The college basketball season is right around the corner! Can you already believe it?! We’re less than one week away! Every year, we do a traditional, four-part tip-off series for the Mountain West. But this year, we’re expanding our horizon’s to the Pac-12, where our panelists will vote on awards, all-conference teams and power rankings before the season begins, and more!
Here’s the first of our four-part series for the Pac-12, where we dig into the awards!
Player of the Year: Braden Huff, Gonzaga
Skinny: Coming off an injury-riddled 2025-26 season, Huff is expected to step into a bigger role following the Graham Ike’s departure. He was limited to just 18 games with a knee injury a year ago. But he was still quite productive when he was on the floor, averaging 17.8 points and 5.6 rebounds. He’s an extremely dynamic interior scorer and has the chance to be a walking 20-8/9 guy.
Defensive Player of the Year: Massamba Diop, Gonzaga
Skinny: An Arizona State transfer, Diop averaged 13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Sun Devils last year. Diop also averaged 2.1 blocks across 29.6 minutes, finishing fourth in the Big 12 in block percentage and third in total blocks. He was a monster in Big 12 play and immediately anchors what projects to be the best defense in the new-look Pac-12 (oops, spoilers!). I’m high on his ability to play drop and defend in space at his size.
Freshman of the Year: Ian Almansa, Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa, Gonzaga
Skinny: We have a tie! Almansa was recently cleared by the NCAA to play this season after going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft cycle. He’s an older “freshman,” spending last year overseas with Real Madrid, averaging 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds in 37 games. Ekanga-Ehawa is another international prospect, spending time in France under JL Bourg’s youth academy. Last year, he averaged 19.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals.
Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Freitag, Oregon State
Skinny: Freitag began his collegiate career at Wisconsin, where he played sparingly across 14 games. He completely broke out with Buffalo last year, averaging 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists across 33.2 minutes per game in 23 games. He shot 41.1 percent from the floor, 36.1 percent from 3-point range and 82.7 percent from the free-throw line. He has a chance to be an All-Pac-12 player if he can stay healthy.
Sixth Man of the Year: Javon Bennett, Isaiah Harwell, Gonzaga
Skinny: Another tie! Bennett gained an extra year of eligibility and expected to come off the bench to back up Florida transfer Xaivian Lee. This sounds cliché, but what Bennett lacks in size (5-foot-10), he makes up for with his heart and toughness. He averaged 15.8 points and 1.5 steals for Dayton last year, although he will need to clean up some of his efficiency. Harwell was a former McDonald’s All-American, but had an underwhelming freshman season with Houston. Though he should be in line for a bigger role with Gonzaga.
Coach of the Year: Mark Few, Gonzaga; Ali Farokhmanesh, Colorado State
Skinny: We promise this is the last tie. Few is one of the best coaches in America; we don’t need to go over his legendary resume. Farokhmanesh had a strong first year with Colorado State, going 21-13. This will be a greater challenge, but the Rams retain much of their core from last year, headlined by Kyle Jorgensen and Josh Pascarelli
Best Offense: Utah State
Skinny: Mason Falslev. AJ Bates. Solomon Callaghan. While I voted for Gonzaga, first-year Utah State head coach Ben Jacobson has a good squad that should be a high octane offense.
Best Defense: Gonzaga
Skinny: With all due respect to San Diego State, we think Gonzaga has the slight edge, especially with Diop manning the middle.
Best Bench: Gonzaga
Skinny: We will see how the Zags’ rotation looks once Davis Fogle returns from a leg injury, but I love Gonzaga’s depth heading into 2026-27. They have all the ingredients, even though I have concerns about this team’s shooting — or lack thereof.