LAS VEGAS — UNLV has spent the offseason being discussed like one of the teams to beat in the Mountain West. Athlon Sports’ preseason all-conference team reflects that.
The Rebels placed 19 players on Athlon’s 2026 All-Mountain West team, the most of any program in the league. New Mexico had 17 selections. Hawaii had 16.
UNLV’s list is spread across the roster. Running back Jai’Den Thomas, offensive lineman Austin Boyd and defensive lineman Lucas Conti were named to the first team. Quarterback Jackson Arnold, wide receiver Taeshaun Lyons, tight end Keyan Burnett, safety Jake Pope and kicker Ramon Villela were second-team selections.
Wide receiver Kayden McGee, offensive lineman Will Thomas, defensive lineman Landen Thomas, linebacker Blesyng Alualu-Tuiolemotu and cornerback Denver Harris landed on the third team. Running back Jaylon Glover, offensive lineman Jackson Brown, defensive lineman Cohen Fuller, linebacker Cam Santee and cornerbacks Avery Helm and Quandarius Keyes were fourth-team picks.
Athlon noted that its teams are based on projected performance for the 2026 season. Career production and past awards were considered, but the list is meant to project the best players in the league for the upcoming year.
That distinction is important for UNLV because several of the Rebels’ selections are tied as much to role and projection as past production in Las Vegas.
Arnold is the most obvious example. The quarterback transfer was named second team behind Hawaii’s Micah Alejado, who landed on the first team. Arnold arrives at UNLV as one of the biggest quarterback names in the conference and one of the central pieces of Dan Mullen’s first roster.
Thomas gives UNLV its clearest first-team offensive selection. He is expected to be one of the top backs in the Mountain West and gives the Rebels a proven starting point while the offense transitions at quarterback.
Boyd and Conti give UNLV first-team players on both lines, which is where the list becomes more interesting than a collection of skill-position names. The Rebels also had Will Thomas and Jackson Brown selected on the offensive line, and Landen Thomas, Fuller and Conti selected on the defensive line.
UNLV also had three cornerbacks make the list: Harris on the third team, and Helm and Keyes on the fourth team. That is one of the sharper roster notes from Athlon’s team because the Rebels’ defensive backfield includes several recognizable transfer additions and will be one of the positions watched closely in 2026.
The offensive skill group was represented beyond Thomas and Arnold, too. Lyons was named a second-team receiver, McGee was named to the third team and Glover was listed as a fourth-team running back. Burnett, another transfer addition, was named the second-team tight end.
The spread of the selections is what stands out.
Thomas and Arnold will draw most of the attention, but Athlon’s list was not built around one or two names. UNLV had multiple players recognized on both lines, in the secondary and at the skill positions. For a team expected to contend in the Mountain West, that is the more relevant part of the list.
The games still have to sort out how much of that projection holds. Arnold has to settle in. The rebuilt passing game has to produce. The offensive line has to become a steady group. The defense has to turn names and athleticism into more consistent results.
But in Athlon’s preseason view of the Mountain West, no team had more players worth listing than UNLV.
Full list of UNLV selections:
First team
Jai’Den Thomas, RB
Austin Boyd, OL
Lucas Conti, DL
Second team
Jackson Arnold, QB
Taeshaun Lyons, WR
Keyan Burnett, TE
Jake Pope, S
Ramon Villela, K
Third team
Kayden McGee, WR
Will Thomas, OL
Landen Thomas, DL
Blesyng Alualu-Tuiolemotu, LB
Denver Harris, CB
Fourth team
Jaylon Glover, RB
Jackson Brown, OL
Cohen Fuller, DL
Cam Santee, LB
Avery Helm, CB
Quandarius Keyes, CB
