Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER, CO - The Western Athletic Conference men's basketball media have selected NM State as the preseason favorite to win the conference crown during the 2018-19 season and Grand Canyon sophomore forward Alessandro Lever as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year.

The Aggies received 22 first-place votes, earning 214 points to earn the top spot. Grand Canyon was picked to finish second with 180 points and two first-place votes, followed by Utah Valley in third place with 162 points and Seattle U in fourth place with 150 points. CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish fifth with 117 points, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in sixth place with 89. Kansas City was picked seventh with 73 points, while WAC newcomer California Baptist was selected eighth with 63 points. Chicago State rounded out the poll in ninth place with 32 points.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER, CO - NM State is the preseason favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference men's basketball title in 2018-19, while Grand Canyon sophomore Alessandro Lever was selected as the WAC Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of the league's nine head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.

The Aggies received 63 points and seven first-place votes to earn the top spot. Grand Canyon captured second place with 58 points and the other two first-place votes. Seattle U was third with 45 points, just ahead of Utah Valley in fourth place with 43 points. CSU Bakersfield was picked to finish fifth with 35 points, while UT Rio Grande Valley was selected sixth with 28 points. Kansas City was seventh with 24 points, while WAC newcomer California Baptist was picked eighth with 20 points. Chicago State rounded out the poll with eight points.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State head men’s basketball coach Chris Jans unveiled the much anticipated 2018-19 schedule on Thursday that features a handful of marquee games inside the Pan American Center as well as games that’ll challenge the Aggies.

“Our upcoming schedule is very difficult and filled with many terrific programs,” Jans said. “We felt it necessary to reward our fan base with premiere matchups considering the Pan American’s 50th Anniversary. We are thrilled to host a top-25 program in Saint Mary’s and a Power 5 program in Washington State.”

The two-time defending Western Athletic Conference Tournament Champions open the season with three-straight home contests that features North Dakota State, Battle of I-10 rival UTEP and a 30-game winner in Saint Mary’s.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - New Mexico State head men’s basketball coach Chris Jans recently tabbed James Miller as his new assistant coach, filling the gap left open when associate head coach Lou Gudino left for Wichita State.

“Coach Miller is a young coach on the rise,” Jans said. “He has a wonderful reputation in college basketball and has been around success his whole career. James’ ability to cultivate relationships while being an excellent teacher of the game is a great combination. We are thrilled he and his family are joining our program.”

Miller comes to Las Cruces after spending the 2017-18 season on the North Texas staff that won the 2018 College Basketball Invitational title while also posting the nation’s fifth-best win-improvement with 12 games. The 20-18 overall record last year was the first 20-win season at UNT since the 2011-12 campaign.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: NM State Athletic Dept.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State Director of Athletics Mario Moccia announced Thursday that head men’s basketball coach Chris Jans has agreed to a restructured contract that will keep him through the 2021-22 season.

“The success Coach Jans had in his inaugural season was phenomenal,” said Moccia. “After three-consecutive seasons with a new head coach, it was imperative for the program to retain him for the long term. Being fiscally responsible is a must at NM State Athletics and 100% of the funds towards the new contract came from private donors and funds made available through our recent debt extension.”  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER – NM State men's basketball student-athlete Jemerrio Jones has been awarded the 2017-18 WAC Sportsmanship Award for his display of sportsmanship during the season.

The WAC received two nominations on behalf of Jones, the WAC Player of the Year, for his sportsmanship demonstrated throughout the season. The first came in February after the Aggies lost to Utah Valley in an important contest in Las Cruces. A Wolverine fan reached out via social media.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Written By: WAC Media Relations

DENVER, CO - NM State junior softball player Kelsey Horton and senior men’s basketball player Jemerrio Jones are the 2017-18 Western Athletic Conference Joe Kearney Award winners. Named in honor of former WAC commissioner Joe Kearney, the awards are given annually to the top male and female student-athletes in the WAC.

Horton, the 2018 WAC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP, led the Aggies to both the WAC regular-season and tournament titles this season. She was a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) first team All-Pacific Region honoree and broke the all-time WAC record for home runs per game in WAC play at 0.67. A two-time WAC Hitter of the Week this season, Horton set the NM State single-season records for home runs (25) and total bases (154). Her 25 homers rank second all-time in WAC history (first in the bat testing era).   Continue Reading This Post >>

CHRIS JANS: Obviously, we're thrilled to be here. It's what every young man that starts playing basketball dreams of playing in is March Madness, and certainly when you choose this profession as a basketball coach, this is the goal, to be in March Madness. I'm elated for our university, for the storied program, certainly to be able to give them another Championship in our first year is rewarding. They're used to winning. It's kind of an exhale moment when we won at GCU and we could add our team to the list.

Q. Chris, Gregg got a lot of questions about you earlier today. Your time at Wichita State. One of the things he said, I asked him what he learned from you or maybe what specifically he could remember.
CHRIS JANS: Nothing.  Continue Reading This Post >>

Q. Zach, you've probably been asked this quite a bit over the course of the year, but for those of us who haven't re been around the program, what led you to transfer to New Mexico State this year?
ZACH LOFTON: My coach back home, Brian, he spoke with Coach Jans and Jeff Mailhot and told me to come take a visit, me and my mom to come down there and check it out. You know what I mean? You don't have to go there, but check it out. We went down there and found a home. My mom loved it, so picked it.  Continue Reading This Post >>