2024–25 West Coast Conference men's basketball season
| 2024–25 West Coast Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Men's basketball |
| Teams | 11 |
| TV partner(s) | CBSSN, ESPN, ESPN+ |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Saint Mary’s |
| Season MVP | Augustas Marčiulionis, Saint Mary's |
| Tournament | |
| Venue | Orleans Arena, Paradise, Nevada |
| Champions | Gonzaga |
| Runners-up | Saint Mary's |
| Finals MVP | Graham Ike, Gonzaga |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 Saint Mary's | 17 | – | 1 | .944 | 29 | – | 6 | .829 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Gonzaga † | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 26 | – | 9 | .743 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Santa Clara | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 21 | – | 13 | .618 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 13 | .606 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 19 | – | 15 | .559 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loyola Marymount | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 17 | – | 15 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 12 | – | 20 | .375 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 13 | – | 22 | .371 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pacific | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 9 | – | 24 | .273 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 6 | – | 27 | .182 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2025 WCC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.[1] They, alongside Gonzaga will leave for the Pac-12 in the 2026–27 season.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4]
Pepperdine
On March 4, 2024, head coach Lorenzo Romar was fired after six seasons.[5] 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.[6]
Washington State
Following the season, head coach Kyle Smith was named the head coach at Stanford.[7] On April 2, 2024, David Riley was named as the team's next head coach. He was previously the head coach at Eastern Washington.[8]
Coaches
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years
at school |
Overall
record |
WCC
record |
WCC
Tournament record |
NCAA
Tournaments |
Sweet
Sixteens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | Mark Few | Gonzaga (asst.) | 26 | 716–143 (.834) | 347–36 (.906) | 45–5 (.900) | 24 | 13 |
| Loyola Marymount | Stan Johnson | Marquette (asst.) | 5 | 55–58 (.487) | 24–35 (.407) | 2–4 (.333) | 0 | 0 |
| Oregon State | Wayne Tinkle | Grand Canyon (asst.) | 11 | 140–177 (.442) | 0-0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 2 | 1 |
| Pacific | Dave Smart | Texas Tech (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 |
| Pepperdine | Ed Schilling | Grand Canyon (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0-0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 |
| Portland | Shantay Legans | Eastern Washington | 4 | 45–55 (.450) | 17–29 (.370) | 3–3 (.500) | 1 | 0 |
| Saint Mary's | Randy Bennett | Saint Louis (asst.) | 24 | 533–216 (.712) | 271–96 (.738) | 29–19 (.604) | 10 | 1 |
| San Diego | Steve Lavin | St. John's | 3 | 29–35 (.453) | 11–21 (.250) | 1–2 (.333) | 8 | 4 |
| San Francisco | Chris Gerlufsen | San Francisco (asst.) | 3 | 43–25 (.632) | 18–14 (.563) | 3–2 (.600) | 0 | 0 |
| Santa Clara | Herb Sendek | Arizona State | 8 | 140–107 (.567) | 67–57 (.540) | 6–8 (.429) | 8 | 1 |
| Washington State | David Riley | Eastern Washington | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0-0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 |
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 Poll[9] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Gonzaga (9) | 99 |
| 2. | Saint Mary's (1) | 86 |
| 3. | Santa Clara | 81 |
| 4. | San Francisco (1) | 77 |
| 5. | Washington State | 62 |
| 6. | Loyola Marymount | 60 |
| 7. | Oregon State | 44 |
| T-8. | Portland | 28 |
| T-8. | San Diego | 28 |
| 10. | Pacific | 23 |
| 11. | Pepperdine | 17 |
All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball team
| Honor | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Michael Ajayi, Gonzaga |
| Adama-Alpha Bal, Santa Clara | |
| Cedric Coward, Washington State | |
| Nolan Hickman, Gonzaga | |
| Graham Ike, Gonzaga | |
| Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's | |
| Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga | |
| Jevon Porter, LMU | |
| Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's | |
| Carlos Stewart Jr., Santa Clara | |
| Marcus Williams, San Francisco |
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
| Improvement in ranking | ||
| Drop in ranking | ||
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 | |
| NV | No votes received |
| Pre | Wk
1 |
Wk
2 |
Wk
3 |
Wk
4 |
Wk
5 |
Wk
6 |
Wk
7 |
Wk
8 |
Wk
9 |
Wk
10 |
Wk
11 |
Wk
12 |
Wk
13 |
Wk
14 |
Wk
15 |
Wk
16 |
Wk
17 |
Wk
18 |
Wk
19 |
Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | AP | 6 (1) | 4 (3) | 3 (2) | 3 (2) | 7 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 18 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 23 |
| C | 7 | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 8 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 16 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 20 | |
| Loyola
Marymount |
AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon
State |
AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pacific | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland | AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint
Mary's |
AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 24 | ||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | 24 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 22 | |||||
| San
Diego |
AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| San
Francisco |
AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | RV | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Santa
Clara |
AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington
State |
AP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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.[10]
| Team | Tournament | Dates | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | Battle 4 Atlantis | November 27–29 | 5th |
| Loyola Marymount | Cancún Challenge | November 26–27 | 1st |
| Oregon State | Diamond Head Classic | December 22–25 | 2nd |
| Pacific | Missouri MTE | November 22–27 | – |
| Pepperdine | Arizona Tip-Off | November 29–30 | 2nd |
| Portland | Myrtle Beach Invitational | November 21–24 | 8th |
| Saint Mary's | Acrisure Classic | November 28–29 | 2nd |
| San Diego | San Diego MTE | November 22–24 | – |
| San Francisco | Sunshine Slam | November 25–26 | 3rd |
| Santa Clara | Acrisure Invitational | November 28–29 | 2nd |
| Washington State | Acrisure Holiday Invitational | November 28–29 | 2nd |
Postseason
WCC Tournament
| First round Thursday, March 6 | Second round Friday, March 7 | Third round Saturday, March 8 | Quarterfinals Sunday, March 9 | Semifinals Monday, March 10 | Championship Tuesday, March 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Saint Mary’s | 74 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Santa Clara | 76 | 9 | Pepperdine | 59 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oregon State | 73 | 9 | Pepperdine | 78 | 1 | Saint Mary’s | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Portland | 73 | 9 | Pepperdine | 77 | 2 | Gonzaga | 58 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Pepperdine | 86 | 2 | Gonzaga | 85 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | San Francisco | 86 | 3 | San Francisco | 76 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Washington State | 94 | 6 | Washington State | 75 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Loyola Marymount | 100 | 7 | Loyola Marymount | 77 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Pacific | 77 | 11 | San Diego | 74 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | San Diego | 81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NCAA Tournament
| Seed | Region | School | First round | Second round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Midwest | Gonzaga | Defeated (9) Georgia, 89–68 | Lost to (1) Houston, 76-81 | DNP
| |||
| 7 | East | Saint Mary's | Defeated (10) Vanderbilt, 59–56 | Lost to (2) Alabama, 66-80 | DNP
| |||
| Bids | W-L (%): | 2–0 (1.000) | 0–2 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 2–2 (.500) | |
NIT
| Seed | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco | Defeated Utah Valley, 79–70 | Lost to Loyola Chicago, 76-77 | DNP
| ||
| 2 | Santa Clara | Defeated UC Riverside, 101–62 | Lost to UAB, 84-88 | DNP
| ||
| W-L (%): | 0–1 (1.000) | 0–0 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | TOTAL: 2–2 (.500) | |
CBC
| School | First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington State | Lost to Georgetown, 82-85 | DNP
| ||
| Oregon State | Lost to UCF, 75-76 | DNP
| ||
| W–L (%): | 0–2 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) |
| Total: 0–2 (.000) | ||||
All-WCC Awards and Teams
On March 4, 2025, the West Coast Conference announced the following awards:[11]
| Honor | Recipient | School |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Augustas Marčiulionis | Saint Mary's |
| Coach of the Year | Randy Bennett | Saint Mary's |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Mitchell Saxen | Saint Mary's |
| Newcomer of the Year | Paulius Murauskas | Saint Mary's |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Mikey Lewis | Saint Mary's |
| Freshman of the Year | Austin Rapp | Portland |
| All-WCC First Team | Adama-Alpha Bal | Santa Clara |
| Nolan Hickman | Gonzaga | |
| Graham Ike | Gonzaga | |
| Augustas Marčiulionis | Saint Mary's | |
| Paulius Murauskas | Saint Mary's | |
| Ryan Nembhard | Gonzaga | |
| Michael Rataj | Oregon State | |
| Mitchell Saxen | Saint Mary's | |
| Malik Thomas | San Francisco | |
| Marcus Williams | San Francisco | |
| All-WCC Second Team | Parsa Fallah | Oregon State |
| Max Mackinnon | Portland | |
| Carlos Stewart Jr. | Santa Clara | |
| Christoph Tilly | Santa Clara | |
| Lamar Washington | Pacific | |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Tony Duckett | San Diego |
| Mikey Lewis | Saint Mary's | |
| Austin Rapp | Portland | |
| Tyrone Riley IV | San Francisco | |
| Tómas Valur Þrastarson | Washington State | |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Luke Barrett | Saint Mary's |
| Nate Calmese | Washington State | |
| Nate Kingz | Oregon State | |
| Jevon Porter | LMU | |
| Caleb Stone-Carrawell | LMU | |
| Stefan Todorovic | Pepperdine | |
| Lejuan Watts | Washington State |
References
- ^ "Oregon State and Washington State Officially Become Affiliate Members". WCC Sports.
- ^ "Gonzaga Accepts Invitation to Join Pac-12 Conference". Gonzaga University.
- ^ Borzello, Jeff (March 4, 2024). "Pacific fires coach Leonard Perry after three seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
- ^ "Pacific Names Dave Smart Men's Basketball Head Coach". University of the Pacific. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ "Lorenzo Romar out as Pepperdine coach after season ends". ESPN.com. March 4, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
- ^ "Pepperdine Appoints Ed Schilling as Men's Basketball Head Coach". Pepperdine University. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
- ^ "Stanford hires Kyle Smith: Cardinal tap Washington State coach to lead program into ACC era". CBSSports.com. March 25, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "David Riley Named Cougar Basketball Head Coach". Washington State University. April 2, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
- ^ "Gonzaga Picked to Win 2024-25 WCC Men's Basketball Championship". wccsports.com. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
- ^ Dobbertean, Chris (November 26, 2024). "2024-25 Men's College Basketball Multi-Team Events (MTEs)". SB Nation. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
- ^ "West Coast Conference Announces 2024-25 Men's Basketball All-Conference Awards".