2024–25 West Coast Conference men's basketball season

The 2024–25 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2024 and will end with the 2025 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2025. This will be the 74th season for WCC men's basketball, and the 36th under its current name of "West Coast Conference". The conference was founded in 1952 as the California Basketball Association, became the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956, and dropped the word "Athletic" in 1989.

This season marks the first season of a two-year term for Oregon State and Washington State, who join as temporary affiliate members due to the temporary hiatus of the Pac-12. They, alongside Gonzaga will leave for the Pac-12 in the 2026–27 season.

Head coaches Coaching Changes Three new head coaches will lead their team in the WCC during the 2024–25 season.

Pacific

On March 4, 2024, head coach Leonard Perry was relieved of his duties after three seasons. On March 27, the school named Dave Smart the team's new head coach. He was notably the Head Coach of Carleton for 19 seasons, winning 13 U Sports basketball titles.

Pepperdine

On March 4, 2024, head coach Lorenzo Romar was fired after six seasons. On April 2, Ed Schilling was named by the school as the team's next head coach. He was previously an assistant for four seasons at Grand Canyon.

Washington State

Following the season, head coach Kyle Smith was named the head coach at Stanford. On April 2, 2024, David Riley was named as the team's next head coach. He was previously the head coach at Eastern Washington.

Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordWCC recordWCC Tournament recordNCAA TournamentsSweet SixteensGonzagaMark FewGonzaga (asst.)26716–143 (.834)347–36 (.906)45–5 (.900)2413Loyola MarymountStan JohnsonMarquette (asst.)555–58 (.487)24–35 (.407)2–4 (.333)00Oregon StateWayne TinkleGrand Canyon (asst.)11140–177 (.442)0-0 (–)0–0 (–)21PacificDave SmartTexas Tech (asst.)10–0 (–)0–0 (–)0–0 (–)00PepperdineEd SchillingGrand Canyon (asst.)10–0 (–)0-0 (–)0–0 (–)00PortlandShantay LegansEastern Washington445–55 (.450)17–29 (.370)3–3 (.500)10Saint Mary'sRandy BennettSaint Louis (asst.)24533–216 (.712)271–96 (.738)29–19 (.604)101San DiegoSteve LavinSt. John's329–35 (.453)11–21 (.250)1–2 (.333)84San FranciscoChris GerlufsenSan Francisco (asst.)343–25 (.632)18–14 (.563)3–2 (.600)00Santa ClaraHerb SendekArizona State8140–107 (.567)67–57 (.540)6–8 (.429)81Washington StateDavid RileyEastern Washington10–0 (–)0-0 (–)0–0 (–)00 Notes:

Year at school includes 2024–25 season. Overall and WCC records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the 2024–25 season.

Preseason

Preseason poll 2024-25 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches PollRankTeam (First Place Votes)Points1.Gonzaga (9)992.Saint Mary's (1)863.Santa Clara814.San Francisco (1)775.Washington State626.Loyola Marymount607.Oregon State44T-8.Portland28T-8.San Diego2810.Pacific2311.Pepperdine17

All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball team HonorRecipientPreseason All-WCC TeamMichael Ajayi, GonzagaAdama-Alpha Bal, Santa ClaraCedric Coward, Washington StateNolan Hickman, GonzagaGraham Ike, GonzagaAugustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary'sRyan Nembhard, GonzagaJevon Porter, LMUMitchell Saxen, Saint Mary'sCarlos Stewart Jr., Santa ClaraMarcus Williams, San Francisco

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings   Improvement in ranking Drop in rankingRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25NVNo votes received PreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18Wk 19FinalGonzagaAP 6 (1)4 (3)3 (2) 3 (2)781314191816RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV2423C 75 (1)4 (1) 4 (1)891415191816RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV2320Loyola MarymountAPCOregon StateAPCPacificAPCPepperdineAPCPortlandAPCSaint Mary'sAP RVRV RV RVRV RV RV RV RV RV2321192024C RV RV RV RV RV RVRV RV RV23RV242017151922San DiegoAPCSan FranciscoAPCRVSanta ClaraAPCWashington StateAPC

Regular season Early season tournaments The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early season tournaments in which teams from the West Coast Conference will participate.

+TeamTournamentDatesResultGonzagaBattle 4 AtlantisNovember 27–295thLoyola MarymountCancún ChallengeNovember 26–271stOregon StateDiamond Head ClassicDecember 22–252ndPacificMissouri MTENovember 22–27–PepperdineArizona Tip-OffNovember 29–302ndPortlandMyrtle Beach InvitationalNovember 21–248thSaint Mary'sAcrisure ClassicNovember 28–292ndSan DiegoSan Diego MTENovember 22–24–San FranciscoSunshine SlamNovember 25–263rdSanta ClaraAcrisure InvitationalNovember 28–292ndWashington StateAcrisure Holiday InvitationalNovember 28–292nd

Postseason

WCC Tournament

NCAA Tournament

Seed Region School First round Second round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship 8 Midwest GonzagaDefeated (9) Georgia, 89–68Lost to (1) Houston, 76–81 7 East Saint Mary'sDefeated (10) Vanderbilt, 59–56Lost to (2) Alabama, 66–80 BidsW-L (%):2–0 ()0–2 ()0–0 ()0–0 ()0–0 ()TOTAL: 2–2 ()

NIT

Seed School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final 1 San FranciscoDefeated Utah Valley, 79–70Lost to Loyola Chicago, 76–77 2 Santa ClaraDefeated UC Riverside, 101–62Lost to UAB, 84–88 W-L (%):0–1 ()0–0 ()0–0 ()0–0 ()TOTAL: 2–2 ()

CBC

School First round Second round Semifinals FinalsWashington StateLost to Georgetown, 82–85 Oregon StateLost to UCF, 75–76 W–L (%): Total:

All-WCC Awards and Teams On March 4, 2025, the West Coast Conference announced the following awards:

+HonorRecipientSchoolPlayer of the YearAugustas MarčiulionisSaint Mary'sCoach of the YearRandy BennettSaint Mary'sDefensive Player of the YearMitchell SaxenSaint Mary'sNewcomer of the YearPaulius MurauskasSaint Mary'sSixth Man of the YearMikey LewisSaint Mary'sFreshman of the YearAustin RappPortlandAll-WCC First TeamAdama-Alpha BalSanta ClaraNolan HickmanGonzagaGraham IkeGonzagaAugustas MarčiulionisSaint Mary'sPaulius MurauskasSaint Mary'sRyan NembhardGonzagaMichael RatajOregon StateMitchell SaxenSaint Mary'sMalik ThomasSan FranciscoMarcus WilliamsSan FranciscoAll-WCC Second TeamParsa FallahOregon StateMax MackinnonPortlandCarlos Stewart Jr.Santa ClaraChristoph TillySanta ClaraLamar WashingtonPacificAll-WCC Freshman TeamTony DuckettSan DiegoMikey LewisSaint Mary'sAustin RappPortlandTyrone Riley IVSan FranciscoTómas Valur ÞrastarsonWashington StateWCC Honorable MentionLuke BarrettSaint Mary'sNate CalmeseWashington StateNate KingzOregon StateJevon PorterLMUCaleb Stone-CarrawellLMUStefan TodorovicPepperdineLejuan WattsWashington State

References