With less than a month before the beginning of the 2024-25 basketball season, American Athletic Conference coaches have selected this year’s conference favorites. The coaches’ preseason polls for men’s and women’s basketball were released on Friday afternoon.

Wichita State men’s basketball was predicted to finish fourth out of 13 teams, its best preseason placing since 2021. Last season, men’s basketball was predicted to finish in eighth place and ended the season in a five-way tie for 10th place after a 5-13 conference record.

Women’s basketball was predicted to finish second-to-last in the AAC, or 12th out of 13 teams. The 2024-25 prediction is lower than last year’s when Wichita State was predicted to finish 11th out of 13 teams and finished in 12th place after a 5-13 conference record. 

No men’s or women’s basketball players were voted into the first or second All-Conference teams.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of South Florida were voted to finish first in the AAC on the men’s and women’s sides, respectively.