The BYU men’s basketball team is projected to finish runner-up in the West Coast Conference to national powerhouse Gonzaga, according to the league’s annual preseason coaches poll released Monday.
The Cougars, coming off a 24-8 campaign where they climbed as high as No. 15 in the national rankings, received 69 points and one first-place vote in the poll, while the Zags had 81 points and the other nine first-place votes.
Cougar senior guard Alex Barcello was also named to the 10-man All-WCC preseason team. He averaged 9.3 points per game last season for BYU, which has a lot of turnover on this year’s roster while adding transfers like Purdue’s Matt Haarms and UVU’s Brandon Averette.
Saint Mary’s is picked to finish third, with 63 points, while Pepperdine is fourth on the preseason poll.
2020-21 WCC preseason men’s basketball coaches poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Gonzaga (9), 81
2. BYU (1), 69
3. Saint Mary’s, 63
4. Pepperdine, 57
5. San Francisco, 52
6. Santa Clara, 38
7. LMU, 33
8. Pacific, 31
9. San Diego, 16
10. Portland, 10
2020-21 All-WCC preseason men’s basketball team
Joel Ayayi, Jr. G, Gonzaga
Alex Barcello, Sr. G, BYU
Jamaree Bouyea, Sr. G, San Francisco
Kessler Edwards, Jr. F, Pepperdine
Corey Kispert, Sr. F, Gonzaga
Colbey Ross, Sr. G, Pepperdine
Eli Scott, Sr. G, LMU
Matthias Tass, Jr. C, Saint Mary’s
Drew Timme, So. F, Gonzaga
Josip Vrankic, Sr. F, Santa Clara