UNLV Still Runs the Mountain West
The Mountain West’s preseason poll says what everyone already knows: the Mountain West still runs through Las Vegas.
The UNLV Lady Rebels were voted the 2025-26 Mountain West preseason favorite, pulling in 19 of 27 first-place votes from coaches and media. Everyone else is chasing them, again.
Lindy La Rocque has built a program that doesn’t flinch. Four straight regular-season titles. Three tournament championships in four years. Now in her sixth season, she’s got a group that returns just one starter, and somehow, expectations haven’t moved an inch. UNLV doesn’t rebuild. It reloads.
Poll Results
San Diego State and Colorado State round out the top three, while league newcomer Grand Canyon even grabbed a first-place vote, a nod of early respect for the Antelopes’ transition to the MW.
But until someone actually takes down UNLV, preseason chatter doesn’t mean much.
Two Lady Rebels on the Preseason All-MW Team
The Mountain West dropped its preseason awards this week, and no surprise, UNLV showed up again.
Graduate guard Aaliyah Alexander and sophomore forward Meadow Roland both landed on the Preseason All-Mountain West Team, another sign that the balance Lindy La Rocque builds every year still runs the league.
Alexander is the only starter back from last year’s title run. She’s not flashy, but she’s steady. The kind of player who guards everyone, keeps the ball moving, and doesn’t blink when the game gets tight. She’s the voice La Rocque trusts most on the floor, organized, calm, and always in the right spot.
Roland’s the other end of it. The reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Year turned heads right away last season with how polished she already looked. At 6’2”, she’s strong enough to bang inside but mobile enough to switch out and keep the pace. She shot over 55% from the field as a rookie and gave UNLV a big who could run, rebound, and finish without slowing the offense down.
This year, she’s stepping into a full-time starting role, and it feels like the next jump is coming. She’s got the poise and the tools to be one of the best forwards in the conference.
Together, they cover both ends of what makes UNLV tick: Alexander setting the tone, Roland raising the ceiling.
Preseason All-Mountain West Team
Pos. | Player | Yr. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
G | Milahnie Perry | Sr. | Air Force |
G | Natalie Pasco | Sr. | Boise State |
F | Tatum Thompson | Sr. | Boise State |
G | Hannah Ronsiek | Sr. | Colorado State |
G | Chloe Mann | So. | Grand Canyon |
G | Destinee Hooks | Jr. | New Mexico |
G | Naomi Panganiban | So. | San Diego State |
G | Aaliyah Alexander | Gr. | UNLV |
F | Meadow Roland | So. | UNLV |
G | Malene Pedersen | Sr. | Wyoming |
Player of the Year: Tatum Thompson, Boise State
Freshman of the Year: Kendall Mosley, San Diego State
Newcomer of the Year: Chloe Mann, Grand Canyon
Big Picture
Boise State’s Thompson takes the individual spotlight, but the program standard hasn’t changed. UNLV is still the measuring stick.
La Rocque’s built something bigger than any one class or core. The names change, but the expectation stays the same: win the Mountain West, punch the ticket to March, and make sure everyone else knows where the bar sits.