DENVER – After another historic season, the New Mexico State men's basketball team was picked to repeat as champions according to the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches and Media Polls the league announced on Wednesday.
 
"Obviously being picked first in the preseason has no bearing on your actual number of wins or where you finish in the conference race," head men's basketball coach Chris Jans mentioned. "We are preparing for a competitive schedule and looking forward to the season!"
 
Despite having just one starter returning along with 4 scholarship players, the Aggies return as the league favorite for 2018-19 after being picked to finish second in both preseason polls last year for the first time since 2010. NM State was predicted to finish first in both polls for four-straight seasons prior to last season's second-place pick.
 
New Mexico State, who won both the regular-season and tournament titles last season, received seven first-place votes in the coaches' poll for a total of 63 points while Grand Canyon picked up 58 points with two first-place votes for second-place. Seattle U was predicted to finish in third with 45 points followed by Utah Valley close behind in fourth with 43 points. Meanwhile, CSU Bakersfield (35), UT Rio Grande Valley (28), Kansas City (24), California Baptist (20) and Chicago State (8) rounded out the coaches' poll.
 
The Aggies also dominated the media poll, garnering 214 total points with 22 first-place votes while GCU checked in second with 180 total points and two second-place votes. The only difference between the two polls was Utah Valley (162) finishing third in the media poll and Seattle U in fourth.
 
Redshirt junior AJ Harris was a 2018-19 Preseason First-Team All-WAC selection after a great debut season with the Aggies last year averaging 9.4 points and 2.9 assists as the team's floor general. The Dayton, Ohio, product earned first-team honors on both polls as NM State's lone starter returning.
 
Eli Chuha was also named a Preseason Second-Team All-WAC pick in both polls. The Redlands, Calif., native averaged 8.3 points and 4.8 rebounds off the bench last season en route to NM State capturing its second-straight WAC Tournament title and advanced to its sixth NCAA Tournament the last seven season.
 

WATCH | @coachchrisjans answered some questions at the 2018-19 WAC Media Day here in Denver. NM State was picked as the preseason favorites to repeat as champions according to both the coaches' and media polls.#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/KQWVflxNed

— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) October 10, 2018

GCU's Alessandro Lever was picked as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year after guiding the Lopes to a 22-12 mark in 2017-18 while averaging a team-high 12.2 points and 4.4 rebound.
 
New Mexico State opens the 2018-19 season on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m. (MT) inside the Pan American Center against North Dakota State as part of the WAC/Summit League Challenge. Fans will get a double-dose of basketball that as the women's basketball team kicks off the night with a 5 p.m. (MT) contest against UT Permian Basin.