By Aidan Joly
Over the summer, the WCC joined the laundry list of conferences being affected by conference realignment, with perennial league power BYU heading to the Big 12. Nearly every major program has been affected by the movement, and a few other teams in this league may move soon (coughgonzagacough).
Now, the league is down to just nine teams for the 2023-24. Gonzaga has won the league’s tournament all but one season since 2012. Saint Mary’s might be able to topple the Zags, but as always, it’ll always be a challenge.
That being said, let’s get into the teams.
Saint Mary’s Gaels
2022-23: 27-8 (14-2 WCC), lost in round of 32
Saint Mary’s looked headed for an outright league title last season after a win against Gonzaga in February, but lost the second matchup between the two squads, and a surprising loss to Loyola Marymount secured a tie in the standings. The Gaels were defeated soundly in the WCC title game by the Zags.
There’s lots of optimism in Moraga this fall with the return of sophomore Aidan Mahaney, who was a star as a freshman last season to the tune of 13.9 PPG on 40% shooting from three. Swingman Alex Ducas returns for a fifth year after averaging 12.5 PPG on 41.4% from three. Big man Mitchell Saxen is back too after putting up 11.6 PPG.
Augustus Marciulionis is also back after having a smaller role last year, but expect that role to increase. Joshua Jefferson showed some flashes as a freshman in limited time, but may be thrust into a larger role.
Four-star freshman Jordan Ross is an intriguing prospect and it will be interesting to see how much Randy Bennett uses him.
The Gaels were picked at the top of the WCC by the coaches and for good reason. There’s no reason to believe they won’t be at least in the top two. Can they take Gonzaga’s crown?
Gonzaga Bulldogs
2022-23: 31-6 (14-2 WCC), lost in Elite Eight
It’s quite a roster overhaul for the Zags and coach Mark Few. One of the best players in program history, Drew Timme, is gone. As are Julian Strawther, Rasir Bolton and Malachi Smith, who all decided to pursue professional careers. Hunter Sallis and Dominick Harris, both young studs, transferred.
There is one piece of continuity and that is Anton Watson, who averaged 11.3 PPG for Gonzaga last season. Nolan Hickman will likely have a similar role after a quietly solid sophomore season.
Gonzaga had a couple huge wins in the transfer portal, though. Ryan Nembhard is here from Creighton, one of the best players in the portal this off-season. Wyoming transfer Graham Ike averaged 19.5 PPG two seasons ago, but did not play at all last season due to a leg injury. It will be fascinating to see what type of player he is. Steele Venters averaged 15.3 PPG last season for Eastern Washington and should be a great rotational piece. He should compete with four-star freshman Dusty Stromer for minutes.
One more interesting piece is Korean transfer Jun Seok Yeo. He spent part of last season with the program but did not play. It will be intriguing to see what type of role he has.
This all being said, this is a reloaded Gonzaga team. It should be a national force once again.
Santa Clara Broncos
2022-23: 23-10 (11-5 WCC), lost in NIT first round
Santa Clara was back in the postseason for a second straight season last March, something the program has not accomplished since back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 1995 and 1996.
A lot is gone, but the rotation is chalk-full of guys with experience.
Three former mid-major stars in Jalen Benjamin (Mount St. Mary’s), Johnny O’Neil (American) and Tyeree Bryan (Charleston Southern) all had significant roles at their last stops. Benjamin was the most significant of that group, averaging 16.0 PPG for the Mount.
Adama Bal is an interesting add. The Arizona transfer is a former top prospect from France, but was raw and never really got it going with the Wildcats and now gets a second chance. Francisco Caffaro has high-major experience with Virginia.
The main returner is Carlos Marshall, who averaged 10.0 PPG last season. Christoph Tilly was a role player off the bench and is back.
This team isn’t bad by any stretch. Herb Sendek always does more with less, so it will be interesting to see how he blends this new group.
Loyola Marymount Lions
2022-23: 19-12 (9-7 WCC), no postseason
Loyola Marymount had a decent season last year after two topsy-turvy seasons, which was a third place WCC finish in 2020-21 and then a 3-12 finish in 2021-22. A 9-7 last season and a fourth place finish evened it out.
A few good pieces are back, including Keli Leaupepe, who averaged 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season. Alex Merkviladze also returns after putting up 7.1 PPG.
From there, it’s new guys. UNC Central transfer Justin Wright had the best season last season, averaging 16.1 PPG for the Eagles. Will Johnston averaged 14.5 PPG at UTRGV last season on 43.8% from three, a true sharpshooter. He should have a big role. The aforementioned Dominick Harris arrives from Gonzaga, Lars Thiemann had a solid season at Cal, and Justice Hill was a role player at LSU.
With some good players in the frontcourt, that will have to be the team’s M.O. It’s fair to say that this is the third-fullest roster in the league behind Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. How much success it translates to is the real question.
San Francisco Dons
2022-23: 20-14 (7-9 WCC), no postseason
Thus begins the second tier of the WCC. The first season of the Chris Gerlufson era went about as expected, but left some to be desired.
There is much roster turnover on this roster, but there are some interesting pieces here. Marcus Williams is the best returner. He averaged 7.8 PPG last season and showed the ability to shoot well from the perimeter. Forwards Isaiah Hawthorne and John Kunen did the same. They will be trusted with larger roles though, after being forced to play behind Khalil Shabazz, Tyrell Roberts and Zane Meeks, who are all gone.
Former top international prospect Mike Sharavjamts struggled at Dayton last season, but now he transfers to San Francisco, where he will look to get a better footing after averaging just 5.6 points last season. Stefan Todorovic was a role player at SMU last season and arrives in San Francisco.
If the Dons can maintain a semblance of last year’s shooting, there is no reason to believe that the team will not improve this season.
Pacific Tigers
2022-23: 15-18 (7-9 WCC), no postseason
It was a season better than expected for Pacific last season after the Tigers were picked to finish last in the WCC, but finished seventh out of 10 and won seven league games.
However, the two biggest pieces from last year, Jordan Ivy-Curry and Keylan Boone, are both gone. Luke Advalovic is also gone, meaning this year’s Tigers will have none of the three top scorers back.
Some help is here, th0ugh. Tyler Beard averaged 9.1 PPG in just 22 minutes per game last season and will surely be tasked with having a much larger role this year. Nick Blake is also back after averaging 8.6 PPG, mostly off the bench, while Donovan Williams also brings much experience to the table.
Only one new transfer coming in, that’s Burke Smith, who stands at 6-foot-11 but played very limited minutes at Boise State.
This all being said, a lack of proven talent puts Pacific towards the bottom of the WCC.
Portland Pilots
2022-23: 14-19 (5-11 WCC), no postseason
After a great 2021-22 season that resulted in a postseason appearance, injuries marred the Pilots 2022-23 season, which ended in much disappointment.
The Pilots did lose a lot of talent in the off-season including Mike Meadows, Moses Wood and Kristian Sjolund, but the fortunes flipped a bit with the return of Tyler Robertson. Robertson is a versatile wing who led the Pilots with 15.6 PPG last season and should be one of the better players in the league.
One interesting player is Juan Sebastian Gorosito, who averaged 7.7 PPG and shot 39.6% from three, but was a frequent target on the defensive end and struggled there. He will need to take a leap this season. Chris Austin is also back after taking a medical redshirt last season. He averaged 14.4 PPG last season.
Coach Shantay Legens brought in Alimamy Koroma, who averaged 10.8 PPG at Cal Poly last season, as well as Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, a native of Japan who averaged 6.9 PPG at Lamar last season. Thomas Oosterbroeck was on the roster at Miami last year but did not see any playing time.
There are some good parts of this team, but they are likely outweighed by the weaknesses. This will likely be a down season in Portland.
San Diego Toreros
2022-23: 11-20 (4-12 WCC), no postseason
Many thought San Diego would make a breakthrough last season with former UCLA and St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin making his return to the sidelines.
That did not come close to happening. Losses piled on, players didn’t like their roles, no player played in all of the team’s 32 games, the Toreros ended the season on a six-game losing streak, part of a longer stretch in which San Diego lost 10 of its final 12 games.
A laundry list of players are gone and were not replaced through the portal. Instead, San Diego with trot out nine freshmen with a total rebuild in mind.
Wanye McKinney is the only starter back. McKinney averaged 7.4 PPG last season and will be relied upon heavily. Deuce Turner, who averaged 6.5 PPG last year, is back too.
From there, a trio of freshmen in Kevin Patton, Jimmy Oladokun and Keyon Kensie seem to be the best of the nine freshmen. Romania native Dragos Lungu played at the NBA Global Academy and may be an interesting part of the rotation.
There’s a scenario where San Diego can finish in the middle of the pack. But with unproven youth that needs development, it’s tough to see it happening.
Pepperdine Waves
2022-23: 9-22 (2-14 WCC), no postseason
Pepperdine had high expectations going into last year with a roster that seemed ready to compete.
Instead, the wheels fell off with players underperforming and others missing chunks of time to injury.
Things don’t seem as dire this season, with two of the top three scorers back. Houston Mallette had a breakthrough season last season with 13.0 PPG on over 30% from three and will likely be even better this season. 6-foot-11 forward Jevon Porter is back too after he put up 12.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest last season. The younger brother of Denver Nuggets guard Michael Porter Jr., seems poised for an even larger role. Former USC forward Boubacar Coulibaly was supposed to have a large role, but was limited to just 12 games last year.
The interesting add that coach Lorenzo Romar made was Wyoming transfer Ethan Anderson, who averaged 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last year for the Cowboys. He is very experienced, with over 100 career games to his college career.
The bench is not much of anything, which is concerning. Someone there will need to step up. Nonetheless, it’s tough to imagine that things get worse in Malibu this season, but going over .500 would be a surprise.
AJ Hoops 