In the first year of the David Riley era in Pullman, the Cougars have been voted to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference in the WCC Preseason Poll.
While the preseason poll is simply a projection, it is indicative that the Cougars are not expected to repeat the success of 2023-24.
Gonzaga was picked to win the conference, receiving nine of the ten first-place votes. St. Mary’s was voted as the next-best team in the conference, receiving the lone remaining first-place vote.
After that, Santa Clara and San Francisco were chosen to finish third and fourth respectively, receiving 81 and 77 points. The Cougars were significantly behind USF, receiving 62 points and barely holding fifth place ahead of Loyola Marymount, who were picked to finish sixth with 60 points.
The rest of the conference was picked to finish as follows: Oregon State seventh, Portland tied-eighth, San Diego tied-eighth, Pacific tenth and Pepperdine eleventh.
It will be interesting to see how WSU handles the move into the WCC. Coming from the Pac-12, the Cougars have routinely played in the past against better programs than most WCC schools, outside of powerhouse Gonzaga and a very consistent St. Mary’s program. WSU would have likely been the third-best team in this conference in 2023-24, but with a new head coach and a roster with only one returning player from last year, it is clear that the experts expect to see some regression out of the Cougars this year.
The Kenpom rankings would agree with where WSU was picked to finish in the WCC. According to the Kenpom rankings, WSU is 111th and is the fifth-best team in the WCC. Santa Clara is ranked 95th, while San Francisco is ranked 85th. Meanwhile, LMU is a few spots below WSU, ranked 131st. With all four teams within 45 spots of each other, it is not out of the question for WSU to make a run and be the third-best team in the WCC.
