COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mountain West released its 2023-24 Preseason All-Conference Men’s Basketball team and preseason award winners Thursday morning in conjunction with the start of media day.
As voted on by select media members, the preseason team is made up of two graduate students, two seniors and a junior. Five of the seven preseason honorees earned all-Conference accolades at the end of 2022-23.
Colorado State graduate Isaiah Stevens was selected as the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, while San Diego State junior Reese Waters was named the MW Preseason Newcomer of the Year and UNLV rookie Dedan Thomas Jr. was voted the MW Preseason Freshman of the Year.
A 2022-23 All-Mountain West selection, Stevens enters his fifth season at Colorado State. Last season, he started 26 games and netted double figures in all 26 games he played, averaging 17.9 points. Stevens led the Mountain West and ranked fourth in the nation with 6.7 assists per game.
A Long Beach, California, native, Waters joins San Diego State after three seasons at USC. The junior guard was named the 2022-23 Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year. Waters appeared in 29 games, averaging 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 25.3 minutes.
Thomas Jr., a product of Las Vegas, enters his first season with UNLV. The freshman averaged 22.8 points and 5.1 assists as a junior at Liberty High School, leading the Patriots to the state championship final for a second straight year. He was also named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Nevada.
Joining Stevens on the preseason All-MW team are Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart, New Mexico’s Jaelen House and Jamal Mashburn Jr. and San Diego State’s Lamont Butler.
A 2022-23 All-MW selection, Degenhart begins his junior season with Boise State. The forward started every game for the Broncos in 2022-23, averaging 14.1 points and 5.3 assists. Degenhart shot 53.7 percent from the field, ranking 59th in the nation last season.
Entering his third season with New Mexico, House is the first Lobo and third MW player to record at least 500 points and 125 assists in back-to-back seasons. Last year, the first-team All-Mountain West honoree averaged 16.9 points and 4.7 assists.
Mashburn Jr., a product of Miami, Florida, enters his third season with New Mexico. A two-time All-Mountain West selection, Mashburn Jr. led the league with 19.1 points per game. He scored in double figures in 32 of 34 games in 2022-23.
Butler, a 2023 NCAA All-Tournament team selection, started 38 of 39 games for San Diego State last season. He averaged 8.8 points and 2.7 rebounds, while shooting 42.1 percent from the field. Butler sank the game-winning shot against Florida Atlantic to send the Aztecs to the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game.
2023-24 PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM
Pos. Name Yr. Team
F Tyson Degenhart Jr. Boise State
G Isaiah Stevens Gr. Colorado State
G Jaelen House Gr. New Mexico
G Jamal Mashburn Jr. Sr. New Mexico
G Lamont Butler Sr. San Diego State
Preseason Player of the Year
Isaiah Stevens, Gr., G, Colorado State
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Reese Waters, Jr., G, San Diego State
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Dedan Thomas Jr., G, UNLV
