Wyoming Predicted to Finish Fifth in Preseason Poll

LARAMIE -- Win a conference title and hear your name called on Selection Sunday.

Yes, those are the ultimate goals of this current crop of Cowboys, but Sundance Wicks will be the first to tell you, it's a process.

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That unofficially begins today.

Wyoming has been predicted to finish fifth in the preseason Mountain West poll, falling behind UNLV, Nevada, and Grand Canyon, respectively. New Mexico, which returns Jake Hall -- who select media members think will be the league's Most Valuable Player -- sits atop the list, receiving nine first-place votes.

Guard Naz Meyer also earned all-conference honors after netting nearly 13 points a night for the Cowboys last season during his freshman campaign.

After Wyoming, the docket looks like this: Hawaii, San Jose State, UC Davis, UTEP and Air Force.

Wicks, Wyoming's eccentric third-year head coach, raved about the current culture inside his locker room. After an 18-win season and a surprise run to the National Invitational Tournament, the Cowboys return more than 45% of their scoring from 2025-26, including Meyer, Khaden Bennett (10.2), Gavin Gores (7.3) and Uriyah Rojas (6.2).

Right now, Wicks added, there's only one element missing.

"I think we've got some good yellow labs right now," he said in September. "It's nice to have yellow labs. I had a yellow lab. His name was Mugsy. He's a good bird dog and would do what you told him to do, right? I've got a lot of yellow labs right now and we need some pit bulls. That's kind of still: who do we have that's going to be a pit bull and that's really going to take over the alpha presence when we need it? I think that's going to evolve as we go on."

New Mexico returns two starters from last year’s NIT semifinal squad, including Hall, who was also the 2026 Mountain West Freshman of the Year. Joining head coach Eric Olen and the Lobos in 2026-27 are 10 newcomers.

Grand Canyon was picked second in the preseason poll with 178 points and 10 first-place votes, while Nevada was selected third with 148 points. UNLV was picked fourth with 148 points and Wyoming was chosen to finish fifth with 116 points.

Rounding out the poll is Hawai’i in sixth with 99 points, San José State in seventh with 63 points, UC Davis in eighth with 62 points, UTEP in ninth with 52 points and Air Force in 10th with 23 points.

Entering its 28th year, the Mountain West officially begins a new era, welcoming three new men’s basketball programs alongside seven returning members. MW men’s basketball members for 2026-27 include Air Force, Grand Canyon, Hawai’i, Nevada, New Mexico, San José State, UC Davis, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.

The new-look Mountain West men's basketball builds upon a strong foundation. The Conference has sent four or more teams to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in five of the last six seasons, including a league record six in 2024.

* A Mountain West press release contributed to this article

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