Las Vegas, Nevada, is a familiar venue for the Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team, but in 2026, Sin City felt more like uncharted territory.
The final buzzer sounded on the Antelopes season on March 12, falling to Nevada in the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, just a 12-minute drive east of Orleans Arena, where the Lopes won their final WAC championship almost a year prior.
“There was a lot of newness, even in coming here and playing in this tournament,” head coach Bryce Drew told the media in Vegas after the loss. “I think it will definitely help in the preparation for next year.”
An arena change and a first-round exit seem like disappointing takeaways for the blossoming program, but there are many more positives than meet the eye.
Grand Canyon finished their inaugural year in the Mountain West at 20-12, holding a 13-7 conference record.
Head coach Bryce Drew now has five straight 20-win seasons, but this season stands out among the rest of the bunch for many reasons, good and bad.
It is definitely something to note how the ‘Lopes were able to find 20 victories on the schedule despite not the easiest road. GCU had a non-conference schedule that featured tournament teams like Iowa and Saint Louis, while also taking on tough back-to-backs such as playing at New Mexico’s raucous home court before hosting eventual conference champion Utah State.
Much of that success can be attributed to senior transfer Jaden Henley, who averaged 17.7 points a game en route to a first-team all-conference nod.
GCU’s growth as a program is largely due to transfer success. Names like JaKobe Coles, Duke Brennan and Lok Wur all came into the program and made an immediate impact in a run to the WAC title and the big dance.
But this year, outside of Henley, that incoming impact left less of a dent.
Fans and media turned their heads at incoming senior transfers Nana Owusu-Anane and Dusty Stromer when the news broke this past offseason. While they had solid seasons, the hype didn’t fully translate.
Owusu-Anane finished close to a double-double average, sporting 9.3 points a game and 8.5 rebounds, but it would be the first time since his freshman season at Brown that he would not average double-digit points.
Stromer, a two-year player at Gonzaga, appeared like his time in purple would be a launching point for his college career. That was not exactly the case, at least for his junior year, averaging just 6.4 points in 22.6 minutes played.
Grand Canyon dropped from four players averaging double figures to two, with a larger falloff in their second unit, especially with Makaih Williams making the jump to the starting five and an uptick in minutes.
Dissecting the numbers and comparing rosters may be nitpicking, but the small details make a big difference when at the top of a conference ladder. Grand Canyon finished tied third with New Mexico in the standings, finishing 3-3 against the teams ahead of them (Utah State, New Mexico, San Diego State).
This gauntlet included a visit to Logan, Utah, where the ‘Lopes were just minutes away from upsetting the Aggies on their home floor, taking a season sweep over USU that would’ve had them in the one-seed for the conference tourney. A “what-if” that still hovers over the minds of the Havoc faithful.
It may look like money was left on the table for Grand Canyon, missing out on a fourth straight trip to March’s biggest party, but it is certainly a season you can build off of for Drew and Co. If roster retention goes to plan, the Lopes will be returning Williams and Stromer, along with freshman standout Efe Demirel. The Türikye product put up 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in his debut season.
Through it all, third place is nothing to scoff at, especially considering two of those teams are leaving the conference next season. If GCU can keep building, something they have been doing for half a decade now, they will have the chance to quickly go from new face to the premier face of their new home.
It all begins in the offseason roster building, starting right away with the transfer window in April.
“Eyes on GCU help so much with the TV exposure we got this year,” Drew said. “We’ve heard from people all around the country that didn’t realize how good our crowd was. They didn’t realize the players that we had. I think that exposure is hopefully going to kickstart us to even better things next year.”
And of course, with each offseason in Phoenix comes the yearly question of Bryce Drew’s future. Drew’s name is thrown around a lot in coaching carousel talks, and with job openings at a high, including just across the way in Tempe with the Sun Devils, it is always something to monitor.
Based on his closing remarks, it sounds like Drew isn’t focused on anything else but another season in the Mountain West for the Antelopes.
“(It is a) great league, we are thankful to be in it. It’s the sixth-best conference in the country. Last year, we were somewhere between 14 and 15, so it was a big jump,” Drew said. “I’m really proud of these guys. They showed resilience all year. I really credit their character and their resilience to bounce back.”
“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in the WAC anymore…”