WCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Rankings: Gonzaga Still Reigns Supreme

The Zags will be national contenders yet again, but they’re not the only point of intrigue out West.

As part of its 2022–23 men’s basketball preseason coverage, Sports Illustrated is rolling out previews for each of the top 10 conferences. Next up is the WCC.

The WCC is Gonzaga and everyone else, and that’s not changing anytime soon. Still, last year represented a big milestone for the league (especially as we enter the final year before BYU heads to the Big 12): San Francisco became the WCC’s first team to earn an NCAA tournament at-large bid outside of the Bulldogs, Cougars and Saint Mary’s in two decades. Continued program growth from the likes of the Dons, Santa Clara (which produced a first-round NBA pick in 2022), San Diego and Portland keep this league relevant outside of just Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s at the top.

More Previews: A-10 | AAC | Mountain West 

SI’s picks for …

Player of the Year: Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Newcomer of the Year: Marcus Williams, San Francisco

Dark-Horse Team: Portland

First-Team All-Conference:

• Khalil Shabazz, San Francisco
• Rasir Bolton, Gonzaga
• Maxwell Lewis, Pepperdine
• Julian Strawther, Gonzaga
• Drew Timme, Gonzaga

SI’s predicted order of finish:

1. Gonzaga

The Bulldogs have won this league every season in the last decade and have at least shared the title in all but one year since 2000. It’s hard to believe that trend won’t continue in ’22–23 with yet another loaded roster in Spokane that features one of the nation’s best players in Drew Timme. The big question is whether this is the year Mark Few’s team finally gets over the hump and wins a national championship. To do that, it will need sophomore point guard Nolan Hickman to live up to his lofty preseason expectations. The former top-40 recruit flashed moments of brilliance as a freshman and could be the cherry on top of a backcourt that already features impressive veterans Rasir Bolton, Julian Strawther and Malachi Smith (Chattanooga).

Postseason Projection: Title Contender

Timme is back for his senior season in Spokane :: James Snook/USA TODAY Sports

2. Saint Mary’s

Saint Mary’s has finished in the top 40 of KenPom’s rankings in six of the last seven years and hasn’t finished worse than 75th since 2007. Randy Bennett has built a program consistent enough to earn the benefit of the doubt with a roster that has questions at the point guard spot. Two options to fill the void left by Tommy Kuhse running the Gaels’ offense: sophomore Augustas Marciulionis and highly touted freshman Aidan Mahaney. Whoever gets the keys to the offense will have the luxury of playing next to Logan Johnson, who finally blossomed as a scorer last season to go with his elite defensive instincts. As long as Saint Mary’s gets steady point guard play to go along with a defense that should remain stout, this team will go dancing yet again.

Postseason Projection: On the Bubble

3. BYU

Things went downhill fast for the Cougars last season after a 17–4 start, going just 5–6 to conclude the season and come up short in their bubble hopes. Getting back to the NCAA tournament this year despite losing Alex Barcello would be perhaps Mark Pope’s best coaching job yet in Provo. Coastal Carolina transfer Rudi Williams will shoulder a heavy load in the backcourt and might be the team’s only true shot-creator, but defensive improvements keyed by adding Arkansas transfer Jaxson Robinson and more minutes from rim-protecting center Atiki Ally Atiki could move the needle. Add in a breakout campaign from bruising forward Fousseyni Traore, and the pieces are here for BYU to play in the postseason and potentially go dancing.

Postseason Projection: NIT Bound

4. San Francisco

Chris Gerlufsen has the unenviable task of following Todd Golden’s impressive tenure with the Dons, but he has done an excellent job reloading the roster this spring to keep San Francisco competitive in the WCC. Gerlufsen convinced Khalil Shabazz to come back after testing the portal, and the ballhawking guard will be flanked by two other playmakers in Tyrell “Ghost” Roberts (Washington State) and Marcus Williams (Texas A&M). Williams is a particularly intriguing addition considering his pedigree at Wyoming, where he won Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2021 before heading to A&M. This team could push for a top-three finish if Georgia Tech transfer Saba Gigiberia can solidify the frontcourt.

Postseason Projection: There’s Always Next Year

5. Portland

One of the most impressive coaching jobs done anywhere last season was the work Shantay Legans did turning around a dormant Portland program in his first year on the job. The Pilots finished .500 in the WCC for the first time in more than a decade and matched their conference win total from the previous five years combined, laying the groundwork for an extremely bright future. This team won’t overwhelm you athletically, but Legans runs great stuff offensively and has tons of shooting to create tough mismatches for WCC defenses. Plus, additions like Alden Applewhite (Mississippi State), Joey St. Pierre (Milwaukee) and Wyatt Lowell (BYU by way of juco) should help the Pilots not get overwhelmed by bigger, more physical teams.

Postseason Projection: There’s Always Next Year

6. San Diego

There’s a case to be made that the Toreros have more raw talent on this roster than any team in the league outside of Gonzaga. How much that will translate to wins in the program’s first season under Steve Lavin remains to be seen, but the former St. John’s and UCLA coach certainly upgraded the roster after taking over this spring. Eric Williams Jr. (Oregon) and Jaiden Delaire (Stanford) are legitimate high-major starters capable of being all-conference contributors in the WCC, and returner Marcellus Earlington gives San Diego a third versatile frontcourt piece who impacts the game in multiple ways. I’m tempering expectations for this group because of the number of new faces Lavin has to bring together, but the upside is high.

Postseason Projection: There’s Always Next Year

7. Santa Clara

It’s incredibly difficult to replace an unexpected NBA departure at the mid-major level, and Santa Clara’s long-term planning couldn’t have involved Jalen Williams’s meteoric rise into a lottery pick over the last 365 days. The strength of this year’s team will be a pair of versatile wing/forwards in Keshawn Justice and Carlos Marshall Jr. (Tennessee State), while Illinois transfer Brandin Podziemski brings with him an impressive pedigree as a scorer from his high school days. Steady point guard play from returners Carlos Stewart and Brenton Knapper will be critical.

Postseason Projection: There’s Always Next Year

8. Pepperdine

The Waves suffered through a brutal 7–25 season in 2021–22, but did find three building-block pieces in Mike Mitchell Jr., Houston Mallette and Maxwell Lewis. All three would have been recruited at the high-major level had they hit the portal this spring, but instead give Pepperdine a talented nucleus to build around. Lewis might even be an NBA prospect, thanks to his elite physical tools. Still, I’m not sure a huge climb up the standings should be expected, especially if Lorenzo Romar’s club can’t fix an interior defense that was a sieve last season.

Postseason Projection: There’s Always Next Year

9. Loyola Marymount

Stan Johnson is hoping for a bounce-back year after a disappointing second season at Loyola Marymount. Transfer additions Rick Issanza (Oklahoma) and Michael Graham (Elon) should help solidify a defense that struggled at the rim, and Stanford import Noah Taitz may prove to be an upgrade at point guard over Cameron Shelton, who struggled a season ago. But without bowling-ball forward Eli Scott to play through, it will take major strides from Dameane Douglas for this offense not to take a step back.

Postseason Projection: There’s Always Next Year

10: Pacific

This is a portal-heavy group for second-year coach Leonard Perry as he tries to navigate one of the league’s toughest jobs. A trio of high-major imports in Donovan Williams (Oklahoma State), Tyler Beard (Georgetown) and Keylan Boone (Oklahoma State) raises the floor, but UTSA transfer Jordan Ivy-Curry might be most important in determining this team’s ceiling. If Ivy-Curry can give the Tigers another reliable scorer next to Nick Blake, Pacific might just stay out of the cellar.

Postseason Projection: There’s Always Next Year

More Previews: A-10 | AAC | Mountain West