Aggies

NCAAB New Mexico State Aggies

General Information

NCAA Division: Division I

Conference: Western Athletic Conference (2005-present)

Past Conferences: Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Missouri Valley, Big West, Sun Belt

City: Las Cruces, N.M.

Stadium: Pan American Center

NCAA Tournaments: 26 (1952, 1959, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)

Championships:

National Championships: None
Conference Tournament Titles: 13 (1992, 1994, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022)
Conference Regular Season Titles: 20 (1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1952, 1959, 1960, 1977, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)

New Mexico State Aggies Team History

The New Mexico State Aggies are a Division I program located in Las Cruces, N.M. New Mexico State currently competes in the Western Athletic Conference and is coached by Greg Heiar.
New Mexico State has been highly successful through the years, with 26 NCAA Tournament appearances on its ledger, including five Sweet 16 appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 1970.
Lou Henson guided the Aggies to a 27-3 record during that Final Four run, which ended with a 93-77 loss to eventual national champion UCLA. The Aggies went on to beat St. Bonaventure 79-73 in the third-place game. Henson, a future College Basketball Hall of Famer, coached New Mexico State from 1966-75 before leaving for Illinois, then returned from retirement for a second stint with the Aggies from 1997-05. He is the winningest coach in program history, with a record of 307-164 over 17 seasons.

The Aggies’ most recent NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2022, when they went 27-7, swept the WAC regular season and tournament championships, and overcame long odds to beat fifth-seeded UConn 70-63 in the opening round. The Aggies had lost 12 straight games in the Big Dance dating to the 1993 first round.

New Mexico State has been among the WAC’s upper-echelon programs, winning a combined 17 regular season and tournament titles since joining the league in 2005 following a brief stint in the Sun Belt Conference. They’ve had 13 20-win seasons in the league, including a 30-5 mark under Chris Jans in 2018-19.

Jans, the three-time WAC Coach of the Year, departed following the 2021-22 season for Mississippi State. He was replaced by Heiar, who had led NW Florida State to the NJCAA national title. Per usual, the Aggies carried big expectations into this season, as they were picked to finish second behind Grand Canyon in the WAC preseason coaches and media polls.

In addition to 1970, the Aggies made the Sweet 16 in 1952, 1968, 1969 and 1992. Their 1992 appearance, however, was later vacated by the NCAA after several players were found to have received improper academic help from coaches. The school’s Big West Conference title in 1997 was also scrubbed from the books for academic issues.
New Mexico State’s postseason history also includes five National Invitational Tournament appearances.

All Time New Mexico State Aggies Records

Points Scored

Eric Channing: 1,862
Albert Slab Jones: 1,758
Jimmy Collins: 1,734

Rebounds

Sam Lacey: 1,265
Wendell McKines: 1,135
Albert Slab Jones: 951

Assists

Sam Crawford: 592
Hernst Laroche: 552
Keith Hill: 379

NCAAB New Mexico State Aggies FAQs

When is the last time New Mexico State was ranked in the Associated Press poll?

The Aggies were ranked for nine consecutive weeks during the 1994-95 season, peaking at No. 19 nationally. They went 25-10, including 13-5 in Big West Conference play, and made the NIT quarterfinals.

Who holds New Mexico State’s single-season scoring record?

Jimmy Collins scored a program-record 754 points in 1969-70, helping New Mexico State advance to the Final Four for the first time in school history. Later that year, Collins, a consensus Second Team All-American, was selected 11th overall in the NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.

How many former New Mexico State players have gone on to play in the NBA?

More than a dozen former Aggies have played in the NBA, including Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam. Siakam won WAC Player of the Year in 2016, the same year Toronto drafted him 27th overall. He helped lead Toronto to the NBA title in 2019 and was named an All-Star for the first time the following season.