SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Two-time defending champion Pepperdine was selected as the favorite to win the 2019-20 West Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship in a poll of the league coaches. The Waves captured 64 points and the maximum eight first-place votes.
 
Pepperdine entered the 2019-20 campaign ranked as high as No. 2 nationally and placed a whopping five on the preseason All-WCC team. The Waves get an immediate boost from the return of two-time All-American Sahith Theegala, who missed all of the 2018-19 season with an injury. Joe Highsmith, the 2019 WCC Freshman of the Year and RJ Manke, the 2019 WCC Championship medalist, teams with seniors Clay Feagler, Josh McCarthy and Theegala.
 
Last season the Waves advanced to the 10th NCAA Championship berth in program history and the second in three years. Pepperdine posted an 11th-place showing – the best for the program since 2004. Highsmith led the Waves finishing in 24th place in the best ever finish for a Pepperdine freshman at NCAA Nationals.

BYU was picked second with 57 points and the remaining first-place vote. The Cougars qualified for their second straight NCAA Nationals trip last season and are represented by two Cougar seniors on the preseason all-conference squad: Peter Kuest and Rhett Rasmussen. Kuest is the reigning WCC Player of the Year, while Rasmussen won the 2019 Pullman NCAA Regional, lifting the Cougars to a runner-up team showing in the Palouse.
 
Saint Mary’s was tabbed for third place with 48 points, just three votes in front of ancient Bay Area rival San Francisco in fourth place with 45 points. The Gaels earned their fifth straight NCAA Regional berth last season and are led by preseason All-WCC pick Blake Hathcoat, a 2019 WCC First Team selection as a junior. The Dons placed three-time All-WCC First Team and 2019 NCAA Regional competitor Tim Widing on the preseason squad.
 
Santa Clara was picked fifth in the survey with 32 points, boosted by preseason all-league selection Matt McCarty, a two-time All-WCC First Team honoree.
  
The 2020 West Coast Conference Men’s Golf Championship will be held at will be held at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nev. The Tournament runs April 30-May 2.
 
2018-19 WCC MEN’S GOLF BULLETS

• For the second time in three seasons, two WCC programs advanced to NCAA Nationals as BYU made its second straight showing and Pepperdine made its 10th overall trip and second in three seasons
• Three teams – BYU, Pepperdine and Saint Mary’s – advanced to NCAA Regional Play
• BYU’s Peter Kuest (Second Team) and Rhett Rasmussen (Honorable Mention) earned PING All-American honors and All-Region accolades
• Pepperdine’s Clay Feagler and Joshua McCarthy and San Francisco’s Tim Widing all earned PING All-West Region honors for the second straight season
• LMU’s Riley Elmes, San Francisco’s Tim Widing each qualified for NCAA Regional play as individuals. It was the second berth for Elmes and the third for Widing.
• Widing posted a third-place individual finish in the Pullman NCAA Regional, one stroke shy of qualifying for NCAA Nationals
• Pepperdine won the 20th WCC Championship in program history and did so in dramatic fashion. The Waves were seventh after the opening round, vaulted to second at the end of day two, finishing at 13-under for a three-shot win against San Francisco.
• Pepperdine’s RJ Manke (-6) earned WCC Championship medalist honors after winning a one hole sudden-death playoff against LMU’s Riley Elmes
• The Cougars and Waves each won a pair of regular season events in 2018-19. BYU won the William H. Tucker Invitational and its own Cougar Classic, while Pepperdine won the Alister Mackenzie Invitational and the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational.  

GOLFSTAT FINAL 2018-19 RANKINGS: BYU – 43; Pepperdine – 14; Saint Mary’s – 59; San Francisco – 66; Santa Clara – 85
GOLFWEEK 2018-19 FINAL RANKINGS: BYU – 38; Pepperdine – 16; Saint Mary’s – 63; San Francisco – 64; Santa Clara – 88
  
2019-20 WCC Men’s Golf Preseason Coaches Poll

Team (First Place Vote)	Pts.
1. Pepperdine (8)	64
2. BYU (1)	57
3. Saint Mary’s	48
4. San Francisco	45
5. Santa Clara	32
6. LMU	25
7. San Diego	22
8. Pacific	18
9. Gonzaga	13

 
2019-20 All-WCC Men’s Golf Preseason Team

Name	Institution	Yr.
Clay Feagler	Pepperdine	Sr.
Blake Hathcoat	Saint Mary’s	Sr.
Joe Highsmith	Pepperdine	So.
Peter Kuest	BYU	Sr.
Josh McCarthy	Pepperdine	Sr.
Matt McCarty	Santa Clara	Jr.
RJ Manke	Pepperdine	Jr.
Rhett Rasmussen	BYU	Sr.
Sahith Theegala	Pepperdine	Sr.
Tim Widing	San Francisco	Sr.