Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
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2 p.m. (MST)
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Harrison named Preseason POY for WAC favorite
10/16/2023 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
McGlothan also picked to Preseason All-WAC; GCU picked to be 2023-24 champs
Grand Canyon is starting this season where it finished last season and where it wants to be in March.
For the second consecutive year, WAC coaches made GCU the preseason conference favorite and picked a Lope as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
GCU junior guard Ray Harrison, last season's WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, made a case to be last season's WAC Player of the Year when he averaged career highs for points (17.8 per game) and assists (3.6 per game). That included a WAC Tournament title run in which the Greenville, South Carolina, native shot 52% from the field and averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 rebounds over four wins.
Harrison's preseason honor marks the fifth time that a Lopes player was tabbed as WAC Preseason Player of the Year (Jovan Blacksher Jr. for 2022-23, Alessandro Lever for 2019-20 and Joshua Braun for 2016-17 and 2017-18).
GCU graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan joined Harrison on the coaches' five-member Preseason All-WAC Team. The Chandler Basha High School graduate averaged career highs for points (12.8 per game) and rebounds (7.6 per game) on last season's NCAA tournament qualifier.
Harrison and McGlothan form the first GCU duo to earn Preseason All-WAC first-team honors since the 2019-20 season, when Carlos Johnson and Alessandro Lever were
selected a year after Lever and Oscar Frayer did the same.
"Ray had a great conference season all the way through, and Gabe was just outstanding in the second half of the conference season and the conference tournament," GCU fourth-year head coach Bryce Drew said. "With those guys coming back, it gives us momentum from a program standpoint. They both improved this summer, so we expect them to take another step up in their games."
After going 24-12 last season, the Lopes earned nine of a possible 10 first-place votes (coaches do not choose their own teams) to be the clear favorite for this season.
GCU has been tabbed as a top-two team in the WAC coaches' preseason poll for nine consecutive seasons, but this year's poll marked the most first-place votes that the Lopes have received.
"It's always a great honor if you get votes because people think that the team is good," said Drew, who has led the Lopes to two NCAA tournament trips in his first three seasons at the helm. "I think it goes back to last year and a compliment to how our players finished the season last year. And then it's also a compliment to the players who we added in the transfer portal. As we all know, the rankings at the end of the year matter, not the preseason rankings."
GCU plays a Nov. 1 exhibition game against Embry-Riddle before opening the regular season on Nov. 6 against fellow 2023 NCAA tournament qualifier Southeast Missouri.
For the second consecutive year, WAC coaches made GCU the preseason conference favorite and picked a Lope as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.
GCU junior guard Ray Harrison, last season's WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, made a case to be last season's WAC Player of the Year when he averaged career highs for points (17.8 per game) and assists (3.6 per game). That included a WAC Tournament title run in which the Greenville, South Carolina, native shot 52% from the field and averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 rebounds over four wins.Harrison's preseason honor marks the fifth time that a Lopes player was tabbed as WAC Preseason Player of the Year (Jovan Blacksher Jr. for 2022-23, Alessandro Lever for 2019-20 and Joshua Braun for 2016-17 and 2017-18).
GCU graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan joined Harrison on the coaches' five-member Preseason All-WAC Team. The Chandler Basha High School graduate averaged career highs for points (12.8 per game) and rebounds (7.6 per game) on last season's NCAA tournament qualifier.
Harrison and McGlothan form the first GCU duo to earn Preseason All-WAC first-team honors since the 2019-20 season, when Carlos Johnson and Alessandro Lever were
selected a year after Lever and Oscar Frayer did the same."Ray had a great conference season all the way through, and Gabe was just outstanding in the second half of the conference season and the conference tournament," GCU fourth-year head coach Bryce Drew said. "With those guys coming back, it gives us momentum from a program standpoint. They both improved this summer, so we expect them to take another step up in their games."
After going 24-12 last season, the Lopes earned nine of a possible 10 first-place votes (coaches do not choose their own teams) to be the clear favorite for this season.GCU has been tabbed as a top-two team in the WAC coaches' preseason poll for nine consecutive seasons, but this year's poll marked the most first-place votes that the Lopes have received.
"It's always a great honor if you get votes because people think that the team is good," said Drew, who has led the Lopes to two NCAA tournament trips in his first three seasons at the helm. "I think it goes back to last year and a compliment to how our players finished the season last year. And then it's also a compliment to the players who we added in the transfer portal. As we all know, the rankings at the end of the year matter, not the preseason rankings."
GCU plays a Nov. 1 exhibition game against Embry-Riddle before opening the regular season on Nov. 6 against fellow 2023 NCAA tournament qualifier Southeast Missouri.
Coaches' WAC Preseason Player of the Year |
|
| Player | School |
| Ray Harrison, junior guard | GCU |
Coaches' Preseason All-WAC Team |
|
| Player | School |
| Ray Harrison, junior guard | GCU |
| Gabe McGlothan, graduate forward | GCU |
| Drake Allen, junior guard | Utah Valley |
| Sadaidriene Hall, junior forward | Stephen F. Austin |
| Cameron Tyson, senior guard | Seattle U |
Preseason Coaches Poll |
|||
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Points | |
| 1 |
 |
GCU (9) | 99 |
| 2 |
 |
Stephen F. Austin (2) | 87 |
| 3 |
 |
Seattle U | 86 |
| 4 |
 |
Utah Valley | 61 |
| 5 |
 |
Abilene Christian | 60 |
| 6 |
 |
Tarleton State | 49 |
| 7 |
 |
California Baptist | 47 |
| 8 |
 |
UT Arlington | 43 |
| 9t. |
 |
Southern Utah | 26 |
| 9t. |
 |
UT Rio Grande Valley | 26 |
| 11 |
 |
Utah Tech | 21 |
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
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Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
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Non-Conference Schedule Release | Men's Basketball
Monday, August 04