MBB: Grand Canyon Lopes 2024-25 Team Preview
The defending champs are loaded as they prepare for their final season in the Western Athletic Conference
Three conference tournament titles in four years.
Three trips to the NCAA Tournament in four years.
Two regular season titles in four years, one of which was an outright title.
A WAC Player of the Year and three WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player selections.
A Division I-best 30 wins in 2023-24.
And let’s not forget an NCAA Tournament win over a future conference foe.
It has been quite the run over the past four years for the Grand Canyon men’s basketball team.
Now, as the 2024-25 season approaches, the Lopes are deeper, and more experienced than they have been in Bryce Drew’s first four years as the Grand Canyon men’s basketball head coach.
Could 2024-25, the final year in the Western Athletic Conference, be even more special and historic than 2023-24?
Let’s take a look at the Lopes.
Head Coach:
Bryce Drew, 5th season (94-32 overall, 50-18 WAC)
Overall record as head coach: 258-140
2023-24:
WAC regular season champions, WAC Tournament champions, Beat Saint Mary’s in first round of NCAA Tournament, lost to Alabama in the Round of 32.
30-5 overall, 17-3 in WAC - most ever wins in a season at the Division I level, and most ever conference wins since joining the WAC in 2013-14.
Key Losses:
Jovan Blacksher Jr. - Transferred to Cal
Gabe McGlothan - ran out of eligibility
Josh Baker - ran out of eligibility
Key Returners:
Tyon Grant-Foster (2023-24 WAC Player of the Year)
Ray Harrison
Collin Moore
Duke Brennan
Lök Wur
Key Newcomers:
Jakobe Coles - 6’8, F - TCU
Makaih Williams - 6’2, G - UT Arlington
Dennis Evans - 7’1, C - Louisville
Traivar Jackson - 6’6, F - Tarleton
Styles Phipps - 6’2, G - Freshman
Sammie Yeanay - 6’8, F - Freshman
Austin Maurer - 7’0, C - Freshman
The big question about the 2024-25 roster for the defending WAC champions is will Tyon Grant-Foster be eligible immediately?
Bryce Drew said on Friday that he expects him to be, and that they are going through all available avenues to make sure Grant-Foster is on the floor on Nov. 4 when the Lopes open up the 2024-25 season at home against Cal State Fullerton.
If Tyon Grant-Foster is eligible immediately, there is potential for 30-plus wins again.
Four starters are back. Ray Harrison is a WAC Player of the Year talent.
Collin Moore just wants to win, and is willing to sacrifice stats for wins.
Duke Brennan started every game in 2023-24 for the Lopes.
Lök Wur came on strong down the stretch for the Lopes, and has the athleticism to have an instant impact off the bench for GCU.
Here is the thing…all GCU did in the offseason was get more experienced. And, shall we say, a little bit bigger.
TCU transfer JaKobe Coles is the big name to grace the newcomer list for the Lopes. Coles played in 31 games for the Horned Frogs in 2023-24, shooting a team-best 42.2 percent from 3-point land.
At 6-8, 215 pounds, Coles has the ability to play multiple positions for the Lopes. Maybe a Gabe McGlothan-like role, but a little more consistent shooter from the perimeter.
UT Arlington transfer Makaih Williams and Tarleton transfer Traivar Jackson are inter-conference transfers.
Williams was on a Maverick squad that nearly upset the Lopes three times.
Jackson was part of the best Tarleton squads of the Division I era, coming off the bench to have an impact on both ends of the floor.
What both players bring to GCU, is Division I experience plus an understanding of how teams play within the Western Athletic Conference.
The Lopes also brought in 7-footer Dennis Evans from Louisville to add even more depth in the paint to an already athletic, and physical basketball team.
Bryce Drew said on the Straight Outta WAC podcast that two of the incoming freshman, local products Styles Phipps and Sammie Yeanay have really impressed him since stepping on campus, with the work ethic, the intensity, and the growth.
Projected Starting Lineup
G - Ray Harrison
G - Collin Moore
G - Tyon Grant-Foster
F - JaKobe Coles
F - Duke Brennan
That fifth starter could go to either Coles or Lök Wur. But, I think the Lopes will still have Wur be their Sixth Man in 2024-25. Wur’s athleticism, ability to knock down perimeter shots, and to defend the rim is a huge advantage off the bench.
This projection is also dependent on whether or not Tyon Grant-Foster is eligible early on in the season.
If Grant-Foster isn’t eligible, fans could perhaps see JaKobe Coles at the 3, and Lök Wur at the 4. Or, Bryce Drew could go with Duke Brennan at the 4 with Dennis Evans at the 5.
That is the depth that Bryce Drew has to play with in 2024-25.
Scheduling News
In case you missed it, GCU announced its non-conference schedule on Thursday. And if you weren’t paying attention, the release video was straight FIRE! Check it out below.
GCU Men's Basketball 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule Release
Bryce Wheeler and his creative team outdid themselves in this release. It’s a mirror image of EA Sports College Football 25 interface and it is spot on!
The 2024-25 slate is not too overwhelming. There is a trip to Atlanta to take on SEC foe Georgia. The Lopes will also face ACC foe Stanford on a neutral floor in the Acrisure Classic. Arizona State and Saint Louis also grace the slate.
And although it’s not on the release, a game against WCC foe San Diego on a neutral floor. In fact, the report is that the Lopes will play San Diego in the Los Angeles Clippers new billion dollar arena.
GCU will also face Western Kentucky and La Tech in the WAC/Conference USA Scheduling Initiative.
Outlook:
With nearly unlimited resources, the highest NIL in the WAC, and an even more recognizable national brand, GCU is slowly becoming a basketball power.
Three WAC tournament titles in four years. A program-best 30 wins in 2023-24. And the majority of the starting lineup back on a roster that is much deeper than it was last season.
The Lopes should win 30 games once again. At least. GCU has just one true road game on the non-conference slate. And, as shown above, the schedule isn’t loaded with Quad I games. GCU might even be favored in every single non-conference game.
If Tyon Grant-Foster is eligible immediately, GCU could be ranked in the top-25 by the time WAC play rolls around.
GCU fans will shake their head at the attention. But, coming off a 30-win season, with four starters back, and an experienced and deep roster, it’s hard not to see 30 wins again.
The biggest question is how do the Lopes handle the HUGE target on their backs all season? In 2023-24, GCU handled it pretty well
Can the Lopes handle it for a second straight year? Especially now that the target has gotten even bigger with the news the Lopes will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference for the West Coast Conference at the end of the 2024-25 Academic Year?
GCU will be the favorite to win the WAC in every media outlet’s preseason poll. And rightly so. The only team to knock off the Lopes was New Mexico State.
And no other team in the current WAC has proven they can beat the Lopes when it counts.
Until then, GCU is the King of the Hill, and that shouldn’t change in 2024-25.