. Chicago State
Not a ton to say here – New Mexico St. is pretty clearly the best team, as Pascal Siakam, Ian Baker, and a bevy of talented youngsters should take the Aggies back to another tournament berth. A note of interest is the continuing development of 7’3 Tanveer Bhullar, Sim’s “little” brother and a unique asset in a league like this. Martez Harrison of UMKC will make a strong push against Siakam for Player of the Year honors, but his supporting cast probably won’t be enough. Shayok Shayok could be a difference-maker, though.
The conference hierarchy could be seeing a major change in the near future though, as former NBA players Dan Majerle and Mark Pope are building impressive contenders at Grand Canyon and Utah Valley, respectively. Grand Canyon has a star point guard in Deweayne Russell, a gunner in coach’s son Ryan Majerle, and SLU transfer Grandy Glaze arrives to bring his unique brand of high effort and below-the-rim finishing. Meanwhile, at UVU, Pope has three skilled transfers sitting this year, and just this week got a commitment from Wyatt Lowell, a 4-star recruit from Arizona who will become an immediate force in the WAC.
Aly Ahmed and Kevin Mays comprise a strong frontcourt for CSU Bakersfield, but the ball-handling options will likely hold the team back.
Texas-Pan American Texas-Rio Grande Valley had an identity crisis in the offseason, changing from the Broncs to the Vaqueros, and Chicago St. continues to not belong in this league at all geographically. I hope someone can emerge from the muck to challenge NMSU, but it seems like that might have to wait until next year.
All Conference:
POY: Martez Harrison, Junior, UMKC
Coach of the Year: Mark Pope, Utah Valley
Newcomer of the Year: Nick Dixon, Junior, Texas-Rio Grande Valley
First team
G – Marcel Davis, Senior, Utah Valley
G – Martez Harrison, Junior, UMKC
G – Dewayne Russell, Senior, Grand Canyon
F – Pascal Siakam, Sophomore, New Mexico State
C – Aly Ahmed, Senior, CSU Bakersfield
Second team
G – Ian Baker, Junior, New Mexico State
G – Nick Dixon, Junior, Texas-Rio Grande Valley
F – William Powell, Junior, Seattle
F – Shayok Shayok, Senior, UMKC
F – Zach Nelson, Junior, Utah Valley
Third team
G – Elliot Cole, Junior, Chicago State
G/F – Joshua Braun, Sophomore, Grand Canyon
G/F – Eli Chuha, R-Freshman, New Mexico State
F – Shaquille Hines, Senior, Texas-Rio Grande Valley
F – Kevin Mays, Senior, CSU Bakersfield
1. New Mexico St.
C – Jonathan Wilkins, 6’10, R-Sophomore
PF – Pascal Siakam, 6‘9, R-Sophomore
SF – Eli Chuha, 6‘8, R-Freshman
SG – Travon Landry, 6‘1, Junior
PG – Ian Baker, 6‘0, Junior
Reserves: Sidy Ndir, 6‘2, R-Fr.; Tanveer Bhullar, 7‘3, R-So.; Rashawn Browne, 6‘1, R-Fr.; Jalyn Pennie, 6‘7, R-So.; Braxton Huggins, 6‘5, So.; Matt Taylor, 6‘5, R-So.
Postseason Prediction: 15 seed
2. UMKC
C – Thaddeus Smith, 6‘9, Senior
PF – Shayok Shayok, 6‘8, Senior
SF – Darius Austin, 6‘6, Sophomore
SG – LaVell Boyd, 6‘0, Junior
PG – Martez Harrison, 5’11, Junior
Reserves: Noah Knight, 6‘1, So.; Broderick Newbill, 6‘5, Jr.; Dashawn King, 6‘3, Jr.; Kyle Steward, 6‘7, Jr.; Grant Leach, 6‘3, Fr.; Darnell Tillman, 6‘8, Jr.
Postseason Prediction:
3. Grand Canyon
F – Grandy Glaze, 6‘6, R-Senior
F – Keonta Vernon, 6‘6, Junior
SF – Joshua Braun, 6‘4, Sophomore
SG – Ryan Majerle, 6‘3, Senior
PG – Dewayne Russell, 5’11, Senior
Reserves: De’Andre Davis, 6‘1, So.; Kerwin Smith, 6‘9, So.; Matt Jackson, 6‘8, So.; Boubacar Toure, 6’11, R-Fr.; Dominic Magee, 6‘4, R-Fr.; Grant White, 6‘1, Sr.;
Postseason Prediction:
4. Utah Valley
C – Zach Nelson, 6‘7, Junior
PF – Darrious Hamilton, 6‘9, Senior
SF – Hayes Garrity, 6‘1, R-Junior
SG – Jaden Jackson, 6‘1, Senior
PG – Marcel Davis, 6‘1, Senior
Reserves: Ivory “Trae” Young, 6’2, Jr.; Andrew Bastien, 6’9, Jr.; Alex Carr, 6’3, Sr.; Telly Davenport, 6’4, Fr.; Hayden Schenk, 6’4, R-Fr.;
Postseason Prediction:
5. CSU-Bakersfield
C – Aly Ahmed, 6’9, Senior
PF – Kevin Mays, 6’4, Senior
SF – Jaylin Airington, 6’4, Junior
SG – Brent Wrapp, 6’3, Sophomore
PG – Dedrick Basile, 5’10, Junior
Reserves: Justin Pride, 5’10, Jr.; Matt Smith, 6’6, Jr.; Bray Barnes, 6’5, R-Fr.; PJ Posey, 6’8, Jr.; Damiyne Durham, 6’4, R-Fr.
Postseason Prediction:
6. UT-Rio Grande Valley
C – Dan Kimasa, 6’9, Sophomore
PF – Shaq Hines, 6’7, Senior
SF – Everett Osborne, 6’4, Senior
SG – Nick Dixon, 6’2, Junior
PG – JJ Thompson, 6’0, R-Senior
Reserves: Adonis Rwabigwi, 6’8, R-So.; Dakota Slaughter, 6’6, R-Sr.; Antonio Green, 6’2, Fr.; Walter Jones, 6’4, Fr.; Chris Ikuenobe, 6’9, R-Jr.; George Garcia, 6’3, R-Fr.
Postseason Prediction:
7. Seattle
C – Jack Crook, 6’11, Senior
PF – Deshaun Sunderhaus, 6’9, R-Senior
SF – William Powell, 6’6, Junior
SG – Brendan Westendorf, 6’5, R-Junior
PG – Jadon Cohee, 6’4, Sophomore
Reserves: Jack Shaughnessy, 6’1, R-Fr.; Emmanuel Chibuogwu, 6’6, So.; Shore Adenekan, 6’9, Sr.; Malik Montoya, 6’2, Fr.; Jake Spurgeon, 6’5, Fr.; Aaron Menzies, 7’3, R-Fr.
Postseason Prediction:
8. Chicago St.
C – Quron Davis, 6’10, Junior
PF – Trayvon Palmer, 6’5, Junior
SF – Jawad Adekova, 6’6, Senior
SG – Jared Dimakos, 6’6, R-Senior
PG – Elliott Cole, 5’9, Junior
Reserves: Kieran Woods, 6’2, Jr.; Jordan Madrid-Andrews, 6’7, Jr.; Joshua Baston, 6’0, Sr.; Gentry Hunt, 6’3, So.; Montana Byrd, 6’4, So.
Postseason Prediction: