Brigham Young-Hawai'i was picked yesterday as the preseason favorite to win the Pacific West Conference men's basketball title in a vote of the league's coaches.

BYUH's Lucas Alves, a 6-foot-9, 230-pound sophomore forward-center from Brazil, was picked preseason player of the year.

The Seasiders received six of the seven first-place votes. Grand Canyon, which received the other first-place vote, was picked to finish second, followed by Chaminade, Hawai'i-Hilo, Dixie State, Notre Dame de Namur and Hawai'i Pacific.

The Seasiders finished 20-8 last season, losing in the first round of the NCAA II West Regional.

Alves averaged 14.5 points and six rebounds per game last season and was named PacWest freshman of the year and to the all-conference first team.

Others selected to the preseason all-conference team were Chaminade's Marko Kolaric, Grand Canyon's Rudy Bogan, Hawai'i-Hilo's Vince Alvarado and Samuel Wilhoite, HPU's Rishi Kakad and Notre Dame de Namur's Ryan Cooper.

Grand Canyon was picked as the PacWest's women's basketball preseason favorite. Rosalyn Nelson of Grand Canyon, a 5-foot-8 sophomore point guard, was chosen as conference preseason player of the year.

Grand Canyon received six of the seven first-place votes from the conference coaches. BYUH was picked second and received the other first-place vote. Dixie College was third, followed by Notre Dame de Namur, Hawai'i Pacific, Hawai'i-Hilo and Chaminade.

Others on the preseason all-conference team were BYUH's Latoya Wily, Chaminade's Simrin Cummins, Grand Canyon's Ashley Hardin, UHH's Ashley Kualii, HPU's Ashley Jenkins and Notre Dame de Namur's Jennifer Dreessen.