As the calendar turns to 2026, the West Coast Conference reflects on a year of tremendous growth and success. The conference enjoyed a remarkable rebrand, welcomed future institutions and boasted numerous elite accomplishments across multiple sports from all of its members. 

Below is a list of some of the West Coast Conference's highlights from 2025. 

WE RISE IN THE WEST
On Oct. 22, the West Coast Conference launched its new brand identity that celebrates its national excellence, focus on student-athlete wellness, innovative approach in today’s NCAA landscape, and expansive footprint representing the major markets in the western region. The conference unveiled a new men’s and women’s basketball commercial with Santa Clara alum and NBA World Champion Jalen Williams reflecting on the storied history of national excellence and current excitement around West Coast Conference basketball.

Regional Identity. We alone embody the vibe of the West with major metropolitan markets and geographical appeal.
Innovative Approach. We honor our history and embrace the future of college athletics.
Student-Athlete Wellness. Student-athlete wellness, belonging, community and opportunities are our cornerstones.
Excellence. Excellence and experience in athletics and academics combine to create champions and leaders.

NEW MEMBERS
On July 1, Seattle U officially returned to the West Coast Conference, giving the conference members in every major market on the West Coast, from Seattle to Portland to the San Francisco Bay Area, to Los Angeles to San Diego. Three of those — Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Seattle — are among the top 13 nationally, according to Nielsen’s rankings of Designated Market Areas. During the fall, Seattle U made its presence felt with Caroline Penner being named the women’s soccer Offensive Player of the Year. In men's basketball, Seattle U's 11-2 start was the program's best since the 1966-67 campaign. 

In addition to the Redhawks returning to the league, two more schools announced they are headed to the West Coast Conference in the near future. Denver will join the league next academic year and UC San Diego will join the league the following year. Denver gives another strong West Coast footprint within the conference while the addition of UCSD increases the presence of the West Coast Conference in the San Diego area and creates an in-conference rivalry with the San Diego Toreros. 

NEW CHAMPIONSHIPS
On June 9, the West Coast Conference announced the addition of conference championships in men’s soccer, women’s soccer and softball. All three championship events will begin in the 2026-27 academic year.

The men’s and women’s soccer championship formats will be four teams with the highest seed hosting each event. The semifinal matches will be played on Wednesday, and the championship match will be contested on Saturday preceding NCAA selection.

The softball championship format will be a four-team, double elimination, tournament contested on the Thursday-Saturday preceding NCAA selection. The championship will be held at a pre-determined campus site.

CREDIT UNION 1 PARTNERSHIP EXTENDED
In October, the West Coast Conference announced an extension with Credit Union 1 as the title partner of the West Coast Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship. The extension was secured by Van Wagner, who manages the West Coast Conference’s sponsorship and marketing partners program. Credit Union 1, a leading financial institution with a nationwide membership, began its relationship as the official banking partner of the West Coast Conference during the 2023-24 academic year. The extension of the partnership is for four years, through the 2030 men’s and women’s basketball championship. 

MEN'S BASKETBALL OFF TO HOT START IN 2025-26 CAMPAIGN
West Coast Conference men's basketball went 98-57 in non-conference play this season prior to the start of conference play on Dec. 28. The .632 non-conference winning percentage is just shy of the .635 non-conference mark from 2021-22 when the league was a three-bid league in the NCAA Tournament.  The league currently boasts six teams in the top 125 in the latest NET rankings - No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 24 Saint Mary's, No. 69 Santa Clara, No. 107 Seattle U, No. 117 San Francisco and No. 124 LMU. 

In addition, the West Coast Conference featured strong starts come from Seattle U with the Redhawks' 11-2 start and Pacific going 9-4 in non-conference play, the highest non-conference win total for the Tigers since they won 12 in 2019-20. 

TWELVE POSTSEASON BASKETBALL TEAMS IN 2025
Last season, West Coast Conference men's and women's basketball teams earned postseason bids in 2025.

In men's basketball, the conference tied a conference record with six teams selected to participate in the postseason after Gonzaga and Saint Mary's once again competed in the NCAA Tournament, Oregon State and Washington State were named to the inaugural College Basketball Crown field and San Francisco and Santa Clara were named to the NIT field. For a record sixth consecutive tournament and 11th time in the last 13 events, West Coast Conference men's basketball earned multiple bids in the NCAA Tournament as Saint Mary's and Gonzaga received bids into the 2025 NCAA Tournament collectively for the fourth straight year.

In women's basketball, six West Coast Conference programs earned selections to postseason tournaments, matching a conference record. Led by the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship title winner Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament, the WBIT bracket featured Gonzaga, Portland and Pacific, while Saint Mary's and Washington State battled in the WNIT. 

WEST COAST CONFERENCE NBA CHAMPIONS CROWNED
Three former West Coast Conference players were on the roster of the 2025 NBA Champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Jalen Williams (Santa Clara) and Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga) played vital roles while Alex Ducas (Saint Mary's) was also on the squad. The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers who had Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga) on their squad. In the finals, Williams averaged 23.6 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Holmgren averaged 12.3 points per game and a team-leading 8,9 rebounds per game. Nembhard averaged 11.7 points per game and 3.7 assists per game. 

EPIC EJIM
Yvonne Ejim concluded her storied career at Gonzaga as a two-time Associated Press All-American, two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year and two-time West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, she was one of five active Division I players with at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Ejim was also a finalist for the Becky Hammon Player of the Year Award and the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year award. She had previously won the Becky Hammon Player of the Year award the season before. The forward was also on the midseason watch lists for the John R. Wooden, Naismith, and USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale player of the year awards. Her storied career included ranking second in West Coast Conference history in career scoring in all games (2,385) and conference games (1,223). She also ranks third in conference history (all games) with 1,140 career rebounds. Her 726 points last season were a Gonzaga single-season record and ranked second in conference history. Ejim was selected with the 33rd pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.

HISTORIC MEN'S SOCCER SEASON
A men's soccer season that saw Portland ranked No. 1 in the country at one point made history when San Diego and Portland gave the West Coast Conference multiple first-round byes for the first time in conference history. Portland was the No. 8 national seed, followed by San Diego as the No. 9 national seed. Oregon State made it a three-bid league as the Beavers hosted eventual NCAA champion Washington in the first round. 

San Diego captured the conference title for the fourth straight year, the first time a West Coast Conference team has won the men’s soccer conference title four years in a row. The West Coast Conference has featured two or more teams in the NCAA Tournament in nine of the last 10 seasons. Portland reached the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2022. The West Coast Conference has featured a team in the quarterfinals in three of the last four seasons and a team in the round of 16 for the last four consecutive campaigns. 

Portland fended off Denver in the second round, advancing on penalty kicks. The Pilots defeated Grand Canyon in the next round when Joe Highfield entered the game for the first time with 10 minutes remaining in regulation and netted the eventual game-winning goal. A fluke goal by Furman in the quarterfinals allowed Furman to get past the Pilots. 

TARVET TAKES OVER ON THE WORLD'S GRANDEST TENNIS STAGE
One of the most dominant NCAA men’s tennis student-athletes during the 2024-25 season, San Diego's Oliver Tarvet ranked in the top 10 in singles nationally all year, ending the campaign ranked No. 5 in the ITA. Collecting multiple All-America honors, Tarvet became a two-time West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2025 and he led the Toreros to a conference championship before USD hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. 

What came next for Tarvet really put him in the national spotlight in the world of tennis. Competing at Wimbledon, Tarvet won three matches to advance from the qualifying draw to the main draw and claimed another victory in the first round of the main draw. What awaited him next was a matchup against the world's second-ranked player in the world, Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court. Although Tarvet lost that match, performing at a high level against one of the world's best made his countrymen and his USD family proud as Tarvet pridefully wore his Torero gear during his impressive run at Wimbledon. 

His teammate August Holmgren and Pacific's Sem Verbeek also represented the conference well at Wimbledon. Verbeek was part of the Mixed Doubles Championships pair at the event. 

The West Coast Conference wrote a detailed story on Tarvet's Wimbledon experience that can be found here. 

LMU BEACH VOLLEYBALL JUST MISSES A NATIONAL TITLE
LMU finished the national runner-up at the 2025 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship after falling to TCU, 3-2, in the national championship match. The fourth-seeded Lions defeated Florida Atlantic, defending national champion USC and defending national runner-up UCLA prior to meeting the second-seeded Horned Frogs. The national championship match came down to the last court, the No. 1 court, where the Lions were facing not only the No. 1 ranked player in the nation but also a pair that finished fifth for Spain the 2024 Summer Olympics. LMU head coach John Mayer was named the AVCA Coach of the Year. 

WOMEN'S GOLF TRIO AT THE AUGUSTA WOMEN'S AMATEUR
Pepperdine’s Jeneath Wong and Eunseo Choi, and San Francisco’s Riana Mission competed at the prestigious Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April. Wong, Choi and Mission were part of a field of 71 of the top amateur women’s golfers in the world competing in the three-round tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club. Wong carded +3, with a 1 over 73 and 2 over 74 for her two rounds. Choi notched a 1 over 73 on day one and wrapped up with a 6 over 78 in the second round. Mission followed up her 84 with a 1 over 73 on the second day. 

MEN'S GOLF TRIO AT THE MASTERS
Matt McCarty, formerly of Santa Clara, along with Joe Highsmith and Sahith Theegala, formerly of Pepperdine, competed at the 89th Masters Tournament in April at the Augusta National Golf Club. McCarty and Highsmith made their debuts at the Masters while Theegala competed for the third time at the esteemed major. 

A YEAR OF FIRSTS IN BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL
Saint Mary's baseball and Santa Clara softball made history in 2025. The Gaels won the West Coast Conference Baseball Tournament for the second time in program history, heading to the Corvallis regional. Saint Mary's garnered its first win in the NCAA Tournament with a 6-4 victory over host and No. 8 national seed Oregon State. 

In softball, Santa Clara made history by winning the West Coast Conference championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. 

PERFECT GAME
On Feb. 25, Portland’s Ryan Rembisz threw a nine-inning perfect game against Seattle U, marking the 37th perfect game ever thrown in DI NCAA history and the 21st in a nine-inning game. It was also the first in program history. Rembisz accomplished the amazing feat in just 90 pitches.