# 2024–25 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball season

The 2024–25 WAC men's basketball season began with practices in October followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in early November 2024. The conference began play in January 2025. This is the WAC's 63rd season of basketball. The WAC competed with nine teams due to two teams having left the conference since the prior season. UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin both joined the Southland Conference since the prior year. The WAC tournament will be held in March 2025 with all nine teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The opening round will be held at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah with the remaining rounds at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada. This was the last WAC season for both Grand Canyon and Seattle, which announced that they would join the West Coast Conference the following year.

## Pre-season
### WAC Media days

The WAC's 2024 men's basketball media day was held on October 15.
Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll :
| Place | Team | Points | First place votes |
| 1. | Grand Canyon | 64 | 8 |
| 2. | UT Arlington | 49 | -- |
| 3 | Seattle U | 46 | 1 |
| 4. | California Baptist | 45 | -- |
| 5. | Utah Valley | 38 | -- |
| 6. | Tarleton | 30 | -- |
| 7. | Abilene Christian | 29 | -- |
| 8. | Utah Tech | 12 | -- |
| 9. | Southern Utah | 11 | -- |

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

| Name | School | Yr. | Pos. |
| Tyon Grant-Foster† | Grand Canyon | Senior | G |
| Dominique Daniels Jr. | California Baptist | Senior | G |
| Ray Harrison | Grand Canyon | Senior | G |
| John Christofilis | Seattle U | Junior | G |
| Freddy Hicks | Tarleton State | Senior | G/F |
† Denotes Preseason Player of the Year

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Abilene Christian | Montana State MTE | 2nd |
| California Baptist | Acrisure Holiday Invitational | 3rd |
| Grand Canyon | Acrisure Holiday Invitational | 1st |
| Seattle U | Vegas Showdown | 4th |
| Southern Utah | San Diego MTE | 1st |
| Tarleton | Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship | 4th |
| UT Arlington | Jacksonville Classic | 4th |
| Utah Tech | Montana MTE | 3rd |
| Utah Valley | Samford MTE | 3rd |

### Conference USA-Western Athletic Conference Challenge

| Date | Conference USA team | WAC team | Score | Location | Leader |
| November 9 | New Mexico State | Utah Tech | 75–63 | Burns Arena • St. George, UT | CUSA (1–0) |
| November 9 | UTEP | Utah Valley | 89–60 | UCCU Center • Orem, UT | Tied (1–1) |
| November 9 | Sam Houston | Tarleton | 91–62 | Wisdom Gym • Stephenville, TX | CUSA (2–1) |
| November 9 | Western Kentucky | Grand Canyon | 74–72 | Global Credit Union Arena • Phoenix, AZ | Tied (2–2) |
| November 9 | Louisiana Tech | UT Arlington | 92–77 | College Park Center • Arlington, TX | CUSA (3–2) |
| November 9 | Liberty | Seattle | 66–64 | Redhawk Center • Seattle, WA | CUSA (4–2) |
| November 9 | Middle Tennessee | Abilene Christian | 79–56 | Moody Coliseum • Abilene, TX | CUSA (5–2) |
| November 9 | Kennesaw State | California Baptist | 88–84 | Fowler Events Center • Riverside, CA | CUSA (5–3) |
| November 9 | Florida International | Southern Utah | 80–75 | America First Event Center • Cedar City, UT | CUSA (5–4) |
| November 20 | Kennesaw State | Abilene Christian | 84–78 | Convocation Center • Kennesaw, GA | CUSA (6–4) |
| December 14 | Jacksonville State | Utah Valley | 70–66 | Pete Mathews Coliseum • Jacksonville, FL | CUSA (7–4) |
| December 16 | UTEP | Tarleton | 67–62 | Don Haskins Center • El Paso, TX | CUSA (8–4) |
| December 16 | Louisiana Tech | Grand Canyon | 74–66 | Thomas Assembly Center • Ruston, LA | (CUSA 9–4) |
| December 16 | Middle Tennessee | California Baptist | 75–64 | Murphy Center • Murfreesboro, TN | CUSA (10–4) |
| December 16 | New Mexico State | Southern Utah | 72–66 | Pan American Center • Las Cruces, NM | CUSA (11–4) |
| December 17 | Western Kentucky | Seattle | 86–73 | E. A. Diddle Arena • Bowling Green, KY | CUSA (12–4) |
| December 21 | Liberty | UT Arlington | 79–56 | Liberty Arena • Lynchburg, VA | CUSA (13–4) |
| December 30 | Florida International | Utah Tech | 80–66 | Ocean Bank Convocation Center • Miami, FL | CUSA (14–4) |
| WINNERS ARE IN BOLD. HOME TEAM IN ITALICS. Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. Did not participate: none ||||||

### Records against other conferences

2024–25 records against non-conference foes:
Regular season
| Power Conferences & Gonzaga | Record |
| ACC | 1–5 |
| Big East | 0–0 |
| Big Ten | 1–3 |
| Big 12 | 0–8 |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 |
| SEC | 0–2 |
| Gonzaga | 0–0 |
| Power Conference Total | 2–18 |
| Other NCAA Division I Conferences | Record |
| America East | 1–0 |
| American | 0–0 |
| A-10 | 1–2 |
| ASUN | 2–0 |
| Big Sky | 5–7 |
| Big South | 0–0 |
| Big West | 4–5 |
| CAA | 1–0 |
| C-USA | 5–15 |
| Horizon | 0–0 |
| Ivy League | 0–0 |
| MAAC | 0–1 |
| MAC | 0–0 |
| MEAC | 1–0 |
| MVC | 2–4 |
| Mountain West | 2–4 |
| NEC | 2–0 |
| OVC | 0–0 |
| Patriot League | 0–0 |
| SoCon | 0–2 |
| Southland | 1–4 |
| SWAC | 3–0 |
| Summit | 5–2 |
| Sun Belt | 5–2 |
| WCC (except Gonzaga) | 2–1 |
| Other Division I Total | 42–49 |
| Non-Division I Total | 18–0 |
| NCAA Division I Total | 44–67 |

### 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 |
| November 17 | Tarleton | #14/12 Baylor | L, 41–104 |
| November 29 | Seattle | #10/11 Duke | L, 48–70 |
| December 9 | Abilene Christian | #RV/25 Baylor | L, 57–88 |
| December 11 | California Baptist | #23/24 San Diego State | L, 75–81 |
| December 28 | Abilene Christian | #13 Texas A&M | L, 54–92 |
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 | Wk 19 | Wk 20 |
| Abilene Christian | AP | NV | 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 | NV |
| California Baptist | AP | NV | 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 | NV |
| Grand Canyon | AP | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Grand Canyon | C | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Seattle U | AP | NV | 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 | NV |
| Southern Utah | AP | NV | 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 | NV |
| Tarleton | AP | NV | 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 | NV |
| UT Arlington | AP | NV | 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 | NV |
| Utah Tech | AP | NV | 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 | NV |
| Utah Valley | AP | NV | 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 | NV |

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

No coaching changes were made during the offseason.

### 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) | 4th | 54–46 (.540) | 28–28(.500) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| California Baptist | Rick Croy | St. Mary's (assistant) | 12th | 101-84 (.546) | 47-55 (.461) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grand Canyon | Bryce Drew | Vanderbilt | 5th | 94-32 (.746) | 50-18 (.735) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Seattle U | Chris Victor | (Assistant/interim HC) | 4th | 66-35 (.653) | 36-20 (.643) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Southern Utah | Rob Jeter | Western Illinois | 2nd | 10-21 (.323) | 5-15 (.250) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tarleton | Billy Gillispie | Ranger College | 5th | 59-51 (.536) | 34-28 (.548) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UT Arlington | K. T. Turner | Kentucky (assistant) | 2nd | 20-14 (.588) | 13-7 (.650) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah Tech | Jon Judkins | Snow College | 20th | 319-168 (.655) | 22-48 (.314) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah Valley | Todd Phillips | (Associate HC) | 2nd | 16-16 (.500) | 11-9 (.550) | 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 2023–24 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 WAC tournament was held in March 2025 with all nine teams competing for the automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The opening round was held at Burns Arena in St. George, Utah with the remaining rounds at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada.

### 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 |
| 13 | West | Grand Canyon | N/A | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Bids | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |

### National Invitation Tournament

Number from the conference that were selected to participate: 1
| Seed | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| N/A | Utah Valley | – | – | – | – | – |
| | 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: 0
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |

### College Basketball Crown Postseason Tournament

Number from the conference that were selected to participate: 0
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| N/A | – | – | – | – | – |
| | W-L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 0–0 (–) |
* 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 11 | JaKobe Coles | Grand Canyon | JaKobe Coles | Grand Canyon |
| November 18 | Jaden Wells | UT Arlington | Jaden Wells | UT Arlington |
| November 25 | Jamir Simpson | Southern Utah | Jamir Simpson | Southern Utah |
| December 2 | Dominique Daniels Jr. | Cal Baptist | Carter Welling | Utah Valley |
| December 9 | Hunter Jack Madden | Abilene Christian | Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe | Seattle U |
| December 16 | Dominique Daniels Jr. (2) | Cal Baptist | Lance Ware | UT Arlington |
| December 23 | Carter Welling | Utah Valley | Carter Welling (2) | Utah Valley |
| December 31 | Lance Ware | UT Arlington | Lance Ware (2) | UT Arlington |
| January 6 | Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon | AJ Braun | California Baptist |
| January 13 | Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe | Seattle U | Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe (2) | Seattle U |
| January 20 | Tanner Toolson | Utah Valley | Dominick Nelson | Utah Valley |
| January 27 | Dominick Nelson | Utah Valley | Dominick Nelson (2) | Utah Valley |
| February 3 | Tyon Grant-Foster (2) | Grand Canyon | Lance Ware (3) | UT Arlington |
| February 10 | Brayden Maldonado | Seattle U | Brayden Maldonado | Seattle U |
| February 17 | Dominique Daniels Jr. (3) | Cal Baptist | Carter Welling (3) | Utah Valley |
| February 24 | Kendal Coleman | Cal Baptist | JaKobe Coles (2) | Grand Canyon |
| March 3 | Dominick Nelson (2) | Utah Valley | Dominick Nelson (3) | Utah Valley |
| March 9 | Dominick Nelson (3) | Utah Valley | Dominick Nelson (4) | Utah Valley |

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

| School | Player of the week | Newcomer of the week | Total |
| Abilene Christian University | 1 | | 1 |
| California Baptist University | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Grand Canyon University | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Seattle University | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Southern Utah University | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tarleton State University | | | |
| University of Texas at Arlington | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Utah Tech University | | | |
| Utah Valley University | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Total | 18 | 18 | 36 |

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

| Name | School |
| Dominick Nelson‡ | Utah Valley |
| Jakobe Coles | Grand Canyon |
| Tyon Grant-Foster | Grand Canyon |
| Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe | Seattle |
| Dominique Daniels, Jr. | California Baptist |
* ‡ WAC Player of the Year

#### Second team

| Name | School |
| Duke Brennan | Grand Canyon |
| Jamir Simpson | Southern Utah |
| Lance Ware | UT Arlington |
| Tanner Toolson | Utah Valley |
| Carter Welling | Utah Valley |

#### All-Freshman team

| Name | School |
| Dontrez Williams | Abilene Christian |
| Bradey Henige | California Baptist |
| Keitenn Bristow† | Tarleton |
| Madiba Owona | Utah Tech |
| Jackson Holcombe | Utah Valley |
† Freshman of the Year

#### All-Defensive team

[edit | edit source]
| Name | School |
| Collin Moore | Grand Canyon |
| Duke Brennan | Grand Canyon |
| Carter Welling‡ | Utah Valley |
| Maleek Arington | Seattle |
| Lance Ware | UT Arlington |
* ‡WAC Defensive Player of the Year

#### Other awards

Sixth Man of the Year: Lok Wur, Grand Canyon
Coach of the Year: Todd Phillips, Utah Valley

## 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 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Abilene Christian | Moody Coliseum | 3,600 | 1,832 | 1,434 | 1,026 | 1,024 | 1,065 | 1,191 | 1,064 | 1,123 | 1,854† | 1,232 | 1,346 | 1,484 | 1,450 | 1,523 | 1,851 | | | 20,499 | 1,367 | 38% |
| California Baptist | CBU Events Center | 5,050 | 3,294 | 2,557 | 3,607 | 4,233† | 2,737 | 2,064 | 2,603 | 2,720 | 2,611 | 3,867 | 2,567 | 2,865 | 4,174 | 3,952 | 3,161 | 3,062 | | 50,074 | 3,130 | 62% |
| Grand Canyon | GCU Arena | 7,000 | 7,053 | 7,332 | 7,002 | 7,022 | 7,004 | 7,038 | 7,024 | 7,112 | 7,214 | 7,398† | 7,129 | 7,105 | 7,191 | 7,219 | 7,286 | 7,186 | N/A | 114,315 | 7,145 | 102% |
| Seattle U | Redhawk Center/Climate Pledge Arena | 999/18,100 | 999 | 966 | 1,194‡ | 688 | 852 | 840 | 1,461†‡ | 949 | 772 | 999 | 707 | 999 | 864 | 999 | | | | 13,289 | 949 | 95% |
| Southern Utah | America First Event Center | 5,300 | 1,486 | 2,856† | 965 | 1,006 | 995 | 900 | 741 | 1,453 | 1,061 | N/A | 1,253 | 989 | 2,414 | 1,555 | 1,074 | | | 18,748 | 1,339 | 25% |
| Tarleton State | Wisdom Gymnasium | 3,000 | 1,487 | 1,176 | 1,379 | 856 | 715 | 898 | 1,376 | 1,801 | 1,312 | 1,786 | 2,123 | 3,000† | 3,000† | | | | | 20909 | 1,608 | 54% |
| UT Arlington | College Park Center | 7,000 | 1,001 | 3,195 | 1,169 | 1,369 | 1,256 | 1,824 | 1,529 | 1,450 | 1,430 | 1,754 | 1,574 | 5,183† | 1,750 | | | | | 24,484 | 1,883 | 27% |
| Utah Tech | Burns Arena | 4,779 | 1,392 | 1,126 | 1,559 | 1,046 | 1,016 | 1,652 | 1,736 | 2,993 | 1,671 | 1,984 | 3,185† | 1,663 | 1,556 | | | | | 22,579 | 1,737 | 36% |
| Utah Valley | UCCU Center | 8,500 | 2,075 | 1,653 | 2,135 | 1,463 | 1,601 | 2,351 | 1,863 | 2,334 | 2,681 | 1,676 | 2,813 | 3,449† | | | | | | 26,094 | 2,175 | 26% |
| Total | | 62.329 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 310,991 | 21,332 | 52% |
Bold – At or exceed capacity; capacity ratios for Seattle U computed based on smaller home arena; attendance is for regular season only
* †Season high
* ‡Climate Pledge Arena