CSU Men's Basketball Selected to Win MW Conference for First Time

The Colorado State men's basketball team has been heating up preseason conversation almost since the end of their season last year.

CSU fans breathed a sigh of relief when the Rams announced head coach Niko Medved would be extended through the 2027 season. The only caveat that came from the Rams continually improving since Medved took the helm in 2018 was the threat of other programs taking notice.

Now, the Rams seem stronger than ever, they're on a mission and are being noticed nationally.

Preseason AP polls came out earlier this week, and while CSU didn't break the top 25, they still received 11 AP votes. For the record, only one other Mountain West school received votes, San Diego State, and they only tallied five.

At Mountain West men's basketball media day, it was released that the Rams have taken the first place seat in the conference's preseason poll with 11 first-place votes. According to CSU Athletics, this is the first time in program history they have been selected to win the conference.

In addition, juniors David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens also earned themselves spots on the five-player preseason All-Mountain West team.

The Rams are returning all five starters from the team that made it to the NIT Final Four last season.

What does this mean for this season in Moby?

It's going to get loud. With the anticipation of in-person sports coupled with a ton of high-praising buzz around the CSU program, Moby Arena will be a tough place for opponents to walk into.

Equally, the Rams have stacked themselves in their non-conference matchups against some tough competition. However, I do believe it will pay off in the long run regardless of the individual game outcomes.