The 2024-25 GCU men's basketball team is ready to make one last shot at the WAC Championship with a mix of experienced leaders and promising young talent. (Photo by Dylan Wickman/Cronkite News)

PHOENIX – Maybe not older, but wiser.

That's perhaps the best way to describe the Grand Canyon men's basketball team. Half the roster is made up of underclassmen, but there is also a wealth of experience as the Lopes seek a fourth – and final – Western Athletic Conference basketball championship.

GCU has four true freshmen on the roster this season, including the program's first top-100 signing in forward Sammie Yeanay, who joins the Lopes as the highest-ranked ESPN top-100 player opting to play outside of a Power-6 -Basketball conference to play.

Still, the Lopes will rely on the leadership of their six veterans to get the job done.

“I feel like the culture is different. The vibe is different,” senior guard Ray Harrison said. “This is probably the most mature group we've ever had, even though we have some younger guys and some real seniors. But as far as the talent goes, I feel like it’s there.”

Last season, the Lopes won the WAC Tournament championship and won the first NCAA Tournament game in program history before losing to Alabama in the NCAA second round.

It was Canyon's third NCAA appearance in four seasons and with the program's impending move to the West Coast Conference in July 2025, GCU wants nothing more than to add another trip to the Big Dance and take home one final WAC championship trophy.

To achieve that postseason goal, Lopes' coaching staff spent the offseason recruiting new talent and players worked in the weight room to get stronger for the season, which begins Oct. 29 with an exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico become.

“If you don't have good summers, it's really hard to have good seasons,” GCU coach Bryce Drew said, adding that GCU's strength and conditioning team did a good job preparing Lopes individually for the upcoming season to prepare – and avoided injuries in the process.

With enhanced strength comes immense talent, and no one embodies this more than Harrison. His ability is undeniable, as he has not averaged fewer than 13.5 points per game in any of his four career seasons and enters the 2024-25 season with 1,991 career points.

But Harrison and the rest of the GCU veterans recognize the team's young talent, especially Yeanay.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth in Sammie. I mean, he’s a true freshman,” senior forward Tyon Grant-Foster said. “I feel like we could get a lot out of him. He's really good offensively; he’s really talented.”

As with any freshman, the transition from high school to college will be challenging. Drew calls Yeanay an instinctive player, especially in live-action scenarios, but the coaching staff is working with him to adapt to GCU's gameplay.

Drew said the GCU team has seen a jump in Yeanay's ability to take over plays and focus on defensive positioning.

GCU men's basketball coach Bryce Drew emphasizes the importance of talent and conditioning as the Lopes prepare for their final WAC season. (Photo by Dylan Wickman/Cronkite News)

“And if he can add all of that to his great instincts and great skills, then he will be the special player we all want him to be,” Drew said.

The promising freshmen will rely on the guidance of upperclassmen like Harrison and Grant-Foster, who was invited to the 2024 NBA Draft before withdrawing and announced his return to GCU on June 4.

He said the combine experience made him realize the importance of summer training and that he is embracing his role as a leader upon returning to GCU.

“It’s a great experience,” Grant-Foster said of being a mentor. “I'm just happy that my teammates allow me to do it. I don't actually get any backlash from this. I will try to be as respectful as possible when coaching them and asking them things. So I feel like it was a real moment that I could appreciate.”

Grant-Foster also feels he has grown as a player and person under Drew's coaching, especially after recovering from a heart attack last season. He emphasized that a player cannot handle the mental aspect of playing basketball alone.

With the advice and support of his family and coaches, he continues to grow in the sport.

“I don’t have to get 20 points. I don’t have to be the man and fire every shot,” Grant-Foster said. “(Drew) just wants me to come in and play right, and I think that’s a great thing. I feel like I have to do better this year just because I know everyone’s eyes are on me and everyone is going to be watching me.”

In addition to Grant-Foster, junior forwards Duke Brennan and Harrison will serve as mentors on and off the field. Brennan was one of two Lopes, along with senior guard Collin Moore, to start all 35 games last season and finished as the team's second-leading rebounder and top 10 in the WAC with 6.7 per game.

“Being here for two years allows me to really contribute to this program, help the younger guys and get more comfortable on the field, get more comfortable with the coaching staff and bring back all the contributions from last year,” Brennan said. “We’re ready to go again.”

Like Grant-Foster, Harrison entered the 2023 NBA Draft before withdrawing and returning to GCU for the 2023-24 season. Since GCU became a Division I school, Harrison ranks third in program history with 261 assists and led the Lopes in free throw percentage, converting 83.5% of his shots.

Harrison and Grant-Foster want to remind the underclassmen of the improvements still needed as the season approaches.

“It's a journey. It really is,” Harrison said. “You can't really expect to come in and dominate guys who are older than you and stronger than you. We've experienced more, but you just have to take it day by day and embrace the learning process.”

It will be crucial for Canyon to recognize that this is a journey to success, especially given the schedule the Lopes face this season. After going 30-5 overall and 17-3 in the WAC last year, the true freshmen and five transfers will need extra work to get up to speed.

The Lopes face an early-season test against Arizona State on Nov. 17 in their fourth game of the season in the Hall of Fame Series at the Footprint Center. The two teams have not played each other since the 2021-22 season, when ASU won 67-62.

The Hall of Fame Series isn't the only tournament-like game the Lopes have on the schedule this season. They face Stanford in Palm Desert, Calif., at the Acrisure Holiday Classic on Nov. 26 and Georgia in Atlanta, Ga., at Holiday Hoopsgiving on Dec. 24.

Drew says the team is ready for its final appearance in the WAC, but doesn't want to use up all of its energy early in the season, instead focusing on its talent and skills to make it back to the WAC Championship and the NCAA Tournament bring.

“There is a balance. We want them to get better, but we also don’t want to wear them out,” Drew said. “It's a long season. Everyone wants to start the season really well. We want to start really well, but we’re also more worried about February and March and trying to be as fresh and good as possible in those months.”