2024-25 WCC Conference Preview
After writing an in-depth review of the AAC, ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, MVC and SEC, it's time to evaluate my favorite non-power five leagues: the WCC! Rankings and analysis per team are below.
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Introduction
As a fun way to prepare for this upcoming college basketball season, I’ll review the nation’s top conferences before doing deep dives on the less-heralded conferences as we move closer to the start of the season!
All of my college basketball-related content can be found here.
Let the rankings begin!
Rankings
1. Gonzaga
The Zags are a borderline top-five team in the country due to their combination of retention and experience. Compared to last year, losing Anton Watson, who was one of college basketball’s best connectors, is a challenge to overcome for Coach Few.
However, the transfer portal focus has been size and offensive versatility, with Khalif Battle (Arkansas) adding self-creation as a scorer while giving more defensive body alongside Ryan Nembhard. They also get a fantastic twitchy athlete in Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine), who adds another presence in the interior and has had a historic shooting season at 46.8% on 77 three-pointers. On top of that, they get another piece for future years in Emmanuel Innocenti, who comes over from a 25-win season having Tarleton State.
Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard give Gonzaga one of the best pick-and-roll tandems in the game. While Ben Gregg, Dusty Stromer, and Braden Huff are ready to play minutes. Coach Few is ready to compete for a national title, and the amount of talent and depth on this roster makes them the clear favorite to win the conference this year.
2. Saint Mary’s
I keep saying this, Saint Mary’s is one of the best four-year schools in the United States. The longevity of their roster keeps them relevant and in contention to win the WCC. However, losing both Aiden Mahaney (Connecticut) and Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State) is the greatest compliment to their development, but also occurrences that will give them less of a punch to compete with Gonzaga, especially when taking Alex Ducas going pro into account.
Regardless, has to add Paulius Murauskas (Arizona) giving them another All-Conference player, with incoming freshman Mikey Lewis being a clear impactful player for them right out of the gates. That gives more room to grow for an already great core in Mitchell Saxen, the reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year, while bringing their de facto leader in Augustus Marciulionis back, who won WCC Player of the Year this past season.
We will likely see Murauskas take over Ducas’ role, with likely more shooting coming from him, whereas sophomore guard Jordan Ross will be counted on to show more self-creation as a scorer, filling the void Mahaney left the Gaels with. To round out the roster, a supporting cast of Luke Barrett and Harry Wessels gives Coach Bennett two upperclassmen with experience who stayed loyal to the program for years.
3. Santa Clara
Adama Bal is back after testing NBA draft waters in the summer. And that keeps the Broncos as a dark horse for the WCC title. Their chances are being boosted by returning over 75% of their minutes from last year, with the majority of those being their starters. Retention is what most teams struggle with, and Coach Sendek did a fantastic job of keeping his core together.
It gets better when considering they improved their guard depth with the addition of Carlos Stewart (LSU) while adding a strong wing in Elijah Mahi (West Valley College), who has had a fantastic season at the JUCO reigns.
Outside of Stewart, Santa Clara has a group at 6-foot-4 or bigger, giving them a plus-sized, versatile team on both ends with a decently strong non-conference schedule that includes Arizona State, Nevada, TCU, and McNeese State. I expect the Broncos to be in contention to qualify for the Big Dance in March, with Adama Bal being an outsider to win WCC Player of the Year.
4. Washington State
After being with the Eastern Washington program for over a decade, Coach Riley took over the highly-touted Cougars job. He starts with a clean slate as the entire team, except for Isaiah Watts, left the program, with Jaylen Wells and Isaac Jones both starting their NBA journey, while Myles Rice (Indiana), Rueben Chinyelu (Florida), and Andrej Jakimovski (Colorado) got rewarded with power-five transfers.
However, the NBA radars will continue targeting Pullman, as Cedric Coward rejoins his coach with three other teammates. The reigning Big Sky Freshman of the Year, Ethan Price and LeJuan Watts are the two most promising former Eagles who will have great seasons in the WCC. On top of that, sole returner Isaiah Watts will have an extended role, giving more body to Coach Riley’s guard rotation.
This team has a group of multiple ball-handlers and scoring threats while keeping a group of culture-setters as pieces like ND Okafor (California) and intriguing incoming freshman Tomas Thrastarson from Iceland adds more power to five worthy personnel to the Cougars. I do not expect Washington State to be a contender, but they are the first team after the first tier and a name to reckon with in the conference tournament.
5. San Francisco
The Dons lost Jonathan Mogbo to the NBA, while Mike Sharavjamts transferred to Utah. That’s a tough pill to swallow, but it allows Coach Gerlufsen to focus on replacing those two, as he managed to keep the rest of his core loyal to the program.
Carlton Linguard, Jr. (UTSA) is a potential All-Conference center coming over from UTSA. The seven-footer took more than 100 threes as a junior, and it’s expected that San Francisco will utilize him by putting more shooters on the floor. Just like in the NBA, we see more college programs run four, or even five-out-styled concepts, where multiple ball handlers and shooters are the base.
That’s what they will find by also adding a clear starter in Jason-Rivera Torres (Vanderbilt), while talented incoming freshman Tyrone Riley adds more size and offensive scoring prowess to San Francisco’s rotation. They have a solid team with solid pieces but lack a true conference star to make them a top-three team.
6. Oregon State
The Beavers lose to starters to power-five schools: Jordan Pope goes to Texas, while Tyler Bilodeau stays on the West Coast to sign with UCLA. However, the most hurtful departure is Dexter Akanno (Utah State), as Oregon State struggled to replace his self-creation and shooting.
Regardless, Coach Tinkle decided to bet on his returning players, while adding hungry mid-major transfers in Demarco Minor (SIU Edwardsville), who will take over Pope’s role as the leading guard, while adding two physical presences in Parsa Fallah (Southern Utah), and Matthew Marsh (Wake Forest).
However, Oregon State’s standout candidates will be their incoming freshman Ja’Quavis Williford, a four-star who’s ready to take on a role off the bench, while adding a JUCO standout in Isaiah Sy, who comes over from Cloud Country.
This Beavers squad added lots of size, strength, and talented scorers among its guards and wings. They will play stretches of great basketball, where ranking them sixth might even be a spot or two lower than it should be. The ultimate X factor for them is Liutauras Lelevicius, the 6-foot-7 offensively gifted and crafty wing out of Lithuania, who brings years of professional experience with him.
7. LMU
Coach Johnson enters his fifth year, and despite losing their sharpshooter Dominick Harris to UCLA, the Lions are in a good position to win games during conference play. Their addition of high-feel leading guard Jan Vide (UCLA), and Jevon Porter, who comes over from conference rival Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount brings back the majority of their minutes from last year.
However, their roster lacks defensive versatility, with mostly offensive-minded players, which costs them a few spots in the rankings. Myron Amey, Jr. (San José) will likely be their leading scorer, with returning seniors Will Johnson and Alex Merkviladze being a reliable second and third option. Guard play matters in college basketball, and that’s where Jan Vide’s abilities as a floor general will be a vital part of Coach Johnson’s potential success.
8. Pacific
Elijah Fisher. That’s all that needs to be said. The former high school star came over from DePaul, where he stood out with his scoring prowess. However, it didn’t lead to them winning games, which is an area of attention. They got another power-five transfer in Lamar Washington, who followed first-year Coach Smart, with Jazz Gardner bringing key experience while coming over from Nevada.
Despite being undersized, their backcourt tandem of Seth Jones and Donyae May will bring more offensive versatility. But the lack of defensive potential limits this roster’s ability to win games consistently. I project Pacific to be able to get about six or seven wins in conference play, which won’t be enough to seriously compete.
9. Pepperdine
The Waves lost three starters, of which two went to conference rivals: Michael Ajayi (Gonzaga) and Jevon Porter (LMU). It gets worse with sharpshooter Houston Mallette also leaving the program while he joins national title contender Alabama. Unfortunately, Coach Schilling didn’t get the same quality of additions through the portal, where Moe Odum (Pacific) and Javon Cooley (Marist) are the two top names who will be starters.
The X factor for Pepperdine will be their strong interior presence, Boubacar Coulibaly. The seven-foot is one of the best bigs in the conference. On top of that, Zion Bethea and Aaron Clark will be the two names who will make the most out of their opportunity as the two sophomores. They won’t be good in year one, which should be a transition year where Coach Schilling and his staff will get accustomed to the WCC.
10. San Diego
Coach Lavin lost vital starters in Deuce Turner (UC Santa Barbara), and Wayne McKinney III (San Diego State) while Kevin Patton, Jr. earned a power-five transfer to USC, now in the Big Ten. It’s a positive they brought back the rest, being close to 50% of their minutes, while having a youthful team that mostly consists of sophomores.
I don’t see the Toreros win many games, especially since they failed to acquire talent via the portal. But the JUCO standout in KJay Bradley (San Diego City College) will be a productive scoring guard, while Santiago Trouet will make the most out of his opportunity as a floor-stretching big man. The X factor for this team will be Dragos Lungu, who has had a promising summer in FIBA-organized youth tournaments. That’s a name to keep an eye on when it comes to potential power-five transfers for next season.
11. Portland
Coach Legans is another former Eastern Washington coach who’s ready to invest in the future. They brought in hungry mid-major transfers in Max MacKinnon (Elon) and Jermaine Ballisager (American), boosting their depth among guards and bigs while bringing in international experience as being Australian and Danish.
The intriguing outlook here is to see a two-big line-up with Bol Dengdit, who's set for a sophomore leap. The 6-foot-11 floor-stretching big man has enough perimeter talent around him to find open threes and be effective. A positive compared to their conference rivals is that the Pilots have a roster above 6-foot-4, except for incoming freshman Vincent Delano (6'2"). Considering their status as one of the worst-ranked teams, we will likely see underclassmen play good minutes while focusing on the next few years where we will hopefully see more Portland success.
Finalizing Summary
To summarize the piece, here’s the list for my 2024-25 WCC Basketball Preview:
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