On Oct. 21, preseason polls for the 2021-22 Weber State University men’s basketball season were released, and Weber State University’s team was selected second for both the coaches’ and media polls.
Last season, the Wildcats finished 17–6 overall and 12–3 in the Big Sky, landing second in the conference.
WSU’s in-state rival and the reigning Big Sky Champs, the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, were selected to come in first for both categories with first-place votes from 8 of 11 Big Sky coaches and 23 of 29 from the press.
The ‘Cats tallied five first-place votes out of 29 by the media and two first-place votes by head coaches out of 11 around the Big Sky.
The Montana State Bobcats received a single vote in both polls.
The Wildcats will not see former star point guard Isiah Brown return to the roster despite him still having one year of eligibility available. Brown declared for the 2021 NBA Draft after last season ended, but wasn’t drafted.
Despite Brown leaving the program, some experienced transfers are coming to Ogden alongside a group of returning seniors, who will be exercising their extra year of eligibility.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, all NCAA athletes were allowed an extra year of eligibility due to the shortening of their seasons last year.
New transfer and senior guard Koby McEwen returns to Utah to play for Weber State for his fifth and final season after leaving Marquette University. McEwen originally started his college career at Utah State before transferring to Marquette, where he averaged 10.2 points per game in 27 games last year.
Former Utah Valley forward/guard Jamison “JJ” Overton has also made the switch to WSU for his fifth college season. Overton had 15.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game last season and was named onto the Second-Team All Western Athletic Conference list based off of his performances.
Most of the roster from last campaign will remain intact while center Dontay Bassett, forward Michal Kozak and forward/center Cody Carlson will all return for their second-senior seasons.
The Wildcats kick off their 2021-22 season when they clash with Concordia University, St. Paul, in a non-conference game on Nov. 4 at the Dee Events Center at 7 p.m.
