Both those things changed last season, but now coaches and media around the league indicate low expectations for both Wildcat teams with the release of preseason polls this week ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

The WSU men’s team, which finished ninth last year, was voted ninth in both preseason polls. The women’s team, which tied for third place, was voted seventh and eighth.

With most rosters undergoing significant turnover year to year with NIL and the transfer portal, the value of preseason polls seems more diminished than ever. That’s true for both of WSU’s teams, and is true for most teams in the Big Sky.

The WSU men brought in four transfers and four freshmen, overturning 61.5% of the roster.

The WSU women added eight transfers and no new freshmen, while returning Lanae Billy, the nation’s third-best returning 3-point shooter, and Antoniette Emma-Nnopu, the 11th-best returning offensive rebounder nationally.

In last year’s men’s polls, the only thing coaches or media got right was Sacramento State finishing last. Otherwise, Portland State was picked to finish sixth or seventh and finished third, Idaho State picked eighth but finished fourth, Montana State was picked first and second but finished fifth, and Weber State was picked third and fourth but finished ninth.

It seems impossible to both track every transfer move for every team (outgoing players, incoming transfers from Division I, Division II or junior college) and accurately analyze how each roster stacks up and will work together, so voting tends to favor teams with the most returners — something the WSU men benefited from in preseason polls last season.

Stacking a third-place finish with the most returning starters in the league means the Portland State men were voted second in both polls and got three players on the preseason all-conference team.

Only once in the 10 years since the Big Sky began voting on preseason MVPs has the before-season men’s MVP pick become the end-of-season MVP pick in the same season (Weber State’s Dillon Jones in 2023-24).

All that’s to say: I can’t wait for the ball to tip off and see what each Big Sky team is bringing to the table this season.

Here’s a rundown of the men’s and women’s polls (voted by coaches and media), and preseason all-conference selections (voted by media).

To synthesize the polls, I’ve combined the coaches and media ballots into one list for each side, with average finish position and total first-place votes.

BIG SKY MEN

Combined Preseason Poll

(45 ballots — 10 coaches, 35 media)

1. Montana (27)

2. Portland State (12)

3. Northern Colorado (2)

4. Idaho (3)

5.5 Montana State

6.5. Eastern Washington

6.5 Idaho State

7. Sacramento State (1)

9. Weber State

10. Northern Arizona

Preseason All-Conference Team

Money Williams, Montana (MVP)

Terri Miller Jr., Portland State

Jaylin Henderson, Portland State

Tre-Vaughn Minott, Portland State

Andrew Cook, Eastern Washington

Jack Payne, Idaho

BIG SKY WOMEN

Combined Preseason Poll

(37 ballots — 10 coaches, 27 media)

1. Montana State (16)

2. Montana (10)

3. Idaho (8)

4.5 Sacramento State (2)

4.5 Idaho State (1)

6. Eastern Washington

7.5 Weber State

8. Northern Colorado

8.5 Northern Arizona

9.5 Portland State

Preseason All-Conference Team

Benthe Versteeg, Sacramento State (MVP)

Mack Konig, Montana

Taylee Chirrick, Montana State

Kourtney Grossman, Eastern Washington

Avery Waddington, Montana

Hope Hassmann, Idaho