With the 2026-27 college basketball season right around the corner, we are doing our annual four-part tip-off series. If you missed the first one, where we discussed our Mountain West awards predictions, click here! In part two, we will be diving into our All-Conference teams (three voters … myself included). Let’s dive into it!
First Team:
Guard: Jake Hall, New Mexico
Guard: Makaih Williams, Grand Canyon
Guard/Forward: Naz Meyer, Wyoming
Forward: Tyrin Jones, UNLV
Forward: Elijah Price, Nevada
Skinny: Hall was our unanimous player of the year, and he was one of three unanimous selections onto the first team, joining Nevada’s Elijah Price and UNLV’s Tyrin Jones.
Jones is a big breakout candidate, especially factoring in the losses of both Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (MW leading scorer in ‘25-26) and Kimani Hamilton. Jones averaged 13.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 2.0 blocks across 28.0 minutes per game in conference play. Price was an All-Mountain West selection last year with the Wolf Pack, averaging 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds.
Williams and Meyer both received a pair of first team votes with one second-team vote apiece. Williams broke out last year with Grand Canyon, and if Henley is ineligible, will likely assume most of the usage in GCU’s backcourt. He averaged 15.2 points and 2.5 assists on 56.1 percent true shooting in conference play. Meyer is an extremely creative shot creator who averaged 12.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a freshman with the Pokes.
Second Team:
Guard: Vaughn Weems, Nevada
Guard: Uriah Tenette, New Mexico
Guard: Jaden Henley, Grand Canyon
Forward: Jackson Kiss, UNLV
Forward: Efe Demirel, Grand Canyon
Skinny: Similarly to the first team, we had three unanimous second-team honoree: Tenette, Kiss and Demirel.
Tenette is hyper-quick, explosive guard who broke out as a freshman, averaging 10.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals. He’s not big, which limited his efficiency inside the arc. But he’s pesky with great bounce. Demirel was an older freshman with Grand Canyon after beginning his pro career in Turkey. He’s an excellent shot-blocker and offensive rebounder, but was limited to just 22.5 minutes per game last year. Kiss, who hails from Australia, is UNLV’s intriguing newcomer who we have as our Freshman of the Year pick.
The tricky one here is Henley, who received one first-team vote. He is currently ineligible; obviously he would be a first-team honoree if he was, but there’s still a cloud over Grand Canyon’s head regarding whether he’s eligible to suit up on Nov. 2.UNLV’s AJ Storr’s status is also in limbo; he did not receive a vote for either team.
Among the few honorable mentions include GCU’s Dylan Darling, New Mexico’s Rytis Petraitis and New Mexico’s Hudson Mayes.
Who did we leave off? What were your surprises? Let us know in the comments!