By Aidan Joly
After its strongest season ever in the 2023-24 season the Mountain West followed it up with another strong performance in 2024-25, sending four seasons to the NCAA tournament.
The league is becoming consistently the best non-Power 5 league in the country, and now has a new addition in Grand Canyon that has been one of the best mid-major programs in the country in recent years. Let’s get into each of the 12 teams that will make up the league this season.
New Mexico Lobos
2024-25: 27-8 (17-3 Mountain West), lost in NCAA second round
After another strong season that resulted in the Lobos winning a game in the NCAA tournament, the program is doing a complete reset.
New coach Eric Olen, who came from UC San Diego, brings in an entirely new roster. The biggest losses are Donovan Dent and Tru Washington.
Olen brought Chris Howell (5.6 PPG) and Milos Vicentic (3 PPG) with him from UC San Diego, and both should have some solid roles. He also added Kevin Patton, who had 3.1 PPG at USC, Deyton Albury, who had 7.6 PPG at Utah State, Tajavis Miller, who had 10.6 PPG at North Dakota State, and JT Rock, who played at Iowa State.
JUCO All-American Antonio Chol also comes in. There are four freshmen, two of them international in Tomislav Buljan and Timeo Pons.
The Lobos could take a step back, which is to be expected after losing that much talent. But it still has a shot at being very competitive in this league.
Grand Canyon Antelopes
2024-25: 26-8 (13-3 WAC), lost in NCAA first round
One of the premier mid-major programs in the country the past few seasons makes it up to the premier mid-major league in the country.
Grand Canyon has made it to the NCAA tournament four of the past five years under coach Bryce Drew.
This year, the Antelopes have a shot at going again. The roster will hinge largely on transfers, most notably Dusty Stromer, who had 4.3 PPG at Gonzaga, Jaden Henley, who had 12.5 PPG at UNLV and Wilhelm Breidenbach, who had 4.5 PPG at Washington. In addition, Nana Owusu-Anane had 14.7 PPG at Brown, Brian Moore Jr. had 18.1 PPG at Norfolk State and Kaleb Smith had 11 PPG at Norfolk State.
As for returners, the most notable are Makaih Williams, who had 8.2 PPG, and Caleb Shaw, who had 6.1 PPG.
Overall, the Antelopes should be able to challenge. There might be some growing pains as it adjusts to the depth of the league, but should be right up at the top soon.
Colorado State Rams
2024-25: 26-10 (16-4 Mountain West), lost in NCAA second round
The Rams were a buzzer-beater away from going to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament last March and will be back for more.
The new coach in Fort Collins is Ali Farokhmanesh, of Northern Iowa vs. Kansas fame, as Niko Medved moves onto Minnesota.
He was the top assistant there. Big man Rashaan Mbemba returns, along with Kyle Jorgenson and Nikola Djapa, but that’s about it.
New in Fort Collins is Josh Pascarelli, who had 15.9 PPG at Marist, Augustinas Kiudulas, who had 15.2 PPG at VMI, and Brandon Rechsteiner, who had 7 PPG at Virginia Tech. Jevin Muniz was in double figures at Florida Gulf Coast, and Jase Butler (Washington) and Carey Booth (Illinois) could have roles as they come in from high-majors.
The talent is here to be able to make a lot of noise in this league. Will they be able to do it?
Utah State Aggies
2024-25: 26-8 (15-5 Mountain West), lost in NCAA first round
The Aggies nearly lost both their head coach in Jerrod Calhoun and star player in Mason Falslev, but the program keeps both around with money being injected into the program.
It’s a nice group of returners for year two under Calhoun. Falslev averaged 15 PPG. Also back is Karson Templin, who averaged 7.4 PPG, Drake Allen, who had 7 PPG, and Tucker Anderson, who had 5.8 PPG.
The best portal add here is MJ Collins, who had 7.4 PPG on a Vanderbilt team that went to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Garry Clark had 14.9 PPG at Texas A&M Corpus Christi and was one of the best rebounders on his team. Kolby King (Butler) and Zach Keller (Utah) should have crucial roles.
Overall, this is a deep team. Behind San Diego State, the Aggies will likely be the second best team in this league.
San Diego State Aztecs
2024-25: 21-10 (14-6 Mountain West), lost in NCAA First Four
After squeaking into the NCAA tournament as one of the last teams in, San Diego State can not only be the best team in this league, but the best non-Power 5 team in the country.
The Aztecs return Miles Byrd, who was an all-conference pick last year after he averaged 12.3 PPG. He has a shot at being the league player of the year. It also brings back Magoon Gwath, the league’s defensive player of the year last season while also chipping in 8.5 PPG on the other side of the floor. Reese Waters is also back after he missed all of last season but had 9.6 PPG in 2023-24. BJ Davis had 9 PPG last year.
The adds here are Sean Newman Jr., who had 9.9 PPG at Louisiana Tech, Latrell Davis (11.1 PPG at San Jose State) and Jeremiah Oden, who had 7.6 PPG at Charlotte. Top-75 prospect Elzie Harrington should have an immediate role.
Shooting will be an issue, but this is a deep, experience-laden team. It should be the one to beat in the Mountain West.
Boise State Broncos
2024-25: 26-11 (14-6 Mountain West), lost in Crown semifinals
Boise State is always a tough out in the Mountain West and this year will be no different.
It’s a nice mix of new guys and returners for coach Leon Rice. Tyson Degenhart does move on, but the Broncos bring back Andrew Meadow, who had 12.6 PPG last season, Javan Buchanan, who had 9.6 PPG, and Pearson Carmichael, who had 6.9 PPG. Role guys Julian Bowie and RJ Keene also return.
A pair of nice transfers come in in the form of Drew Fielder, who had 7.1 PPG at Georgetown, and Dylan Andrews, who had 6.9 PPG at UCLA. Four-star Spencer Ahrens and international prospect Aginaldo Neto have a chance at contributing as freshmen.
Overall, it’s a nice mix of players that is certainly good enough to keep Boise in the NCAA tournament conversation.
UNLV Rebels
2024-25: 18-15 (11-9 Mountain West), no postseason
Former Memphis and Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner is the new head man in Vegas after the program moved on from Kevin Kruger after four mediocre seasons.
It’s a near entirely roster in Pastner’s first season. Some of the top additions here are Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (5.9 PPG at Illinois), Al Green (10.2 PPG at Louisiana Tech) and Kimani Hamilton (13.1 PPG at High Point). In addition, Myles Che (UC San Diego) and Howie Fleming Jr. (UTRGV) each averaged in double figures.
Ladji Dembele (Iowa), Naas Cunningham (Alabama) and Emmanuel Stephen (Alabama) each have high-major experience and could be valuable.
The ceiling is high here if this group is able to gel, especially in conference season. UNLV has not been to the NCAA tournament since 2013.
Nevada Wolf Pack
2024-25: 17-16 (8-12 Mountain West), no postseason
After a disappointing season in 2024-25, the Wolf Pack will have a much different look this season.
The only notable returner is Tyler Rolison, who had 7.4 PPG and should start.
As for new guys, Fresno State transfer Elijah Price (10.5 PPG) is probably the top guy here. They also added Tayshawn Comer, who had 16.2 PPG at Evansville, Corey Camper, Jr., who had 10.5 PPG at UTEP and Joel Armotrading, who had 5.8 PPG at UC Riverside. Vaughn Weems was one of the most productive players in the country at the JUCO level and has a shot at seeing impact minutes.
It’s a decent rotation of players that will likely end up being in the middle of the pack in the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack will be a tough out.
San Jose State Spartans
2024-25: 15-20 (7-13 Mountain West), lost in NIT first round
It’s always tough sledding in the league for this program due to a lack of resources.
Coach Tim Miles doesn’t return much. The most productive player back is Sadraque NgaNga, who had 6.8 PPG. Jermaine Washington had 4.4 PPG and is also back.
It will rely heavily on the new guys. Colby Garland had 12.1 PPG at Longwood and JaVaughn Hannah had 12 PPG at Western Michigan. Yaphet Moundi had 9.8 PPG at Iona, and Marcus Overstreet had 6.2 PPG at Mercer. Adrian Myers played very limited minutes at Mississippi State two seasons ago.
Miles is a good coach and will develop this group. However, the ceiling can only be so high when there’s no go-to guy.
Wyoming Cowboys
2024-25: 12-20 (5-15 Mountain West), no postseason
Things did not go well in year one under coach Sundance Wicks, but granted he did not have much to work with.
The Cowboys lost star player Obi Agbim to Baylor. They do bring back Matija Belic (5.6 PPG) and Abou Magassa (3.2 PPG), but other than that it will be transfers.
Leading that charge will be Leland Walker, who had 9.2 PPG at Florida Atlantic, and Khaden Bennett, who had 10.3 PPG at Quinnipiac. Damarion Dennis had 6.7 PPG at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Jared Harris had limited time at Memphis.
Wyoming will also rely on non-Division I transfers Adam Harakow (11.8 PPG at D2 Lake Superior State), Uriyah Rojas (25.5 PPG at CCCAA Chaffey College) and Kiani Saxon (7.2 PPG at D2 Missouri Western).
This team shouldn’t be expected to be competing at the top of the league, but should be better than last season.
Fresno State Bulldogs
2024-25: 6-26 (2-18 Mountain West), no postseason
This is a roster that is in rough shape. It had its first single digit win season in more than three decades and lost 12 players to the portal.
It will be nearly all transfers for second-year coach Vance Walberg. Jake Heidbreder is the best addition here. He averaged 4.1 PPG at Clemson this season but averaged over 15 PPG at Air Force two seasons ago. Cameron Faas had 9.7 PPG at Kansas City last season. Jac Mani comes in from UC Davis.
The Bulldogs do return Zaon Collins, who had over 12 PPG last year, but has a controversial past, including serving time in jail for a reckless driving conviction.
There are several international freshmen, including three from France: Bastien Reiber, Wilson Jacques and Nathan Zulemie.
Overall, Walberg has another tough season ahead of him. The talent just isn’t really there.
Air Force Falcons
2024-25: 4-28 (1-19 Mountain West), no postseason
It’s very, very tough to win at a service academy, but the wheels just totally fell off for Air Force in 2024-25. It managed just one win in league play and four overall.
Three of the top five scorers from last year return, that being Wesley Celichowski (8.7 PPG), Kyle Marshall (6.9 PPG) and Caleb Walker (6.5 PPG).
Being a service academy, it cannot add players from the portal. So, the improvement will have to come internally. It has nine freshmen on the roster. There is still a big mountain to climb in order to be competitive in the league.
AJ Hoops 