By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – After a magical 2024 GNAC Championships title run on its home floor, Central Washington emerged as the preseason favorite in the 2024-25 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men’s basketball coaches poll released on Thursday.
 
The Wildcats, who tied for third in last year’s GNAC standings at 22-10 overall and 11-7 in league play, earned 90 total points including four first-place votes to top the poll. CWU edged second-place Montana State Billings, which won last year’s GNAC regular-season title at 20-10 overall and 14-4 in league play, by five points.
 

2024-25 GNAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2023-24 Record	GNAC Record (Finish)	2024-25 Roster	2024-25 Schedule
1	Central Washington (4)	90	22-10	11-7 (T3rd)	Roster	Schedule
2	Montana State Billings (3)	85	20-10	14-4 (1st)	Roster	Schedule
3	Northwest Nazarene	70	17-10	13-5 (2nd)	Roster	Schedule
T4	Alaska Anchorage (1)	69	22-11	10-8 (T5th)	Roster	Schedule
T4	Saint Martin's (1)	69	21-8	11-7 (T3rd)	Roster	Schedule
6	Western Washington (1)	52	17-12	9-9 (7th)	Roster	Schedule
7	Seattle Pacific	49	17-15	10-8 (T6th)	Roster	Schedule
8	Simon Fraser	25	6-23	4-14 (9th)	Roster	Schedule
9	Western Oregon	21	5-21	2-16 (10th)	Roster	Schedule
10	Alaska Fairbanks	19	8-18	6-12 (8th)	Roster	Schedule
Points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

 

---

 

CWU’s memorable 2023-24 campaign was highlighted by a run of six consecutive victories from Feb. 29-March 15, leading the team into the second round of the NCAA West Region Championships. Earning the No. 4 seed into the GNAC Championships, CWU beat No. 5 seed Seattle Pacific, No. 1 seed Montana State Billings and No. 6 seed Alaska Anchorage in front of a jam-packed Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg, Wash. CWU then upset No. 4 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills 110-90 in its regional opener, before the season came to a close with a second-round loss to Azusa Pacific. The Wildcats bid farewell to GNAC Championships MVP Samaad Hector, who led last year’s squad with 13.2 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game. Sophomores Jordan Clark (G, 6-2, 7.3 ppg) and Maverick Sanders (F, 6-6, 8.1 ppg) are the team’s top returners as CWU figures to be a title contender once again this winter. Brandon Rinta begins his seventh season as head coach of the Wildcats, who open their regular season at the CCAA/GNAC Challenge on Nov. 8-10 in Ellensburg.
 

---

In his first season in charge of the Yellowjackets, Luke Fennelly delivered the program’s first-ever GNAC regular-season title in 2023-

24. MSUB cruised through the conference slate with a 14-4 record before a heartbreaking 81-80 loss to the Wildcats in the GNAC Championships semifinals. The ‘Jackets earned the No. 3 seed into the NCAA West Region Championships, falling 78-64 to Chico State in the opening round. Last year’s GNAC Player of the Year Jalen Tot (G, 6-0, 15.3 ppg) headlines MSUB’s group of returners, and fellow senior Famous Lefthand (G, 6-3, 10.4 ppg) is also back on the Yellowjacket roster. The ‘Jackets will look to replace 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year Steven Richardson and 2023-24 Newcomer of the Year Daniel Moody. MSUB hosts the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead on Nov. 1-3 to kick off the 2024-25 campaign.
 

---

 

Finishing third in the preseason poll was Northwest Nazarene University, claiming 70 points after going 17-10 overall last year and finishing second in the GNAC standings at 13-5. The Nighthawks finished the season strong, winning six of their final seven regular-season games, before falling 64-63 to Alaska Anchorage at the GNAC Championships. Key returning names for NNU include seniors Ryzin Bergersen (G, 6-4) and Aaron Murphy (F, 6-7) who averaged 13.0 points and 10.1 points, respectively. NNU’s biggest losses were second-team all-conference picks Tru Allen (13.1 ppg) and Gabriel Murphy (11.9 ppg/7.6 rpg). Jon Hawkins kicks off his second season leading the NNU program on Nov. 9, when the Nighthawks host Bushnell to get their schedule started.
 

---

After a tie for third place in last year’s GNAC standings, Saint Martin’s tied for fourth place in the preseason poll with 69 points and

one first-place vote. SMU went 21-8 overall and 11-7 in league play, before falling 81-76 to Alaska Anchorage in last year’s GNAC Championships. Aaron Landon, who guided SMU to back-to-back GNAC titles in 2021-22 and 2022-23 is in his fifth season piloting the program. Senior guard Jaden Nielsen-Skinner (G, 5-10, 8.6 ppg), an honorable mention all-GNAC pick last year, is a key name returning to the lineup this season. SMU kicks off its campaign Nov. 1-3 at the D2CCA Canadian Tipoff Classic with three early contests.
 

---

 

Matching the Saints with 69 points and one first-place vote was Alaska Anchorage, which also tied for fourth in the preseason poll. UAA peaked in the postseason last year, upsetting Saint Martin’s in the opening round and Northwest Nazarene in the semifinals of the GNAC Championships. Despite the loss to CWU in the championship game, the previous wins were enough to earn the Seawolves a spot in the NCAA West Region Championships where their strong season concluded with a 52-49 loss to Cal State San Bernardino. Rusty Osborne, the GNAC’s all-time winningest coach with 348 victories since his career began in 2005, returns for his 20th season in charge of the program. Among UAA’s key returners are senior Dillon Barrientos (G, 6-1, 11.1 ppg), and junior Bishop Tosi (F, 6-6, 13.0 ppg). First-team all-GNAC guard Tyson Gilbert is the biggest piece the Seawolves will need to replace this season. UAA’s season begins on Nov. 1-3 at the tipoff tournament in Billings.
 

---

Checking in sixth in the preseason poll with 52 points and the final first-place vote was Western Washington. The Vikings narrowly

missed the GNAC Championships last year, going 17-12 overall and finishing 9-9 in conference play to place seventh. Tijan Saine (G, 5-11) had a notable debut season averaging 10.9 points and garnering GNAC Freshman of the Year accolades. Also back in the WWU lineup this season is senior Will Wilson (F, 6-4), who averaged 15.8 points per game. Tony Dominguez, who has the fourth-most wins in GNAC history with 214, is entering his 11th season at the helm of the Vikings. WWU’s campaign kicks off at the West Region Crossover on Nov. 8-9 on its home floor in Bellingham, Wash.
 

---

 

Placing seventh in the preseason poll was Seattle Pacific, which earned 49 points. The Falcons went 17-15 overall in 2023-24 and tied for sixth in the GNAC with a league record of 10-8. After winning four straight games to finish the regular season, SPU bowed out of the GNAC Championships with a 90-76 loss to the Wildcats. SPU bid farewell to Shaw Anderson, who completed a five-year career ranked fifth in GNAC history with 1,987 points. The Falcons bolstered their roster with junior University of Montana transfer Jaxon Nap (G, 6-7), who figures to slot into the starting lineup right away. Keffrey Fazio will begin his second season as head coach, and will lead the Falcons into battle on Nov. 8-9 with their season-opening games at the CCAA Crossover at home in Seattle.
 

---

Simon Fraser totaled 25 points in the preseason poll and checked in at No. 8 in the rankings. The Red Leafs went 6-23 overall and

finished ninth in the GNAC standings with a league record of 4-14 last year. Seniors Elliot Dimaculangan (G, 6-4) and Eric Beckett (G, 6-4) are key returners after averaging 12.0 points and 9.0 points, respectively a season ago. SFU bid farewell to 2023-24 leading scorer David Penney, who earned honorable mention all-conference averaging 12.9 points per game. Steve Hanson is in his ninth season in charge, and the Red Leafs will open their campaign hosting a tipoff tournament Nov. 1-3 at Langley Events Center.
 

---

 

Earning 21 points and finishing ninth in the preseason poll was Western Oregon University. The Wolves are coming off a 5-21 campaign in 2023-24 that included a league record of 2-16 for 10th place. Jason Gallant (G, 6-4) is the top returner for the Wolves, after averaging 15.5 points in his first season as a transfer from Colorado Christian. Wes Pifer is set to begin his sixth season leading the WOU program in 2024-25. The Wolves will go international to begin their campaign, competing in three games from Nov. 1-3 at the tournament hosted by Simon Fraser.
 

---

Rounding out the preseason poll was Alaska Fairbanks, which grabbed 19 points. The Nanooks finished eighth in last year’s GNAC

standings, going 8-18 overall and 6-12 in conference games. Frank Ostanik, who coached the Nanooks from 2005-07 and went 55-32 (.632), is back in charge for his second stint leading the team this season. Alaska said goodbye to 2023-24 second-team selection Abdullahi Mohamed, who led the team with 16.1 points per game. The Nanooks are set to open their season on Nov. 8-11 with a three-game trip to Hawaii.
 
The 18-game conference schedule kicks off with an early slate of games on Dec. 5-7, and resumes after the new year in January. The top-six teams in the regular-season standings earn spots into the 2025 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships, which will be hosted by Saint Martin’s in Lacey, Wash., from March 6-8, 2025. The winner of the conference tournament earns the GNAC’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships.