MISSOULA — Money Williams had options this offseason. His sophomore season at Montana was a roaring success. Top Reserve in the Big Sky Conference. Second-team All-Big Sky pick. All-tournament team. Big Sky champion. Thirty-six points at Portland State, and, perhaps more notably on the national stage, 30 points at No. 11 Tennessee.
In this age of college basketball, he could have left Missoula for “greener” pastures. Instead, the guard from Oakland, Calif., decided to return to Montana for his junior season. There were plenty of reasons for the decision, but one specific idea that he has taken to heart.
Legacy.
He added to an already impressive career legacy on Thursday when he was named the preseason MVP in the Big Sky Conference for the 2025-26 season. Williams was the only unanimous selection to the league’s preseason all-conference team.
“I can’t come up with enough words to praise Money Williams properly,” head coach Travis DeCuire said. “When you talk about the young man that he is off the court, the young man he is when you bring him in the office and you have real conversations with him and look him in the eye and talk about things that are hard to talk about.”
Williams was on pace for one of the best freshman seasons in program history two years ago and had NBA scouts attending Montana games before an injury derailed it just 11 games in.
Last year, back at full strength, he blended well with a highly talented, veteran-heavy Grizzly team on the way to the title. Williams led Montana with 13.2 points and 3.1 assists per game, but when the team needed a spark after a 2-2 stretch in Big Sky play, he accepted a new role.
The playmaking guard came off the bench for the final 15 games of the season, including the Big Sky championship game and a first-round NCAA Tournament game against Wisconsin. The Griz went 13-2 in that stretch with the final game the only regulation loss.
Williams possesses elite shot-making, scoring 20-plus points eight times in his career with the pair of 30-point outings. But he also has 10 games with at least five assists as he enjoys getting his teammates involved equally as much as scoring himself.
He shared the backcourt last year with Montana’s career assist leader Brandon Whitney and senior guards Kai Johnson and Austin Patterson. Malik Moore also provided a scoring punch for the Grizzly team at the guard position.
Now, after 10 departures from last year’s title squad, Williams is the main man for the Grizzlies who were voted as the Big Sky favorites by both the league’s head coaches and media in Wednesday's polls.
He has taken that responsibility on this fall and continues to grow his game.
“I also think he’s nowhere near his ceiling, and that’s what is incredible about him," DeCuire said. “He continues to get better every day and we continue to find new things for him to work on and he has no problem with it. That’s hard to come by, a lot of kids want to hear that they did it, that they are a finished product, but between myself and Chris (Cobb) he’s not getting very much of that. He’s a sponge right now.”
Williams enters the season with 622 career points and 149 assists. There are only 17 players in program history that have scored 1,000 points and reached 200 assists, and the junior should easily join that club if he even matches last year’s numbers.
He is just the second Grizzly to ever be named preseason MVP, an award that began in 2015. Ahmaad Rorie took home the honor in 2018. He then led the Grizzlies to a 26-9 season while averaging 14.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. The Grizzlies won regular-season and tournament titles in the Big Sky Conference for the second straight year.
Williams will aim to recreate that team accomplishment in 2025-26. Montana is fresh off a 25-10 season and a trip to the Big Dance. He returned to Montana to add to his legacy, and has the chance to do just that with a big junior season.
“I’m very excited for the fact that the basketball community thinks he’s a good basketball player and expects a lot of things from him,” DeCuire said. “He wants that. He’s worked hard for that, and now he has to go make it happen. I feel blessed to have a young man like him return to our program knowing what is out there financially. For him to say no to those things and say yes to the things that he values above them beyond money and prestige is huge.”
The top team in the Big Sky Conference preseason poll and the preseason MVP will be in action this Sunday in an exhibition game against Denver.
The regular season begins on Nov. 3 when Montana hosts Northwest Indian College. The Griz will have another home game Nov. 5 against Ottawa (Ariz.).
2025-26 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Money Williams, Montana (preseason MVP) *
Terri Miller Jr., Portland State
Jaylin Henderson, Portland State
Andrew Cook, Eastern Washington
Tre-Vaughn Minott, Portland State
Jack Payne, Idaho
* Unanimous member of the preseason all-conference team
