Cougars picked to finish second, Barcello named preseason All-WCC

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – With the 2020-21 college basketball campaign a month away, BYU men’s basketball has been selected to finish second in the WCC in the annual preseason poll of the league’s 10 head coaches. Senior guard Alex Barcello also earned a spot on the preseason All-WCC Team.

Coaches may not vote for their own team in the preseason poll. Preseason All-WCC voting is restricted to returning student-athletes. Incoming freshmen and transfers are not eligible for consideration and coaches may not vote for their own student-athletes.

BYU (24-8, 13-3) was picked second in the preseason survey with 69 points and collected one first-place vote. The Cougars closed last season on a tear, winning their last nine straight – including an upset win vs. No. 2 Gonzaga – and vaulted to No. 15 in the national polls. BYU was projected as a No. 6 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. Barcello headlines the Cougars after averaging 9.3 points per game for one of the nation’s most efficient offenses to earn a spot on the preseason squad.

Gonzaga is the preseason favorite to win its ninth-straight West Coast Conference regular season title. The Bulldogs received the maximum nine first-place votes and 81 points. Gonzaga is once again generating national buzz and will likely emerge as the preseason No. 1 team for the first time in program history in 2020-21. Last season the Zags were a lock for a No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament and were ranked No. 2 nationally to close out the regular season after spending five weeks at No. 1 and 14 weeks in the top-three.

Gonzaga (31-2, 15-1 WCC) still owns the longest active string of NCAA Sweet-16 appearances with five and placed senior forward Corey Kispert and junior guard Joel Ayayi, the 2020 WCC Tournament Most Outstanding Player on the preseason All-WCC team. In the current edition (Oct. 7) of Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology, Gonzaga is a No. 1 seed in the West, while BYU is tabbed as a No. 11 seed in the West.

Saint Mary’s (26-8, 11-5 WCC) was third in the preseason poll with 63 points. The Gaels were projected as a No. 8 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament a year after making the 2019 field after upsetting Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament finals. Junior center Matthias Tass earned a spot on the preseason All-WCC team after emerging as a force on the low block, averaging 6.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23.4 minutes of action as a sophomore before suffering a season-ending injury in non-conference play.

Pepperdine (16-16, 8-8 WCC) was picked fourth in the survey with 57 points. One of the most electric guards in the country, senior guard Colbey Ross averaged 20.5 points and 7.2 assists per game in 2019-20. No returning NCAA player has more career assists than Ross with 647. Joining Ross on the preseason All-WCC team for the second-straight year is junior forward Kessler Edwards, who averaged 13.6 points and 7.4 rebounds in his second season in Malibu.

San Francisco (22-12, 9-7 WCC) rounds out the top-five with 52 points. Preseason all-WCC selection Jamaree Bouyea figures to lead the way for the Dons. The senior guard had a breakthrough 2019-20 campaign, averaging 12.2 points, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals to help USF to its fourth consecutive 20-win season.

Santa Clara (20-13, 6-10 WCC) was picked sixth with 38 points. The Broncos opened the 2019-20 regular season on a 14-2 tear the program’s best start out of the gate since the 1968-69 squad went 21-0. Senior forward Josip Vrankic earned a spot on the preseason All-WCC team after averaging 12.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his third season.

Loyola Marymount (11-21, 4-12 WCC) was picked seventh with 33 points. The Lions welcome a new head coach in Stan Johnson and the return of preseason All-WCC selection Eli Scott, who led the Lions with 15.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in a breakthrough junior season highlighted by the first triple-double in program history.

Pacific (23-10, 11-5 WCC) was picked eighth with 31 votes. The Tigers posted their first 20-win season since 2010-11 as Damon Stoudamire collected WCC Coach of the Year honors. San Diego (9-23, 2-14) was picked ninth followed by Portland (9-23, 1-15).

The complete preseason poll and all-conference team follows.