2025 WAC Tournament Preview & Conference Awards

CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 16. Up next: The WAC Tournament.

The WAC was a two-team race all season and was impressively won by Utah Valley with a 15-1 record. Grand Canyon followed closely behind at 13-3, then third place was a distant 9-7.

Grand Canyon is easily the team to beat, having won the tournament the past two seasons and three of the last four. In fact, with conference realignment, Grand Canyon is the only current WAC team to have won the conference tournament.

Every team makes it, meaning we could see some exciting finishes all tournament long. East Coast WAC fans, I hope you set your alarms, because many of these games start at 11:30 p.m ET, including the championship.

2025 WAC Conference Awards

Player of the Year: Dominique Daniels Jr., Cal Baptist

Freshman of the Year: Keitenn Bristow, Tarleton State

Transfer of the Year: JaKobe Coles, Grand Canyon

Coach of the Year: Todd Phillips, Utah Valley

First Team:

• G: Dominique Daniels, Cal Baptist (19.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.1 SPG)
• G: Dominick Nelson, Utah Valley (15.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.7 BPG)
• G: Tyon Grant-Foster, Grand Canyon (14.6 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.6 BPG)
• F: Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe, Seattle (15.1 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.0 SPG)
• F: JaKobe Coles, Grand Canyon (14,3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.8 BPG)

Second Team:

• G: Tanner Toolson, Utah Valley (12.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.1 SPG)
• G: Jamir Simpson, Southern Utah (16.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.4 SPG)
• F: Carter Welling, Utah Valley (12.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 1.9 BPG)
• F: Duke Brennan, Grand Canyon (10.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.7 SPG)
• F: Lance Ware, UTA (13.7 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.6 BPG)

2025 Big South Tournament Simulation

First Round – Tue., Mar. 11

8. Southern Utah (12-18, 4-12) vs. 9. Utah Tech (6-25, 2-14) – 1:30 p.m. PT on ESPN+

Utah Tech started conference play 2-0, then proceeded to lose 14 straight. Their last win was two months to the day, and they got swept by Southern Utah in the regular season. This game should be close, because Southern Utah aren’t too great themselves, but go with the higher seed here.

Ariel’s pick: 8. Southern Utah

Quarterfinals – Wed., Mar. 12

1. Utah Valley (23-7, 15-1) vs. 8. Southern Utah – 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+

These two teams played on March 1st. Utah Valley won 100-59. Somehow, they only won by 2 the first time these two teams played, but Utah Valley is the better Utah team and should have no struggles in this one.

Ariel’s pick: 1. Utah Valley

2. Grand Canyon (23-7, 13-3) vs. 7. UTA (13-17, 6-10) – 8:30 p.m. PT on ESPN+

Grand Canyon’s Ray Harrison was terrific in both wins against UTA this season. He scored 19 in both and shot efficiently as well. If Tyon Grant-Foster doesn’t play, they’ll need him to come up with another big game.

Keep an eye out for Lance Ware, though. He averaged 16.5 rebounds in the two games, and if he cleans up the glass, he can put his team in a position to pull off the upset.

Ariel’s pick: 2. Grand Canyon

Quarterfinals – Thu., Mar. 13

4. Abilene Christian (16-15, 8-8) vs. 5. Seattle (13-17, 8-8) – 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+

Two teams that finished conference play with a .500 record. Both of these teams struggle offensively but are great defensively. This will be a battle between two former Oklahoma State Cowboys, Quion Williams and Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe. Trust MAM and his team to get it done here.

Ariel’s pick: 5. Seattle

3. Cal Baptist (16-14, 8-8) vs. 6. Tarleton State (12-19, 7-9) – 8:30 p.m. PT on ESPN+

Cal Baptist beat this Tarleton State team by 20 the last time these two teams played. Tarleton State’s offense is shocking, finishing with the third least amount of points per game in the entire country this season. Unless Bubu Benjamin has a breakout game, Cal Baptist should take this one easily.

Ariel’s pick: 3. Cal Baptist

Semifinals – Fri., Mar. 14

1. Utah Valley vs. 5. Seattle – 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+

This Utah Valley team is just too good to lose before the final. The trio of Nelson, Welling, and Toolson will prove to be too much on both ends of the floor, and Utah Valley will advance to WAC final for the first time in school history.

Ariel’s pick: 1. Utah Valley

2. Grand Canyon vs. 3. Cal Baptist – 8:30 p.m. PT on ESPN+

Cal Baptist handed Grand Canyon one of their three conference losses of the season, but this Cal Baptist team really struggled away from home. They only beat one team outside of the bottom two on the road this season, and unfortunately for them, this game is being played in Las Vegas.

This once again comes down to Grant-Foster’s health, but this team has enough pieces to advance to the final once again.

Ariel’s pick: 2. Grand Canyon

Championship – Sat., Mar. 15

1. Utah Valley vs. 2. Grand Canyon – 8:40 p.m. PT on ESPN2

As mentioned earlier, these two teams were the clear best two all season and deserve to play in this game. Grand Canyon looks to make it three championships in four years, while Utah Valley hope to make their first ever tournament appearance.

We can’t stress enough how important Grant-Foster’s availability in this game matters. Utah Valley only lost one game in conference play, and that was to Grand Canyon. In that game, Grant-Foster led Grand Canyon in scoring. He hasn’t played since February 15th, and there is definite uncertainty if he plays.

If he doesn’t play, Utah Valley takes it. If he does, which I’m assuming he will, Grand Canyon will rain on Utah Valley’s parade and conquer WAC Vegas once again.

Ariel’s pick: 2. Grand Canyon