LAS VEGAS, Nevada — The UNM Lobos, by the narrowest margin possible, have been voted the preseason favorites to win the new-look Mountain West conference in men's basketball.
Jake Hall is expected to lead the way, according to a select panel of media who voted the 6-foot-4 second-year guard as the league's Preseason Player of the Year. Backcourt mate Uriah Tenette, also in his second year, joins Hall on a 10-person Preseason All-MW team.
The poll was released Wednesday morning as the 2026 Mountain West Media Day conference kicked off at The Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
The Lobos received nine of 19 first-place votes in the preseason poll and 179 total points. That is just one point better than Grand Canyon University (178 points), a team loaded with high-major conference transfers that received one more first-place vote (10) than the Lobos.
The Lobos finished third and Grand Canyon fourth in the MW last season, each with 13-7 records. Utah State (first, 15-5) and San Diego State (second, 14-6), along with Boise State (sixth, 12-8), Colorado State (seventh, 11-9) and Fresno State (10th, 7-13) left for the new-look Pac-12 Conference.
Hawaii (voted to finish sixth), UC Davis (eighth) and UTEP (ninth) join the 10-team MW this season.
Hall was last season's MW Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-MW selection after averaging 16.4 points per game and becoming the first MW freshman to ever score 600 points in a season (he scored 605). Tenette averaged 10.6 points per game and was second on the team in assists and steals in his freshman campaign.
Hall and Tenette are two of the eight returning Mountain West players on the preseason All-MW team that has at least two players — Grand Canyon returner Jaden Henley and UNLV's A.J. Storr — awaiting clarity on their eligibility status as fifth-year players.
Grand Canyon has four players on the 10-player preseason team, the Lobos, Nevada and UNLV have two and Wyoming has one.
While the season starts in less than a month, the Lopes are still in a state of flux. The eligibility of Henely, Storr and this season's Mountain West Newcomer of the Year Dylan Darling, a transfer guard from St. John's — remains uncertain due to recent NCAA rule changes. Numerous rulings have backed fifth-year players — even ones who already played four full years in college — to play this season while the NCAA has continued to fight that case.
MW Preseason Men's Basketball Poll (2026-27)
Predicted order of finish, team, first place votes in parenthesis and total points.
1. New Mexico (9) — 179
2. Grand Canyon (10) — 178
3. Nevada — 148
4. UNLV — 125
5. Wyoming — 116
6. Hawaii — 99
7. San Jose State — 63
8. UC Davis — 62
9. UTEP — 52
10 Air Force — 23
2026-27 Preseason MW Player awards
Player of the Year:
*
G Jake Hall, New Mexico
Freshman of the Year:
*
F Jackson Kiss, UNLV
Newcomer of the Year:
*
G Dylan Darling, Grand Canyon
All-MW Preseason Team
*
G Dylan Darling, Grand Canyon
*
C Efe Demirel, Grand Canyon
*
G Jaden Henley, Grand Canyon
*
G Makaih Williams, Grand Canyon
*
F Elijah Price, Nevada
*
G Vaughn Weems, Nevada
*
G Jake Hall, New Mexico
*
G Uriah Tenette, New Mexico
*
F Tyrin Jones, UNLV
*
G AJ Storr, UNLV
*
G Naz Meyer, Wyoming
Geoff Grammer is the Sports Editor of the Journal, a podcaster, columnist and covers UNM Lobos basketball, among other things. Reach him at ggrammer@abqjournal.com or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.
