PORTLAND, Ore. — Montana State Billings was picked fifth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference preseason men's basketball coaches poll, which was released Thursday.
The Yellowjackets received 61 voting points in the poll after tying for fourth place in the GNAC standings a season ago. The NCAA Division II Jackets went 20-11 overall and were 9-9 in conference contests, narrowly missing out on a conference tournament berth based on tiebreaker procedures.
Coach Luke Fennelly led the team to its first-ever regular-season title in his first season in 2023-24 and will return for his fourth year piloting the program. He holds an overall record of 61-33 (.649) and has gone 34-20 (.630) in conference games since taking over.
In addition to their regular-season title, MSUB also has one GNAC championships trophy, which it won in 2012.
Saint Martin’s was tabbed as the favorite in the preseason poll. The Saints claimed six of 10 first-place votes and tallied 88 points to top the poll.
Central Washington was close behind with 84 points and one first-place vote for second in the poll, while Northwest Nazarene followed third with three first-place votes and 80 points.
