Every WCC team’s most important returner for 2024-25 men's basketball season

The WCC returns a ton of talent this season, including NBA prospect Adama Bal

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

While a lot of attention during the college basketball offseason is focused on the transfer portal, retaining talent is also a high priority for Division I head coaches.

Granted, continuity has become less significant in winning a national championship. UConn returned less than 43% of its minutes played from its 2022-23 title team, which had only 33.2% of the minutes from the year prior. Since 2009, only six teams that returned over 60% of their roster were crowned national champions; none of them had higher than a 71% retention rate.

Still, there are probably a lot of coaches who would’ve brought back seven of their top eight scorers from a year ago if they had the chance. That’s exactly how things played out for Mark Few and the Gonzaga men’s basketball program, which is set to return all but one rotational player from its Sweet 16 squad that won 16 of its final 19 games.

The Bulldogs aren’t the only West Coast Conference team that returned an all-conference player from a year ago. Here’s a look at each WCC squad’s most important returner for the 2024-25 season.

GONZAGA BULLDOGS: GRAHAM IKE
2023-24: 16.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 60.9% FG (All-WCC First Team)

The 6-foot-9 rising senior should be the preseason favorite to win the West Coast Conference Player of the Year after finishing last season as one of the best low-post scorers in the country. Ike became the sixth player in WCC history to lead the league in both points (18.4 per game) and field goal percentage (64.0%) in conference games and had a stretch of seven consecutive games with 20 or more points. His connection with Ryan Nembhard in the pick-and-roll game was Gonzaga’s bread-and-butter halfcourt offense when it needed a score in big games, a trend that will likely continue into 2024-25. 

Ike will also have a chance to hit the ground running unlike this time last year, when he was still recovering from a foot injury that kept him out of the 2022-23 season.

SAINT MARY’S GAELS: AUGUSTAS MARCIULIONIS
2023-24: 12.4 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3.3 rpg (WCC POY, All-WCC First Team, All-WCC Tournament MVP)

Marciulionis had a lot to do with the Gaels’ turnaround following a shaky start in nonconference play. The 6-foot-4 Lithuanian guard was second in the WCC in assists per game and was third in the league in steals (1.3 per game). The reigning WCC Player of the Year will be tasked with much more responsibility as a senior and the undisputed leader of the backcourt, as sophomore guard Jordan Ross prepares to take on a bigger role now that Aidan Mahaney is at UConn. 

Given Marciulionis’ importance as a playmaker, he’s Randy Bennett’s most important returner in 2024-25. The same case could also be made for 6-foot-10 post Mitchell Saxen as reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year.

SANTA CLARA BRONCOS: ADAMA BAL
2023-24: 14.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.1 apg (All-WCC First Team)

The 6-foot-6 guard had an opportunity to go pro after receiving an invite to the NBA Draft Combine this past spring. Bal instead opted to return to Santa Clara for his senior season, which gives Herb Sendek five of his top six scorers back from a 20-win squad in 2023-24. The Broncos should contend for a top-three spot in the conference standings behind Bal’s efforts on both ends of the court.

Also, keep an eye on rising senior Johnny O’Neil. The 6-foot-9 post averaged 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds as the only Bronco who played and started all 33 games last season.

SAN FRANCISCO DONS: MARCUS WILLIAMS
2023-24: 14.0 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.3 rpg (All-WCC First Team)

The 6-foot-1 rising senior will likely feature in more three-guard lineups next to Ryan Beasley and Malik Thomas in 2024-25. Williams was San Francisco’s top playmaker and knocked down the 10th-most 3-pointers in the WCC (64) as a junior. With Jonathan Mogbo now in the NBA, he’ll have to carry a heavier load offensively.

Beasley, Thomas and Ndewedo Newbury could all make a case as Chris Gerlufsen’s most important returner as well.

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS: ISAIAH WATTS
2023-24: 3.7 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.5 apg (freshman)

Watts is one of the two holdovers from Washington State’s NCAA Tournament team in 2024, along with redshirt freshman Parker Gerrits. New head coach David Riley brought a lot of talent with him from Eastern Washington, though the 6-foot-3 rising sophomore will still see significant playing time after logging just 10.2 minutes per game off the bench as a freshman. Watts also shot 37.7% on 2.2 3-point attempts per game.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS: WILL JOHNSTON
2023-24: 11.2 ppg, 2.7 apg, 2.5 rpg

Johnston’s 33-point game against the Zags in February highlighted the 6-foot-3 guard’s first season with the Lions after transferring from Texas-Rio Grande Valley. The Australian had three other 20-point games in the 2023-24 campaign and finished in the league’s top 10 for 3-pointers made (65). With Dom Harris now at UCLA and San Jose State transfer MJ Amey Jr. now in Los Angeles, Johnston gets to play next to another high-scoring guard in the backcourt as a senior.

Rising senior and 6-foot-8 forward Alex Merkviladze will also likely have a big role as one of the six returners from last season.

OREGON STATE BEAVERS: MICHAEL RATAJ
2023-24: 8.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.6 apg

The 6-foot-9 forward is Wayne Tinkle’s only returner who logged at least 200 minutes last season, as the Beavers lost four of their five starters over the offseason and brought in some talent from the mid-major level to help offset the departures. Rataj, who missed a few games to start the season due to surgery, could play a much bigger role now that he’s healthy, especially with some improvements to his 3-point shot.

PEPPERDINE WAVES: BOUBACAR COULIBALY
2023-24: 8.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.7 bpg (11 games due to injury)

Coulibaly was a strong presence on the interior for the Waves before he went down with a season-ending injury in January. The 6-foot-10 redshirt junior from Mali had three blocks in five consecutive games to start the 2023-24 campaign. New head coach Ed Schilling brought in a lot of talent to replace Pepperdine’s outgoing class, including 6-foot-11 Loyola Maryland transfer Alonso Faure. Together the two should form quite a sizable frontcourt tandem in 2024-25.

PACIFIC TIGERS: BURKE SMITH
2023-24: 4.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 0.5 apg 

The 6-foot-11 post is the only returner from Pacific’s 6-26 team, as new head coach Dave Smart looks to rebuild the program with young transfers who have an opportunity to stick around and play with each other again in 2025-26. Smith is one of just two seniors on the current roster and might feature in a limited role off the bench.

PORTLAND PILOTS: VUKASIN MASIC 
2023-24: 12.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.9 apg 

The Serbian guard shot better than 40% on four 3-point attempts per game as a junior with the Pilots. With Tyler Roberston graduated and Tyler Harris at Washington, Masic will have to play an even bigger role within the offense next to fellow returner Chris Austin.

Sophomore center Bol Dengdit is also slated for increased opportunities in the frontcourt, as the NBA Global Academy product prepares for his second season of college basketball.

SAN DIEGO TOREROS: STEVEN JAMERSON II
2023-24: 8.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.0 apg

Another jump could be in store for the 6-foot-10 center after he made strides during his junior season with the Toreros. Jameson II was a force on the glass and offered some rim protection with 1.0 blocks in 25.8 minutes per game. He also shot 60.5% from the field and converted a team-high 68.3% of his looks at the rim, per hoop-math.com.