BYU picked second, Johnson Harding, Hamson, Gonzales make WCC Preseason Team

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — With the 2020-21 women’s basketball season a month away, BYU was selected to finish second in the West Coast Conference race in the annual poll of the league’s 10 head coaches.

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.

Senior guard Paisley Johnson Harding and senior center Sara Hamson were named to the preseason All-WCC Team for the second-straight time. Sophomore guard Shaylee Gonzales also earned a spot on the team. BYU was the only school in the league with three players on the preseason team. Hamson was the 2020 WCC Defensive Player of the Year while Gonzales returns after being named the 2018 WCC Newcomer of the Year. Johnson Harding was named to last year's All-WCC First Team.

BYU (18-11, 13-5) was picked second in the preseason survey with 73 points and collected two first-place votes. The Cougars boasted one of the nation’s most elite defensive units last season allowing opponents to convert at a 32.2 percent from the field. 

Gonzaga University is once again the preseason favorite to win its 17th West Coast Conference regular season title in the annual poll of the WCC’s 10 head coaches. The Bulldogs received seven first place votes and 79 points.

The Bulldogs are generating national buzz and will likely enter the 2020-21 campaign ranked in the top-25. Last season the Zags were projected as a No. 6 NCAA Tournament seed after rising to as high as No. 11 – a program and WCC-best – in the national polls. Gonzaga posted its best start in program history last season at 28-2.

Gonzaga (28-3, 17-1 WCC) has advanced to three straight NCAA Tournaments. A pair of seniors – Jill Townsend, the 2020 WCC Player of the Year and Jenn Wirth – headline the Zags on the preseason All-WCC team. Head coach Lisa Fortier was a semifinalist for the 2020 Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year award.

In the preseason edition of Charlie Crème’s Bracketology, Gonzaga is a No. 6 seed in the Albany bracket, while BYU is tabbed as a No. 10 seed in the Austin bracket.

Portland (21-11, 11-7) was tabbed third in the preseason poll with 64 points and picked up the remaining first-place vote. The 2020 WCC Tournament Champions under first-year coach Michael Meek were set to make the program’s first NCAA Tournament since 1997 despite being picked last in the preseason survey. Tournament Most Outstanding Player Alex Fowler averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds per game last season and joins teammate Haylee Andrews on the preseason squad.

San Diego (20-11, 13-5) was slotted fourth in the poll with 53 points. The Toreros marched to the title game of the 2020 WCC Tournament after being picked to finish eighth in the preseason. Under the direction of WCC Coach of the Year Cindy Fisher, San Diego finished second in the league standings. The Toreros will rely heavily on senior All-WCC guard Myah Pace, who averaged a team-high 11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists to land on the preseason team.

Saint Mary’s (12-19, 6-12) was fifth in the preseason poll with 44 points. Junior guard Sam Simons earned a spot on the preseason All-WCC team after averaging 16.3 points, while converting on 63 3-pointers to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Simons may sit out the 2020-21 season due to COVID concerns.

Pacific (17-14, 7-7) was selected sixth in the poll with 42 points. Two Tigers were tabbed preseason All-WCC picks and both were All-WCC First Team selections last season. Senior forwards Valerie Higgins, the 2019 WCC Defensive Player of the Year, and Brooklyn McDavid will lead the way in Stockton.

Pepperdine University (16-15, 8-10 WCC) was picked seventh in the survey with 28 points, three points in front of PCH Cup rival LMU in eighth place with 25 points. Santa Clara (22 points) and San Francisco (20 points) round out the preseason survey.

The complete preseason poll and all-conference team follows.