UPDATED PRESEASON TEAM BELOW
SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Santa Clara has been voted as the preseason favorite to win the 2026-27 West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball regular-season title in a vote of the league’s 10 head coaches and announced by the WCC office on Thursday.
The
West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Road Show premieres Thursday, October 15, at 2:30 p.m. PT on
ESPN+. Hosted by Seth Davis, the show takes viewers across the Conference for an inside look at each men's basketball program ahead of the 2026-27 season.
It marks the first time the Broncos have been favored in a preseason WCC poll since 1995-96, and also marks the first time neither Gonzaga nor Saint Mary’s has been favored since 2000-01.
Santa Clara received nine first-place votes and totaled 81 points to top the ranking, followed by last year’s regular season co-champion Saint Mary’s with the other first-place vote and 70 points. Only five points separate third through fifth with San Francisco (58), Seattle U (54) and Pacific (53) completing the top half.
The Broncos along with Pepperdine and Seattle U led with a pair of selections on the Preseason Team, headlined by reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year Will Heimbrodt from the Redhawks. 2025-26 First Team All-WCC honoree Joshua Dent from Saint Mary’s and Honorable Mention selection Junseok Yeo of Seattle U also earned preseason recognition.
Non-conference action begins Monday, Nov. 2 with WCC league contests tipping off Saturday, Jan. 2. The
2027 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championships return to Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the 19th consecutive year. The reformatted 10-team, nine-game, four-round tournaments will be held March 5-9, 2027.
West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams earned three bids to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, marking multiple selections for a record seventh consecutive tournament and 12th time in the last 14 events. Saint Mary’s earned an NCAA bid for a record fifth consecutive season, while Santa Clara competed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. This marked the first time since 2022 and the fourth time in conference history (2022, 2012, 2008) the conference boasted three NCAA bids. In addition, Seattle U advanced to the second round in the NIT, giving the conference four postseason teams in 2025-26.
2026-27 WCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
| RANK |
SCHOOL (First-Place Votes) |
PTS. |
| 1. |
Santa Clara (9) |
81 |
| 2. |
Saint Mary’s (1) |
70 |
| 3. |
San Francisco |
58 |
| 4. |
Seattle U |
54 |
| 5. |
Pacific |
53 |
| 6. |
LMU |
46 |
| 7. |
Pepperdine |
30 |
| 8. |
San Diego |
26 |
| 9. |
Portland |
22 |
| 10. |
Denver |
10 |
2026-27 WCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Team
| NAME |
YR. |
POS. |
SCHOOL |
| Joshua Dent |
Jr. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Jake Ensminger |
Gr. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Sash Gavalyugov |
Jr. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Will Heimbrodt |
Sr. |
F |
Seattle U |
| Carson Johnson |
Jr. |
G |
Denver |
| Petar Majstorovic |
Jr. |
F |
Pepperdine |
| Will McClendon |
Gr. |
G |
Pepperdine |
| Ndewedo Newbury |
Gr. |
F |
San Francisco |
| All Wright |
Jr. |
G |
LMU |
| Junseok Yeo |
5th |
F |
Seattle U |