Sports Editor

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

The Roadrunners received a pair of first place votes in the coaches’ poll.

“I think this can be a really good year for us,” said CSUB coach Greg McCall during a press conference on the WAC Digital Network. “We’re hoping that this can be the year for us if we just stay healthy and focused on the goal at hand.”

New Mexico State University was picked first in both of the polls after finishing with a perfect record in conference play a year ago.

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-senior center Jazmyne Bartee was a first team selection in the media poll and a second team selection in the coaches’ poll. Senior forward Aja Williams was a second team selection in both polls.

Redshirt-senior forward Alexis Montgomery of Seattle University was selected as the preseason play of the year in each of the two polls.

Last season, the Roadrunners finished tied with Seattle U for second place in the conference with a 10-4 record in WAC play.