Defending champion Griz picked as preseason favorites

The target, as is so often the case in Big Sky men's basketball, will be on the backs of the Montana Grizzlies this season. The defending Big Sky Tournament champions and co-regular season champs from 2024-25 will start the new year as the favorites in the Big Sky, as voted on by both the league's head coaches and media.

Montana received 78 points and six first-place votes in the Preseason Coaches' Poll and 323 points and 21 first-place votes in the Preseason Media Poll. Portland State is 2^nd in both polls with Northern Colorado, who UM split the regular season title with last year, in 3^rd and Idaho in 4^th.

"I always appreciate the respect from the coaches and the media to expect us to have a good team," head coach Travis DeCuire said. "We obviously return a couple of guys that were very impactful to winning last year and I really think that's what it comes down to is who has the most players we are familiar with, that's who gets the most votes."

It's a familiar position for a team coached by Travis DeCuire. The all-time winningest coach in Montana history enters his 12^th year with the same championship expectations as he's had in his previous 11. This is the third time overall and second straight year that Montana has been voted first by the league's coaches. It's the fourth time that his team has been predicted to finish 1^st by the media.

Montana has averaged 24.5 wins over the previous two seasons. The 49 total victories ranks 38^th in the NCAA during that span and is the 4^th-best two-year period in program history.

It will be a new-look team for the most part in 2025-26 after they lost 10 players following the championship season. The majority of them graduated from a senior-laden team, but DeCuire is reloading with six transfers and a couple of true freshmen.

DeCuire does return several key pieces including Money Williams, last year's Top Reserve in the Big Sky Conference and an All-Tournament Team member. Williams averaged 13.2 points and led Montana with 110 assists in his first full year. The junior returns with lofty expectations for 2025-26.

"Money's selflessness last year and the way he impacted the game in the role that we changed for him, I think it really allowed him to play basketball in his comfort zone and to his strengths. Now, we've been able to put a team around him that I think he fits very well with and they fit well with him. I think there is a high level respect for his talent and what he's capable of."

They also bring back starter Te'Jon Sawyer. The senior played through an injury for most of last season and still averaged 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting close to 60 percent on the year. He increased his scoring to nearly 12 points per game on 64.0 percent shooting in the final month of the regular season as he continued to get closer to 100 percent.

"Te'Jon really got into a stride the last three weeks of conference going into the NCAA Tournament," DeCuire said. "If a healthy Te'Jon Sawyer is the same guy we saw in February and March, then you're looking at an All-Conference player. I think a lot of it has to do with those two guys."

Outside of Sawyer and Williams, the only returning Grizzly that played a single minute in 2024-25 is Amari Jedkins. He appeared in 29 games, averaging 8.8 minutes per contest. The Grizzlies also bring back Chase Henderson and Connor Dick, a pair of redshirts last year that have experience from two seasons ago, and redshirt-freshman Tyler Thompson.

Despite the limited returners, the league's coaches and media still tabbed the Griz as the preseason favorites.

"I think that means that people think the program is in good hands. I think it's a high level of respect for my staff," DeCuire said. "I think there are a lot of people that think that they are good at going out, getting good players, developing them, and giving me good pieces to work with."

The work has already begun for this team with about a month of practice under its belt. The Grizzlies will have their first public game this Sunday at noon when they host Denver in an exhibition. The real season begins on November 3 with the home opener.

The Grizzlies will start the year with title expectations. It wouldn't have mattered where they landed in the preseason poll, that has been the starting point for this program, which has more Big Sky Tournament Championships than any other team, nearly every single year for the past half-century.

There will be red and white circles on the backs of DeCuire and his players when the ball is finally tipped. But the veteran coach that a preseason poll will mean very little inside Idaho Central Arena in March when the NCAA Tournament berth is on the line.

"I prefer to not have the bullseye as we all know," DeCuire said. "It's a lot easier to be angry at everyone and have a way to motivate your team with low expectations. I remind my guys every day that just because banners are hanging and people say we're good doesn't mean that we are. We have work to do."

2025-26 Big Sky Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

1: Montana (6) – 78
2: Portland State (3) – 72
3: Northern Colorado – 63
4: Idaho (1) – 59
T5: Eastern Washington – 40
T5: Montana State – 40
7: Sacramento State – 35
8: Idaho State – 31
9: Weber State – 22
10: Northern Arizona – 10

() – Denotes First-Place Votes

2025-26 Big Sky Men's Basketball Preseason Media Poll

1: Montana (21) – 323
2: Portland State (9) – 302
3: Northern Colorado (2) – 245
4: Idaho (2) – 231
5: Idaho State – 202
6: Montana State – 165
7: Sacramento State (1) – 143
8: Eastern Washington – 136
9: Weber State – 113
10: Northern Arizona – 61

() – Denotes First-Place Votes

University of Montana Athletics

Defending champion Griz picked as preseason favorites

Players Mentioned

Connor Dick

Chase Henderson

Amari Jedkins

Te'Jon Sawyer

Tyler Thompson

Money Williams

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