COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Colorado State University men's basketball team has been picked to finish 12th in the Preseason Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coaches' Poll that was released by the league office on Wednesday.
In the poll voted on by the league's 15 head coaches, the ThunderWolves received 55 points to sit 11 points in front of No. 13 Colorado Christian (44 points) and seven points behind No. 11 South Dakota Mines, who earned 62 points.
Colorado Mesa was tabbed as the preseason favorite to capture the RMAC title as the Mavericks earned 186 points and eight first place votes. Defending league champion Fort Lewis was tabbed second as the Skyhawks received 177 points and four first place votes and Colorado School of Mines was selected third as the Orediggers earned 169 points and three first place votes.
Black Hills State, who has advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight the past two seasons, opens the season picked fourth as they earned 157 points, while Chadron State was tabbed fifth with 143 points and MSU Denver was picked sixth with 129 points. UCCS was selected seventh as the received 122 points and Regis was picked eighth with 98 points.
Westminster was slotted ninth as they earned 89 points, while New Mexico Highlands was tabbed 10th with 79 points. Behind South Dakota Mines, CSU Pueblo and Colorado Christian in the poll were Adams State (43 points) at 14th and Western Colorado (22 points) at 15th.
The Pack, who are coached by
Matt Hammer, welcome back just one starter and three other lettermen from last season's 12-16 team that just missed qualifying for the RMAC Tournament as they finished tied for 11th with an 8-14 league mark.
Among the key returners for the Pack is senior guard
Makiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./San Diego City College), junior forward
De'Shaun Cooper (Poway, Calif./Balboa School), sophomore guard
Sam Howery (Colorado Springs, Colo./St. Mary's) and sophomore guard
Hilmir Hallgrimsson (Reykjavik, Iceland).
Morris is the team's leading returning scorer from last season as he averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 36 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent at the free throw line, while Cooper averaged 6.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game and led the team with 47 offensive rebounds.
In addition to the four returners from last season, Hammer and his coaching staff have added nine newcomers to the roster. Among the top newcomers are senior guard
Brevin Walter (Las Vegas, Nev./South Dakota Mines), who was two-time All-RMAC selection for the Hardrockers and scored 1,264 points in his three seasons in Rapid City. In addition to Walter, other newcomers this season are junior guard
Aurrion Harris (Merced, Calif./Columbia College), junior guard
Armon Muldrew (Perris, Calif./San Bernardino Valley), junior guard
Daeyon James (Stockbridge, Ga./Seward County CC), graduate student guard
Isaiah Morris (San Diego, Calif./Cal State Dominguez Hills), who is the brother of
Makiah Morris, freshman guard/forward
Corbin Garver (Colorado Springs, Colo./Air Academy), freshman forward
Ty Adam (Severance, Colo./Severance), freshman guard
Shad Levy (Geismar, La./Dunham) and forward
Matt Yost (Aurora, Colo./Feltrim Academy).
CSU Pueblo opens its 2023-24 regular season on Nov. 10 as they take on Midwestern State at 6:30 p.m. MT in the South Central Regional Challenge in Wichita Falls, Texas. The next night, the Pack will play a 6:30 p.m. MT game in Lawton, Okla., against Cameron University.
The Pack will open its 2023-24 home schedule at its annual Al Kaly Shrine Classic on Nov. 17-18 at Massari Arena. The Pack will face Alaska-Fairbanks both days of the event as they will play at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 18.
CSU Pueblo's first RMAC contest of the season is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1 as the Pack host Chadron State in Massari Arena at 7:30 p.m.
