# 2023–24 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball season

The 2023–24 WAC men's basketball season began with practices in October followed by the start of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in early November 2023. The conference began play in late November 2023. This is the WAC's 62nd season of basketball. The WAC competed with 11 teams due to two teams having left the conference since the prior season. Both New Mexico State and Sam Houston joined Conference USA effective July 1, 2023. The WAC tournament was held March 13–16, 2024 with the top eight teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament at Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada.
This was the last WAC season for UTRGV, which announced on March 25, 2024 that it would join the Southland Conference that July.

## Pre-season
### WAC Media days

The WAC's 2023 men's basketball media day was held on October 16.
Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll :
| Place | Team | Points | First place votes |
| 1. | Grand Canyon | 99 | 9 |
| 2. | Stephen F. Austin | 87 | 2 |
| 3 | Seattle U | 86 | -- |
| 4. | Utah Valley | 61 | -- |
| 5. | Abilene Christian | 60 | -- |
| 6. | Tarleton | 49 | -- |
| 7. | California Baptist | 47 | -- |
| 8. | UT Arlington | 43 | -- |
| 9. (T) | Southern Utah | 26 | -- |
| 9. (T) | UTRGV | 26 | -- |
| 11. | Utah Tech | 21 | -- |

### WAC Preseason All-Conference
#### First Team

| Name | School | Yr. | Pos. |
| Ray Harrison† | Grand Canyon | Junior | G |
| Gabe McGlothan | Grand Canyon | Senior | F |
| Cameron Tyson | Seattle U | Senior | G |
| Sadaidriene Hall | Stephen F. Austin | Junior | F |
| Drake Allen | Utah Valley | Junior | G |
† Denotes Preseason Player of the Year

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Abilene Christian | Paradise Jam | 2nd |
| California Baptist | The Joust | 1st |
| Grand Canyon | Arizona Tip-Off | 2nd |
| Seattle U | Seattle MTE | 1st |
| Southern Utah | Louisiana Tech MTE | 3rd |
| Stephen F. Austin | Cayman Islands Classic | 2nd |
| Tarleton | SoCal Challenge | 1st |
| UT Arlington | Acrisure Classic | 3rd |
| UTRGV | Acrisure Invitational | 4th |
| Utah Tech | Lake Erie Classic | 2nd |
| Utah Valley | Jacksonville Classic (Bay Bracket) | 2nd |

### Conference USA-Western Athletic Conference Challenge

| Date | Conference USA team | WAC team | Score | Location | Leader |
| November 9 | FIU | Tarleton | 82–65 | Ocean Bank Convocation Center • Miami, FL | WAC (1–0) |
| November 9 | Sam Houston | Utah Valley | 79–73$^{OT}$ | Bernard Johnson Coliseum • Huntsville, TX | WAC (2–0) |
| November 9 | Middle Tennessee | Stephen F. Austin | 67–62 | Murphy Center • Murfreesboro, TN | WAC (2–1) |
| November 11 | Jacksonville State | Utah Tech | 81–79 | Pete Mathews Coliseum • Jacksonville, AL | WAC (3–1) |
| November 21 | Louisiana Tech | Southern Utah | 67–53 | Thomas Assembly Center • Ruston, LA | WAC (3–2) |
| December 9 | Liberty | Grand Canyon | 69–64 | Libery Arena • Lynchburg, VA | WAC (4–2) |
| December 17 | UTEP | Abilene Christian | 88–82 | Moody Coliseum • Abilene, TX | WAC (5–2) |
| December 18 | Jacksonville State | Tarleton | 65–62 | Wisdom Gym • Stephenville, TX | WAC (5–3) |
| December 19 | New Mexico State | Stephen F. Austin | 75–72 | William R. Johnson Coliseum • Nacogdoches, TX | WAC (6–3) |
| December 19 | Western Kentucky | California Baptist | 73–70 | Fowler Events Center • Riverside, CA | WAC (6–4) |
| December 20 | Sam Houston | Grand Canyon | 76–64 | GCU Arena • Phoenix, AZ | WAC (7–4) |
| December 20 | Louisiana Tech | Seattle | 79–73$^{OT}$ | Redhawk Center • Seattle, WA | WAC (8–4) |
| December 20 | Liberty | Utah Valley | 63–79 | UCCU Center • Orem, UT | WAC (8–5) |
| December 22 | Middle Tennessee | Southern Utah | 69–63 | America First Event Center • Cedar City, UT | WAC (9–5) |
| December 30 | UTEP | Seattle | 73–61 | Don Haskins Center • El Paso, TX | WAC (10–5) |
| December 30 | Western Kentucky | Abilene Christian | 86–84 | E. A. Diddle Arena • Bowling Green, KY | WAC (10–6) |
| December 30 | New Mexico State | California Baptist | 66–61 | Pan American Center • Las Cruces, NM | WAC (10–7) |
| December 30 | FIU | Utah Tech | 96–92$^{OT}$ | Burns Arena • St. George, UT | WAC (11–7) |
| WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: UT Arlington, UT Rio Grande Valley ||||||

### Records against other conferences

2023–24 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season
| Power Conferences & Gonzaga | Record |
| ACC | 0–2 |
| Big East | 0–0 |
| Big Ten | 0–0 |
| Big 12 | 1–4 |
| Pac-12 | 0–8 |
| SEC | 0–3 |
| Gonzaga | 0–0 |
| Power Conference Total | 1–17 |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record |
| America East | 0–0 |
| American | 0–2 |
| A-10 | 1–1 |
| ASUN | 1–0 |
| Big Sky | 5–6 |
| Big South | 0–0 |
| Big West | 4–3 |
| CAA | 0–0 |
| C-USA | 12–7 |
| Horizon | 0–1 |
| Ivy League | 0–1 |
| MAAC | 0–0 |
| MAC | 0–0 |
| MEAC | 0–0 |
| MVC | 1–2 |
| Mountain West | 3–5 |
| NEC | 0–0 |
| OVC | 2–1 |
| Patriot League | 0–0 |
| SoCon | 0–0 |
| Southland | 4–1 |
| SWAC | 3–1 |
| The Summit | 3–2 |
| Sun Belt | 2–2 |
| WCC (except Gonzaga) | 4–2 |
| Other Division I Total | 46–38 |
| Non-Division I Total | 19–0 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 47–55 |

### Record against ranked non-conference opponents

This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP poll/Coaches poll):
| Date | Visitor | Home | Score |
| 11/19 | UT Arlington | #3/3 Arizona | L, 56–101 |
| 12/5 | Grand Canyon | #RV/25 San Diego State | W, 79–73 |
| 12/21 | Tarleton | #8/7 Tennessee | L, 46–65 |
| 1/1 | UT Arlington | #24/21 Texas | L, 62–79 |
Team rankings are reflective of AP poll/Coaches poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking.

### Rankings

| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 |
| NV | No votes received |
| | | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Final |
| Abilene Christian | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Abilene Christian | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| California Baptist | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| California Baptist | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Grand Canyon | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV |
| Grand Canyon | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | RV |
| Seattle U | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Seattle U | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Southern Utah | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Southern Utah | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Stephen F. Austin | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Stephen F. Austin | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Tarleton | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Tarleton | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UT Arlington | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UT Arlington | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UTRGV | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UTRGV | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Utah Tech | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Utah Tech | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Utah Valley | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Utah Valley | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

Three coaching changes were made during the offseason. Todd Simon accepted the head coaching position at Bowling Green in March 2023. The next month, Rob Jeter began as head coach at Southern Utah. With 20 years of coaching experience at the college level, KT Turner was hired as the new head coach at UT Arlington. Mark Madsen was hired as the head coach at California and Todd Phillips was promoted from associate head coach to the head coach at Utah Valley in April 2023.

### Coaches

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and WAC records are from time at current school.
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Seasons at school | Overall record | WAC record | WAC titles | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Abilene Christian | Brette Tanner | (Associate HC) | 3rd | 38–28 (.576) | 18–18 (.500) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| California Baptist | Rick Croy | St. Mary's (assistant) | 11th | 85-66 (.563) | 38-42 (.475) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Canyon | Bryce Drew | Vanderbilt | 4th | 64-27 (.703) | 33-15 (.688) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Seattle U | Chris Victor | (Assistant/interim HC) | 3rd | 43-21 (.672) | 25-11 (.694) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Southern Utah | Rob Jeter | Western Illinois | 1st | 0-0 (–) | 0-0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stephen F. Austin | Kyle Keller | Texas A&M (assistant) | 8th | 145-68 (.696) | 25–11 (.694) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tarleton | Billy Gillispie | Ranger College | 4th | 30-33 (.476) | 23-25 (.479) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UT Arlington | K. T. Turner | Kentucky (assistant) | 1st | 0-0 (–) | 0-0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UTRGV | Matt Figger | Austin Peay | 3rd | 23-40 (.258) | 9-27 (.250) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah Tech | Jon Judkins | Snow College | 19th | 320-168 (.656) | 15-35 (.300) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah Valley | Todd Phillips | (Associate HC) | 1st | 0-0 (–) | 0-0 (–) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Overall and WAC records, conference titles, etc. are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2022–23 season.
* Records and season totals only include time spent at Division I as head coach.
* NCAA tournament appearances are from time at current school only.
* NCAA Final Fours and Championship include time at other schools.

## Post season
### WAC tournament

The conference tournament is scheduled to be played from March 13–16, 2024, at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada near Las Vegas. Eight of the eleven members are invited to the tournament. While Tarleton and Utah Tech are ineligible for the NCAA tournament, they are eligible for the WAC tournament.

### NCAA tournament

Teams from the conference that were selected to participate: 1
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 12 | West | Grand Canyon | – | defeated (5) Saint Mary's 75–66 | lost to (2) Alabama 61–72 | – | – | – | – |
| | Bids | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 1–1 (.500) |

### National Invitation Tournament

Number from the conference that were selected to participate: 0
| Seed | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |

### College Basketball Invitational

Number from the conference that were selected to participate: 1
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 3 | Seattle | defeated (14) Delaware State 79–66 | defeated (11) Evansville 71–57 | defeated (7) Fairfield 75–58 | defeated (1) High Point 77–67 |
| | W-L (%): | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | TOTAL: 4–0 (1.000) |

### CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

Number from the conference that were selected to participate: 2
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| N/A | Abilene Christian | defeated Texas A&M–CC 73–63 | lost to Tarleton 59–86 | – | – |
| N/A | Tarleton | defeated Texas Southern 82–71 | defeated Abilene Christian 86–59 | lost to Purdue Fort Wayne 72–73 | – |
| | W-L (%): | 2–0 (1.000) | 1–1 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) | TOTAL: 3–2 (.600) |
* Index to colors and formatting
* WAC member won
* WAC member lost
*Denotes overtime period

## Awards and honors
### Players of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the WAC offices name a player of the week and a newcomer of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the Week | School | Newcomer of the Week | School |
| November 13 | DaJuan Gordon | UT Arlington | Dominique Daniels Jr. | CBU |
| November 20 | Shemar Wilson | UT Arlington | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon |
| November 27 | Jakorie Smith | Tarleton | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon |
| December 4 | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon |
| December 11 | Gabe McGlothan | Grand Canyon | Caleb Stone-Carrawell | Utah Valley |
| December 18 | Gabe McGlothan | Grand Canyon | Phillip Russell | UT Arlington |
| December 26 | Cameron Tyson | Seattle U | Duke Brennan | Grand Canyon |
| January 2 | KiAndre Gaddy | Tarleton | Elijah Elliott | UTRGV |
| January 8 | Gabe McGlothan | Grand Canyon | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon |
| January 15 | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon |
| January 22 | Dominique Daniels Jr. | CBU | Dominique Daniels Jr. | CBU |
| January 29 | Dominique Ford | Southern Utah | Dominique Daniels Jr. | CBU |
| February 5 | Lue Williams, Sr. | Tarleton | Phillip Russell | UT Arlington |
| February 12 | Jaylen Searles | Utah Tech | Jaylen Searles | Utah Tech |
| February 19 | DaJuan Gordon | UT Arlington | John Christofilis | Seattle U |
| February 26 | DaJuan Gordon | UT Arlington | Devon Barnes | Tarleton |
| March 4 | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon |

#### Totals per school - Players of the week

| School | Player of the week | Freshman of the week | Total |
| Abilene Christian University | | | |
| California Baptist University | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Grand Canyon University | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Seattle University | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Southern Utah University | 1 | | 1 |
| Stephen F. Austin State University | | | |
| Tarleton State University | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| University of Texas at Arlington | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | | 1 | 1 |
| Utah Tech University | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Utah Valley University | | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 17 | 34 |

### All-WAC
#### First team

| Name | School |
| Tyon Grant-Foster‡ | Grand Canyon |
| Gabe McGlothan | Grand Canyon |
| Cameron Tyson | Seattle |
| Jakorie Smith | Tarleton |
| DaJuan Gordon | UT Arlington |
* ‡ WAC Player of the Year
* ‡‡ WAC Defensive Player of the Year

#### Second team

| Name | School |
| Ali Abdou Dibba | Abilene Christian |
| Dominique Daniels Jr. | California Baptist |
| Ray Harrison | Grand Canyon |
| Alex Schumacher | Seattle |
| Shemar Wilson | UT Arlington |

#### All-Freshman team

| Name | School |
| Braden Housley | Southern Utah |
| Emmanuel Innocenti | Tarleton |
| Makaih Williams† | UT Arlington |
| Aric Demings | Utah Tech |
| Osiris Grady | Utah Valley |
† Freshman of the Year

#### All-Defensive team

| Name | School |
| Collin Moore | Grand Canyon |
| KiAndre Gaddy‡ | Tarleton |
| Emmanuel Innocenti | Tarleton |
| DaJuan Gordon | UT Arlington |
| Shemar Wilson | UT Arlington |
* ‡WAC Defensive Player of the Year

#### Other awards

Sixth Man of the Year: Phillip Russell, UT Arlington
Coach of the Year: Joseph Jones, Tarleton

## 2024 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School/club team |

## Home game attendance

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Game 8 | Game 9 | Game 10 | Game 11 | Game 12 | Game 13 | Game 14 | Game 15 | Game 16 | Game 17 | Game 18 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Abilene Christian | Moody Coliseum | 3,600 | 1,895† | 1,773 | 1,153 | 1,251 | 1,469 | 1,521 | 1,541 | 1,401 | 1,712 | 1,652 | 1,323 | 1,669 | 1,437 | 1,817 | | | | | 21,614 | 1,544 | 43% |
| California Baptist | CBU Events Center | 5,050 | 3,290 | 5,096 | 2,540 | 2,034 | 2,009 | 2,372 | 2,854 | 2,522 | 2,518 | 3,676 | N/A | 3,197 | 4,822 | 2,550 | 2,230 | 2,111 | 2,550 | 5,363† | 51,734 | 3,043 | 60% |
| Grand Canyon | GCU Arena | 7,000 | 7,186 | 7,118 | 7,208 | 7,214 | 7,282 | N/A | 7,436† | 7,105 | 7,233 | 7,239 | 7,276 | 7,124 | 7,117 | 7,268 | 7,192 | 7,388 | | | 115,572 | 7,223 | 103% |
| Seattle U | Redhawk Center/Climate Pledge Arena | 999/18,100 | 999 | 999 | 1,410‡ | 999 | 836 | 943 | 705 | 5,702‡† | 702 | 944 | 795 | 1,000 | 999 | 2,354‡ | 966 | 932 | 926 | 999 | 23,210 | 1,289 | 129% |
| Southern Utah | America First Event Center | 5,300 | 1,461 | 1,181 | 1,326 | 1,335 | 886 | 1,007 | 1,809 | 3,563† | 1,422 | 1,352 | 1,175 | 1,613 | 828 | 1,119 | | | | | 20,077 | 1,434 | 27% |
| Stephen F. Austin | William R. Johnson Coliseum | 7,203 | 3,250 | 2,032 | 2,328 | 1,710 | 1,422 | 2,120 | 2,049 | 2,361 | 3,649† | 2,909 | 2,208 | 2,120 | 2,887 | 1,507 | 1,565 | | | | 34,117 | 2,274 | 32% |
| Tarleton State | Wisdom Gymnasium | 3,000 | 1,040 | 1,327 | 1,210 | 605 | 1,754 | 1,078 | 2,104 | 1,677 | 2,110 | 2,140 | 3,000† | 2,276 | 2,024 | N/A | | | | | 22,345 | 1,719 | 57% |
| UT Arlington | College Park Center | 7,000 | 2,185 | 2,512 | 1,119 | 1,280 | 1,275 | 1,696 | 1,112 | 1,009 | 1,824 | 2,871† | 2,393 | 2,110 | 1,622 | 1,781 | 1,871 | | | | 26,660 | 1,777 | 25% |
| UTRGV | UTRGV Fieldhouse/Bert Ogden Arena | 2,500/7,688 | 1,622 | 644 | 1,944 | 1,012 | 718 | 1,031 | 591 | 1,015 | 1,514 | 1,932 | 2,041 | 2,766† | 857 | 652 | | | | | 18,339 | 1,310 | 52% |
| Utah Tech | Burns Arena | 4,779 | 2,501 | 1,501 | 1,176 | 1,213 | 1,492 | 1,658 | 1,455 | 1,904 | 2,648† | 1,682 | 1,739 | 1,440 | 2,387 | | | | | | 22,796 | 1,754 | 37% |
| Utah Valley | UCCU Center | 8,500 | 1,849 | 1,326 | 2,319 | 1,651 | 1,407 | 1,553 | 2,163 | 2,801† | 2,381 | 1,985 | 2,474 | 2,601 | 2,357 | 2,615 | | | | | 29,482 | 2,106 | 25% |
| Total | | 73,523 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 385,946 | 25,474 | 54% |
Bold – At or exceed capacity; capacity ratios for Seattle U and UTRGV computed based on smaller home arena; attendance is for regular season only
* †Season high
* ‡Climate Pledge Arena
* ‡‡Bert Ogden Arena