SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Portland was voted the favorite in the 2026 West Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Coaches Preseason Poll with seven first-place votes. The Pilots have been voted first in the preseason poll for the fourth year in a row.

The preseason poll and the preseason team were selected solely by a vote of the conference’s eight head coaches. Coaches cannot vote for their own team and student-athletes. Due to a tie in the preseason team voting, 11 runners are represented this year instead of 10.

Portland received 49 total points, along with seven first-place votes. San Francisco claimed the remaining first-place vote and finished in second with 39 points. Saint Mary's took third, right behind the Dons, with 38 points. 

San Francisco, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara each had three student-athletes represented on the preseason team, while conference favorite, Portland featured two. 

Portland's Cameron Stein is the sole returner from the 2025 preseason team. Herbie Johnson from San Francisco was named to the preseason team after earning all-conference second team honors in 2025.

The 2026 West Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Championships will be hosted by San Diego on October 30 at Tecolote Shores in San Diego, Calif.
 

2026 West Coast Conference Men’s Cross Country Preseason Poll
Place	Team	First Place	Points
1.	Portland	7	49
2.	San Francisco	1	39
3.	Saint Mary's		38
4.	Santa Clara		34
5.	Pepperdine		24
6.	Pacific		18
7.	Seattle U		12
8.	San Diego		10

 

2026 Men’s Cross Country All-WCC Preseason Team
Name	Institution	Yr.
Daniel Abramowicz	San Francisco	Gr.
Paul Beaven	Santa Clara	Sr.
Dennis Cheruiyot	Saint Mary's	Jr.
Leo Conil	San Francisco	Sr.
Damian Frausto	Saint Mary's	Gr.
Anthony Giesch	Portland	Jr.
Herbie Johnson	San Francisco	So.
Joseph O’Connell	Saint Mary's	Gr.
Liam Papavasiliou	Santa Clara	Jr.
Cameron Stein	Portland	Gr.
Jack Tolbert	Santa Clara	Gr.