Tuesday, October 24, 2023
by Evan O'Kelly

PORTLAND, Ore. – Shaw Anderson, who led the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in scoring a season ago, was named the 2023-24 GNAC Preseason Player of the Year to headline the preseason all-conference team announced Tuesday.

The Seattle Pacific senior averaged 20.1 points per game in 2022-23 on his way to earning all-conference honors for the third consecutive season. Anderson is among a group of 15 players who were named to the preseason all-conference season ahead of the fast-approaching season.

A native of Kelso, Wash., Anderson has steadily increased his production across his three seasons with the Falcons, posting a career scoring average of 15.6 points per game while at SPU. The 6-foot-7 forward shot 53.6% from the floor last year including a mark of 41.2% from 3-point range. Anderson was the lone preseason all-conference pick for the Falcons, who were slated to finish tied for fifth in the preseason coaches poll.

The preseason-favorite Saint Martin’s Saints landed three players on the preseason all-conference team, including returning first-team all-GNAC guards Jaden Nielsen-Skinner and Kyle Greeley from last year’s title squad. Nielsen-Skinner led the GNAC and ranked fifth in Division II basketball with an assist-turnover ratio of 3.53 last season. Greely was the Saints’ leading scorer a season ago, ranking fifth in the conference with 14.8 points per game. Senior guard Tyke Thompson, who was a second-team all-league pick last year, also claimed preseason all-conference recognition after averaging 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds last season.

The presence of 6-foot-9 forward Gabriel Murphy will be a big one for Northwest Nazarene this season, as he was named to the preseason all-conference team unanimously after being a second-team all-GNAC selection in 2022-23. Murphy ranked second in the GNAC last year with 8.2 rebounds per game, while scoring at a rate of 11.6 points per game. Two-time honorable mention all-conference selection Tru Allen also earned preseason all-conference honors, after averaging 12.1 points per game last year.

Central Washington was represented on the preseason all-conference team by senior guard Camron McNeil and senior forward Samaad Hector. Both were honorable mention all-conference picks in 2022-23, with McNeil ranking fourth in the league in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Hector meanwhile chipped in a steady 11.7 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Returning second-team all-GNAC forward Abdullahi Mohamed was the Alaska Nanooks’ lone selection to the preseason all-conference team. The 6-foot-10 senior racked up 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 2022-23 and was a key starter during the team’s run to the Sweet 16 in 2021-22.

For Western Washington, BJ Kolly was a unanimous preseason all-conference pick after earning honorable mention recognition last winter. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 10.6 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game to lead the Vikings in 2022-23. Kai Johnson also earned preseason recognition, coming off a second-team all-GNAC season that saw him average 12.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Yoncalla, Ore., native Cameron Benzel represented the Western Oregon Wolves on the preseason all-GNAC list, being selected unanimously after an honorable mention 2022-23 season. Benzel was a key all-around performer for the Wolves last year, averaging 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

Seven years after making his collegiate debut, Montana State Billings’ Zharon Richmond was recognized as one of the league’s top talents as he returns from injury. The 2019-20 honorable mention all-conference selection last played three seasons ago, and enters this year with 968 career points to his name.

David Penney is coming off a productive season for Simon Fraser, averaging 10.8 points per game on his way to honorable mention all-conference in 2022-23. The senior guard was the Red Leafs’ lone selection on the preseason all-conference team.

Alaska Anchorage also had a representative on the preseason list, with senior guard Dathan Satchell getting the nod. Satchell checked in with 9.8 points per game during the 2022-23 campaign.