Thought it would be fun to compare the off-seasons for each team in the conference and see how their offseason has gone so far. I think the easiest way to do this is to go in alphabetical order.
Eastern Washington- Biggest Loser. You can’t have a worse offseason then Eastern has, and this is happening to them in every sport. They have brought in a couple nice transfers but they got a long way to go before they get back to what they were. Gonna be a long season for the eags
Idaho- Big loser. Lost nearly their entire lineup, and even let their best player transfer to another Big Sky school (Blakney). I feel like they are looking to start fresh now with Claus as their coach and their new arena opening this season, so maybe this isn’t as bad as it looks.
Idaho State- hasn’t won or lost. Really one of the quieter teams this off-season, and that’s a good thing. Haven’t lost anyone of significance and have only brought in one transfer but it wasn’t a big get. Probably what you want if you’re a bengal fan.
Montana-Winner. I feel like we got what we needed in the portal, but we didn’t overachieve. Where I do feel like we won was in our freshmen class. I think we signed the best freshmen class in the conference with Braggs, Wetzel, and Solomon. These three have the chance to be big time game changers right away and throughout their careers. Curious to see if any of them do redshirt cause we’ve got a loaded roster with lots of talent and idk how you get them all on the floor.
Montana State- haven’t won or lost. The cats did lose 3 better players but did bring in a nice transfer in Raequan Battle. They retained all their top players and have a nice freshmen class highlighted by a kid that I think is like 7’3??? I’m surprised the cats haven’t been a little more active in the portal, and maybe they still are but Battle is all they’ve gotten so far.
Northern Arizona- Big Winner. I thought about ranking NAU #1 but they did have two big departures in Shelton and Avdalovic. They have however had no problem replacing them as they’ve killed it in the portal and landed what I believe is the marquee transfer in Jalen Cone of Virginia Tech. They brought in some stalwart guys as well to bolster the roster, and I could definitely see the Jacks being in the conversation next year.
Northern Colorado- Winner. Other then Sam Masten, they didn’t lose anyone of significance and brought in the best JUCO player of any school in the conference so far. Definitely won the offseason and should be much improved this upcoming season.
Portland State-Winner. Rarely can you say you’re a winner when one of the better head coaches in the league leaves your school. The viks will miss Perry and his physical style of play, but the internal hire of Jace Coburn is paying off and he’s done a very nice job in the portal so far. Viks should be much more competitive this season.
Sacramento State- haven’t won or lost. Brought in one transfer but that’s about it. I kind of expect them to finish right about where they did last season
Southern Utah- haven’t won or lost. Honestly they’ve been the quietest team this off-season. We haven’t heard anything on them since they got upset by the cats in Boise. They were able to retain pretty much their entire roster so no need to hit the portal if they’re all gonna stick around.
Weber State- Biggest Winner. Weber brought in two big time transfers and hung on to practically everyone. I have no reason to believe Weber won’t be top 3 in the conference this year (if not win it), and I think in that sense they’ve had the best off-season of anyone in the conference.
As I write this. It boggles my mind how much the conference has changed in just a few short months. At this point, I don’t think I could give you a definitive answer for who the favorite will be. I think it’s got the potential to be one of the most competitive seasons in the Big Sky in a long time. Thoughts?
Eastern Washington- Biggest Loser. You can’t have a worse offseason then Eastern has, and this is happening to them in every sport. They have brought in a couple nice transfers but they got a long way to go before they get back to what they were. Gonna be a long season for the eags
Idaho- Big loser. Lost nearly their entire lineup, and even let their best player transfer to another Big Sky school (Blakney). I feel like they are looking to start fresh now with Claus as their coach and their new arena opening this season, so maybe this isn’t as bad as it looks.
Idaho State- hasn’t won or lost. Really one of the quieter teams this off-season, and that’s a good thing. Haven’t lost anyone of significance and have only brought in one transfer but it wasn’t a big get. Probably what you want if you’re a bengal fan.
Montana-Winner. I feel like we got what we needed in the portal, but we didn’t overachieve. Where I do feel like we won was in our freshmen class. I think we signed the best freshmen class in the conference with Braggs, Wetzel, and Solomon. These three have the chance to be big time game changers right away and throughout their careers. Curious to see if any of them do redshirt cause we’ve got a loaded roster with lots of talent and idk how you get them all on the floor.
Montana State- haven’t won or lost. The cats did lose 3 better players but did bring in a nice transfer in Raequan Battle. They retained all their top players and have a nice freshmen class highlighted by a kid that I think is like 7’3??? I’m surprised the cats haven’t been a little more active in the portal, and maybe they still are but Battle is all they’ve gotten so far.
Northern Arizona- Big Winner. I thought about ranking NAU #1 but they did have two big departures in Shelton and Avdalovic. They have however had no problem replacing them as they’ve killed it in the portal and landed what I believe is the marquee transfer in Jalen Cone of Virginia Tech. They brought in some stalwart guys as well to bolster the roster, and I could definitely see the Jacks being in the conversation next year.
Northern Colorado- Winner. Other then Sam Masten, they didn’t lose anyone of significance and brought in the best JUCO player of any school in the conference so far. Definitely won the offseason and should be much improved this upcoming season.
Portland State-Winner. Rarely can you say you’re a winner when one of the better head coaches in the league leaves your school. The viks will miss Perry and his physical style of play, but the internal hire of Jace Coburn is paying off and he’s done a very nice job in the portal so far. Viks should be much more competitive this season.
Sacramento State- haven’t won or lost. Brought in one transfer but that’s about it. I kind of expect them to finish right about where they did last season
Southern Utah- haven’t won or lost. Honestly they’ve been the quietest team this off-season. We haven’t heard anything on them since they got upset by the cats in Boise. They were able to retain pretty much their entire roster so no need to hit the portal if they’re all gonna stick around.
Weber State- Biggest Winner. Weber brought in two big time transfers and hung on to practically everyone. I have no reason to believe Weber won’t be top 3 in the conference this year (if not win it), and I think in that sense they’ve had the best off-season of anyone in the conference.
As I write this. It boggles my mind how much the conference has changed in just a few short months. At this point, I don’t think I could give you a definitive answer for who the favorite will be. I think it’s got the potential to be one of the most competitive seasons in the Big Sky in a long time. Thoughts?