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DENVER - The Western Athletic Conference men's basketball media have selected Grand Canyon as the preseason favorite to win the conference crown during the 2017-18 season and Grand Canyon redshirt senior guard
Joshua Braun as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
The Lopes received 14 first-place votes, earning 189 points to edge out NM State for the top spot. The Aggies were picked to finish second with 181 points and seven first-place votes, followed by Utah Valley in third with 153 points and three first-place votes, just ahead of CSU Bakersfield in fourth place with 148 points and the last two first-place votes. Seattle U was picked to finish fifth with 91 points, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in sixth with 72 points, edging out Kansas City in seventh place with 71 points. Chicago State rounded out the poll in eighth place with 31 points.
Braun was voted Preseason Player of the Year and is the on the Preseason All-WAC first team. Joining him on the first team are NM State's
Eli Chuha,
Nick Dixon of UT Rio Grande Valley,
Isaac Neilson of Utah Valley and
Fred Sims Jr. of Chicago State.
The Preseason All-WAC second team is comprised of Grand Canyon's
Casey Benson, CSU Bakersfield's
Damiyne Durham and
Brent Wrapp,
Jemerrio Jones of NM State and Seattle U's
Matej Kavas.
2017-18 Preseason Men's Basketball Media Poll
| Rank |
Teams (1st-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Grand Canyon (14) |
189 |
| 2 |
NM State (7) |
181 |
| 3 |
Utah Valley (3) |
153 |
| 4 |
CSU Bakersfield (2) |
148 |
| 5 |
Seattle U |
91 |
| 6 |
UT Rio Grande Valley |
72 |
| 7 |
Kansas City |
71 |
| 8 |
Chicago State |
31 |
2017-18 Preseason Men's Basketball Media All-WAC Teams
First Team
Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon
Eli Chuha, NM State
Nick Dixon, UT Rio Grande Valley
Isaac Neilson, Utah Valley
Fred Sims Jr., Chicago State
Second Team
Casey Benson, Grand Canyon
Damiyne Durham, CSU Bakersfield
Jemerrio Jones, NM State
Matej Kavas, Seattle U
Brent Wrapp, CSU Bakersfield
Preseason Player of the Year: Joshua Braun, Grand Canyon