San Diego State men’s basketball has been picked to finish atop the Mountain West in the annual preseason media poll, the league has announced.
In addition, senior guard Lamont Butler was named a preseason All-Mountain West designee and USC transfer Reese Waters was selected as the preseason Newcomer of the Year.
The Aztecs won both the regular-season and MW tournament titles last season, then became the first program in MW history to win games in the Sweet 16, Elite 8 and Final Four before falling in the national championship game at the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
SDSU garnered 333 points and 25 of the 31 first-place votes to finish in front of Boise State, with 299 points and four first-place votes.
New Mexico followed in third place, picking up 278 points and a first-place vote to finish ahead of Nevada, with 240 points and a first-place vote, and Colorado State, with 218 points.
SDSU has been predicted to finish either first or second in the preseason poll in each of the last 10 years.
Butler, a member of the league’s All-Defensive Team and a third-team all-league performer last season, exploded on the national scene after hitting the biggest shot in program history, the game winner against Florida Atlantic to send the Aztecs to the NCAA championship game.
He was named to the NCAA All-South Regional Team and also won a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Last year, he led the Aztecs in assists (126) and steals (57), and was ranked second in field goals (128) and third in points (345).
Meanwhile, Waters, the reigning Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year, becomes the fourth Aztec in the past five years to be named preseason Newcomer of the Year.
In 2022-23, the Long Beach native, the Trojans’ third leading scorer, averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 25.3 minutes per game.
Among players who came off the bench at least 20 times last season, his 10.3 points per game in those contests ranked No. 17 in the nation and would have ranked No. 2 in the MW.
Waters, formerly known as Reese Dixon-Waters, joined the Trojans’ program in December of 2020 after graduating early from Los Angeles’ St. Bernard High School.
The Aztecs play an exhibition on Oct. 30 against Cal State San Marcos at Viejas Arena, with their regular-season opener to follow Nov. 6 against Cal State Fullerton.
