Azusa Pacific senior forward Ken West is the top player in the west----the PacWest that is, according to coaches in a preseason vote.

The 6-foot-8 forward is the 2023-24 Pacific West Conference Preseason Player of the Year. West also leads the PacWest All-Preseason Team, along with Point Loma's Luke Haupt, Hawai`i Hilo's Carlos Ramsey, Jr., Latrell Williams of Academy of Art, Daniel Esparza of Biola and Chaminade's Issac Amaral-Artharee.

Last week, the league's coaches selected Azusa Pacific to claim the PacWest crown. Now, the 11 head coaches pick West to lead the Cougars and the PacWest.

Ken West is a fifth-year player and a fourth-year starter for the Cougars. He has been a First Team All-PacWest selection the last two seasons, averaging 11 points a game in 2022-23. An all-around player, the Bellevue, Wash. native averaged 4.4 rebounds a contest and made 84 three-pointers at a 41 percent success rate. In a game against Academy of Art last year, West nailed eight treys and scored 26 points.

Luke Haupt returns as perhaps the most versatile player in the conference. Last season as a sophomore for the PacWest champion Point Loma squad, the 6-6, 220 pound swing player averaged 11.8 points a contest, pulled down 6.2 rebounds a game and dished out seven assists per game, second best total in the conference. He was a First Team All-PacWest pick and a Second Team D2CAA All-West Region selection.

Carlos Ramsey, Jr. made a big splash in his first season at Hawai`i Hilo last year. The 6-5, 200 pound left-hander averaged 16.4 points per game, shooting .529 from the floor in the process. He also nailed .451 of his three-point attempts. At the end of the year, the junior transfer from Highland CC was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year. 

Latrell Williams of Academy of Art averaged 10.3 points per game last year for the Urban Knights. He ranked seventh in the PacWest with 7.2 rebounds per game and was also seventh in steals with 1.5 per contest. The 6-5, 225 pound forward is a two-year starter and was named to the Second Team All-PacWest squad in 2021-22. The senior was also a PacWest All-Tourney selection that same year when the Urban Knights won the tournament title.

Daniel Esparza is a 6-2 junior guard from Biola that averaged 15.7 points per game last year. He was a Second Team All-PacWest selection, dishing out 70 assists and shooting 43 percent from three-point range. The Whittier native played one season at Cal Poly before transferring to Biola last year. 

Isaac Amaral-Artharee has been a pillar in the Chaminade line-up for the past four seasons. The 6-2 senior guard was the PacWest Freshman of the Year back in 2019-20 and was a Second Team All-PacWest pick last winter. The Portland native averaged 16.1 points per game in 2022-23, fifth best in the league. He connected on 84 percent of his free throw attemps (second in the conference) and drained 59 three-pointers. 

Hawai`i Hilo will tip off the 2023-24 season this weekend in British Columbia, taking on Simon Fraser, Seattle Pacific and Western Washington. All 11 PacWest teams will be in action next weekend with a full slate of non-conference clashes. 
 

2023-24 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Ken West*	Azusa Pacific	F	Sr.	Bellevue, Wash.
Luke Haupt	Point Loma	G	Jr.	San Diego, Calif.
Carlos Ramsey, Jr.	Hawai`i Hilo	G	Jr.	Milwaukee, Wisc.
Latrell Williams	Academy of Art	F	Sr.	Gary, Ind.
Daniel Esparza	Biola	G	Jr.	Whittier, Calif.
Isaac Armaral-Artharee	Chaminade	G	Sr.	Portland, Ore.

                                            *2023-24 PacWest Preseason Player of the Year