Isaiah Stevens led the Rams in points, assists and minutes in 2019-20
Photo by: Cris Tiller
Stevens Preseason All-Mountain West, Rams Picked To Finish Fifth in 2020-21
11/11/2020 10:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Colorado State's sophomore Isaiah Stevens has been selected to the Preseason All-Mountain West squad as the Rams were picked to finish fifth in the conference race, as announced today by the league office. The vote for both the order of finish and preseason all-conference members was done by the league's media from the respective cities.
The second-ever league Freshman of the Year for the Rams, Stevens made an immediate impact on the program in 2019-20, starting all 32 games and leading the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, which ranks 13th in the league. He also was third in the Mountain West at 4.5 assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.18. He played more minutes than any other Ram and scored in double figures in 24 games last season. He hit a pair of game winners in the final seconds last year in wins over Loyola Chicago and Nevada. The Allen, Texas product also led the Rams with 26 points and a school record-tying 12 assists in the triple-overtime win at Tulsa Dec. 21. He was the first CSU freshman ever to earn Mountain West Player of the Week on Feb. 3 after leading CSU to a pair of wins over Nevada and UNLV when he averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in those contests. He set a new CSU freshman assists record of 144, which is fifth on the CSU single-season chart and is a Mountain West record for a freshman. He also broke the record for Mountain West only games with 84 last year, surpassing Sam Merrill (Utah State) with 71 in 2016-17.
The Rams are coming off a 20-12 season where they tied for fifth in the regular season with an 11-7 mark. The 20-win season was just the 11th in program history and an eight-win improvement under then second-year head coach Niko Medved. In his seven years as a collegiate coach, Medved has continued to improve on the previous win total in each of his stops, including the two years at CSU.
Preseason Player of the Year
Derrick Alston, Jr., Sr., G, Boise State
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
David Jenkins, Jr., Jr., G, UNLV
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Nick Blake, G, UNLV
The second-ever league Freshman of the Year for the Rams, Stevens made an immediate impact on the program in 2019-20, starting all 32 games and leading the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, which ranks 13th in the league. He also was third in the Mountain West at 4.5 assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.18. He played more minutes than any other Ram and scored in double figures in 24 games last season. He hit a pair of game winners in the final seconds last year in wins over Loyola Chicago and Nevada. The Allen, Texas product also led the Rams with 26 points and a school record-tying 12 assists in the triple-overtime win at Tulsa Dec. 21. He was the first CSU freshman ever to earn Mountain West Player of the Week on Feb. 3 after leading CSU to a pair of wins over Nevada and UNLV when he averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in those contests. He set a new CSU freshman assists record of 144, which is fifth on the CSU single-season chart and is a Mountain West record for a freshman. He also broke the record for Mountain West only games with 84 last year, surpassing Sam Merrill (Utah State) with 71 in 2016-17.
The Rams are coming off a 20-12 season where they tied for fifth in the regular season with an 11-7 mark. The 20-win season was just the 11th in program history and an eight-win improvement under then second-year head coach Niko Medved. In his seven years as a collegiate coach, Medved has continued to improve on the previous win total in each of his stops, including the two years at CSU.
| 2020-21 MOUNTAIN WEST PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH | ||
| Rank | Team (First-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1 | San Diego State (14) | 211 |
| 2 | Boise State (4) | 188 |
| 3 | Utah State (2) | 177 |
| 4 | UNLV | 160 |
| 5 | Colorado State | 141 |
| 6 | Nevada | 114 |
| 7 | New Mexico | 106 |
| 8 | Fresno State | 93 |
| 9 | Wyoming | 59 |
| 10 | Air Force | 39 |
| 11 | San José State | 32 |
| 2020-21 PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAM | |||
| Pos. | Name | Yr. | Team |
| G | Derrick Alston, Jr. | Sr. | Boise State |
| G | Isaiah Stevens | So. | Colorado State |
| F | Matt Mitchell | Sr. | San Diego State |
| G | Bryce Hamilton | Jr. | UNLV |
| C | Neemias Queta | Jr. | Utah State |
Preseason Player of the Year
Derrick Alston, Jr., Sr., G, Boise State
Preseason Newcomer of the Year
David Jenkins, Jr., Jr., G, UNLV
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Nick Blake, G, UNLV