DENVER - NM State is the favorite to win the 2017-18 Western Athletic Conference women's basketball title and Seattle U's
Alexis Montgomery was selected WAC Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league's eight head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.
The Aggies, who won their third straight WAC title last season, received 47 points and six first place votes in the preseason poll. CSU Bakersfield picked up the remaining two first place votes for a total of 39 points to edge out Seattle U by one point for second place. Utah Valley was selected fourth while Grand Canyon, UT Rio Grande Valley and Kansas City were all separated by just two points for the fifth, sixth and seventh spots. Chicago State rounded out the poll.
Montgomery leads the list of Preseason All-WAC honorees. Joining her on the first team are NM State's
Brooke Salas, Grand Canyon's
Brie Mobley and Utah Valley's
Taylor Christensen and
Mariah Seals.
Second team selections include Utah Valley's
Sam Lubcke, CSU Bakersfield's
Jazmyne Bartee and
Aja Williams, Kansas City's
Samantha Waldron and NM State's
Zaire Williams.
2017-18 Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
NM State (6) |
47 |
| 2. |
CSU Bakersfield (2) |
39 |
| 3. |
Seattle U |
38 |
| 4. |
Utah Valley |
30 |
| 5. |
Grand Canyon |
22 |
| 6. |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
21 |
| 7. |
Kansas City |
20 |
| 8. |
Chicago State |
7 |
2017-18 Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches All-WAC Teams
First Team
Alexis Montgomery, Seattle U
Brooke Salas, NM State
Brie Mobley, Grand Canyon
Taylor Christensen, Utah Valley
Mariah Seals, Utah Valley
Second Team
Sam Lubcke, Utah Valley
Jazmyne Bartee, CSU Bakersfield
Aja Williams, CSU Bakersfield
Samantha Waldron, Kansas City
Zaire Williams, NM State
Preseason Player of the Year: Alexis Montgomery, Seattle U