Mountain West preseason poll sees Hawai’i, Flavell set to be among conference best

HONOLULU – New conference, new coach, same respect.

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the program’s first run through the Mountain West according to the preseason poll released by the conference on Wednesday.

Rainbow Wahine G Bailey Flavell also found herself selected to the Mountain West preseason all-conference team after a first-year campaign that saw her take home the Big West’s Freshman of the Year award. The sophomore was the lone UH player to get conference preseason recognition on either the men’s or women’s side going into the 2026-27 season.

UNLV, who has won four the past five Mountain West regular season titles under the leadership of seventh-year head coach Lindy La Rocque, was picked as the conference’s preseason favorite with 16 first-place votes and 193 points overall. The Lady Rebels feature the Mountain West preseason Player of the Year pick in F Meadow Roland, who was an all-conference first-team selection and all-defensive team honoree in 2025-26 for UNLV after averaging 14.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and leading the league with 55 blocked shots.

Grand Canyon checked into the second spot in the poll, receiving five first-place votes and 180 points overall. The Lopes brought in 11 new faces to the program after finishing two games above .500 in conference last season, including Mountain West preseason Freshman of the Year pick Lanelle Wright and preseason Newcomer of the Year selection T’yana Todd.

Fellow Big West transplant UC Davis was picked just ahead of the Rainbow Wahine in the preseason poll, settling into the third spot in the standings with 127 points to UH’s 125 points. The Aggies are coming off of a 23-win season and a berth in the WNIT, adding seven newcomers to the team’s seven returning players – including preseason all-conference G Avery Sussex, who knocked down 82 three-pointers last year as a sophomore.

New Mexico, who picked up former UH standout G Keiara Curtis in the transfer portal during the offseason, found themselves right behind the Rainbow Wahine with the fifth slot in the conference’s preseason poll but did receive a single first-place vote. The Lobos garnered one preseason all-conference selection in sophomore G Laila Abdurraqib, who made the Mountain West All-Freshman team last season after drilling a team-best 53 made three-pointers at nearly a 38% clip.

Air Force, Wyoming, Nevada, UTEP and San Jose State rounded out the Mountain West’s preseason poll. Jayda McNabb (Air Force), Jane Rumpf (Wyoming) and Sierra Chambers (Nevada) were the lone players from each program named to the preseason all-conference team. Only UNLV and GCU received multiple selections to the league’s 10-player preseason list.