NM State received six of the first-place votes and 48 total points to earn the top spot in the poll. CSU Bakersfield earned one first-place vote and 38 total points, followed by Seattle U with one first-place vote and 34 points in third place. UMKC was picked to finish fourth with 31 points, followed by Utah Valley in fifth with 27 points. UT Rio Grande Valley was picked sixth with 24 points, while Grand Canyon and Chicago State round out the poll with 15 and seven points, respectively.
NM State placed the most players on the preseason All-WAC team with four, while UMKC had three, and CSU Bakersfield and UT Rio Grande Valley had two apiece. Joining Thomas on the preseason team are teammates Jordan Abalos, Brianna Ainsworth and Tatyana Battle, UMKC’s Kaylyn Brandt, Emma Hagedorn and Madison Mosier, CSU Bakersfield’s Carol Grasso and Sydney Haynes, UT Rio Grande Valley’s Bojana Mitrovic and Alisha Watson, Grand Canyon’s Natalie Tardy, Seattle U’s Matea Mamic and Utah Valley’s Madison Dennison.
The 2016 season begins next Friday, Aug. 26, with all eight teams in tournament action. The 2016 WAC Tournament, hosted by NM State, will be held Nov. 17-19, at the Pan American Center, and will include the top six eligible teams in the regular-season standings.
