Sports Editor

In the yearly preseason polls conducted by the coaches and media members of the Western Athletic Conference, the CSU Bakersfield men’s basketball team has been selected to finish in third and fourth place, respectively, for the 2017-18 season.

The Roadrunners, despite being chosen to finish fourth, did receive a pair of first-place votes in the media poll.

“To be picked third or fourth, I’m actually really pleased with that,” said CSUB coach Rod Barnes during a press conference on the WAC Digital Network. “Our team is really young as far as experience goes. We got a lot of new guys that are going to be in our rotation.”

Grand Canyon University was chosen as the preseason favorite to win the conference in both polls.

The coaches and media also chose their favorites for player of the year in the conference and chose all-first and all-second teams.

CSUB redshirt-junior guard Daminyne Durham was a first team selection in the coaches’ poll and a second team selection in the media poll.

Redshirt-senior guard Brent Wrapp and senior forward Shon Briggs were second team selections in the coaches’ poll.

GCU senior guard Joshua Braun was selected as the preseason WAC player of the year.

Last season, the Roadrunners finished first in the WAC with a 12-2 record in conference play. It was their first regular season title in program history.