# 2022–23 West Coast Conference men's basketball season

The 2022–23 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2022 and ended with the 2023 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2023. This was the 72nd season for WCC men's basketball, and the 34th under its current name of "West Coast Conference". The conference was founded in 1952 as the California Basketball Association, became the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956, and dropped the word "Athletic" in 1989.
This was the final WCC season for BYU, which joins the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

Two new head coaches will lead their team in the WCC during the 2022-23 season. On March 6, the University of San Diego announced that they had released Sam Scholl as head coach. Then, on April 6, USD announced that Steve Lavin, who previously had coached at both UCLA and St. John's, had been hired as the new head coach. Due to Todd Golden accepting the position as basketball coach at the University of Florida, San Francisco also had a coaching change. The long time assistant coach Chris Gerlufsen was hired as head coach at USF on March 18.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | WCC record | WCC Tournament record | NCAA Tournaments | Sweet Sixteens |
| BYU | Mark Pope | Utah Valley | 4 | 68–26 (.723) | 32–12 (.727) | 2–3 (.400) | 1 | 0 |
| Gonzaga | Mark Few | Gonzaga (asst.) | 24 | 658–129 (.836) | 318–32 (.908) | 47–5 (.904) | 22 | 11 |
| Loyola Marymount | Stan Johnson | Marquette (asst.) | 3 | 24–27 (.471) | 10–17 (.370) | 2–2 (.500) | 0 | 0 |
| Pacific | Leonard Perry | Pacific (asst.) | 2 | 8–22 (.267) | 3–11 (.214) | 0–1 (.000) | 0 | 0 |
| Pepperdine | Lorenzo Romar | Arizona (asst.) | 5 | 96–115 (.455) | 22–40 (.355) | 5–4 (.556) | 7 | 3 |
| Portland | Shantay Legans | Eastern Washington | 2 | 19–15 (.559) | 7–7 (.500) | 1–1 (.500) | 1 | 0 |
| Saint Mary's | Randy Bennett | Saint Louis (asst.) | 22 | 481–201 (.705) | 244–93 (.724) | 26–18 (.591) | 8 | 1 |
| San Diego | Steve Lavin | St. John's | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 8 | 4 |
| San Francisco | Chris Gerlufsen | San Francisco (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 |
| Santa Clara | Herb Sendek | Arizona State | 7 | 97–84 (.536) | 46–45 (.505) | 5–6 (.455) | 8 | 1 |
Notes:
* Year at school includes 2022–23 season.
* Overall and WCC records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the 2022–23 season.

## Preseason
### Conference realignment

On September 10, 2021, BYU was one of four schools (the others being Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF) that accepted invitations to join the Big 12 Conference beginning with the 2023-24 athletic season. Therefore, BYU will remain a member of the WCC for the current season, with the WCC potentially dropping to 9 teams for the 2023-24 season. West Coast Conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez indicated that the conference is open to adding additional schools to the conference to ensure "continued success" for the league.

### Preseason poll

2022-23 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll :
| Rank | Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Gonzaga (9) | 81 |
| 2. | Saint Mary's (1) | 73 |
| T-3. | BYU | 57 |
| T-3. | San Francisco | 57 |
| 5. | Portland | 48 |
| 6. | Santa Clara | 43 |
| 7. | Pepperdine | 33 |
| 8. | San Diego | 31 |
| 8. | Loyola Marymount | 17 |
| 10. | Pacific | 10 |

### All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball team

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Rasir Bolton, Gonzaga |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Alex Ducas, Saint Mary's |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Logan Johnson, Saint Mary's |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Keshawn Justice, Santa Clara |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Houston Mallette, Pepperdine |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Tyler Robertson, Portland |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Khalil Shabazz, San Francisco |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Julian Strawther, Gonzaga |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Drew Timme, Gonzaga |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Fousseyni Traore, BYU |

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll |
| (Italics) | Number of first place votes |
| | | Pre/ Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 |
| BYU | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| BYU | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Gonzaga | AP | 2 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 10 |
| Gonzaga | C | 2 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| Loyola Marymount | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Loyola Marymount | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Pacific | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Pacific | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Pepperdine | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Pepperdine | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Portland | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Portland | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Saint Mary's | AP | NV | RV | RV | NV | NV | RV | RV | NV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| Saint Mary's | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 18 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 16 |
| San Diego | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| San Diego | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| San Francisco | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| San Francisco | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Santa Clara | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Santa Clara | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

## Regular season
### Conference matrix

| | BYU | Gonzaga | Loyola Marymount | Pacific | Pepperdine | Portland | Saint Mary's | San Diego | San Francisco | Santa Clara |
| vs. BYU | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Gonzaga | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Loyola Marymount | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Pacific | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Pepperdine | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Portland | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Saint Mary's | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. San Diego | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. San Francisco | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 |
| vs. Santa Clara | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – |
| Total | 7–9 | 14–2 | 9–7 | 7–9 | 2–14 | 5–11 | 14–2 | 4–12 | 7–9 | 11–5 |

### Early season tournaments

The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early season tournaments in which teams from the West Coast Conference will participate.
| Team | Tournament | Dates | Result |
| BYU | Battle 4 Atlantis | November 23–25 | 7th |
| Gonzaga | Phil Knight Invitational | November 24–27 | 3rd |
| Loyola Marymount | Jamaica Classic | November 18–20 | 1st |
| Pacific | Pacific MTE | November 22–28 | – |
| Pepperdine | Diamond Head Classic | December 22–25 | |
| Portland | Phil Knight Invitational | November 24–27 | 8th |
| Saint Mary's | Wooden Legacy | November 23–24 | 2nd |
| San Diego | Las Vegas Invitational | November 25–26 | 4th |
| San Francisco | Hall of Fame Classic | November 21–22 | 1st |
| Santa Clara | Bahamas Championship | November 18–20 | 2nd |

### WCC Player/Freshman of the Week

Throughout the year, the West Coast Conference names a player of the week and a freshman of the week as follows:
| Week | Date | Player of the Week | Freshman of the Week |
| 1 | November 14, 2022 | Brandin Podziemski, Santa Clara | Aidan Mahaney, Saint Mary's |
| 2 | November 21, 2022 | Eric Williams, San Diego | Chance Stephens, LMU |
| 3 | November 28, 2022 | Tyler Robertson, Portland | Alden Applewhite, Portland |
| 4 | December 5, 2022 | Brandin Podziemski (2), Santa Clara | Aidan Mahaney (2), Saint Mary's |
| 5 | December 12, 2022 | Drew Timme, Gonzaga | Aidan Mahaney (3), Saint Mary's |
| 6 | December 20, 2022 | Drew Timme (2), Gonzaga | Dallin Hall, BYU |
| 7 | December 27, 2022 | Maxwell Lewis, Pepperdine | Jevon Porter, Pepperdine |
| 8 | January 2, 2023 | Drew Timme (3), Gonzaga | Aidan Mahaney (4), Saint Mary's |
| 9 | January 9, 2023 | Keylan Boone, Pacific | Aidan Mahaney (5), Saint Mary's & Moe Odum, Pacific |
| 10 | January 16, 2023 | Logan Johnson, Saint Mary’s | Aidan Mahaney (6), Saint Mary's |
| 11 | January 23, 2023 | Cam Shelton, LMU | Aidan Mahaney (7), Saint Mary's |
| 12 | January 30, 2023 | Julian Strawther, Gonzaga | Aidan Mahaney (8), Saint Mary's |
| 13 | February 6, 2023 | Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's | Aidan Mahaney (9), Saint Mary's |
| 14 | February 13, 2023 | Cam Shelton (2), LMU | Jevon Porter (2), Pepperdine |
| 15 | February 20, 2023 | Brandin Podziemski (3), Santa Clara | Aidan Mahaney (10), Saint Mary's |
| 16 | February 27, 2023 | Brandin Podziemski (4), Santa Clara & Cam Shelton (3), LMU | Jevon Porter (3), Pepperdine |

## Postseason
### WCC tournament

| First round Thursday, March 2 | First round Thursday, March 2 | First round Thursday, March 2 | Second round Friday, March 3 | Second round Friday, March 3 | Second round Friday, March 3 | Third round Saturday, March 4 | Third round Saturday, March 4 | Third round Saturday, March 4 | Semifinals Monday, March 6 | Semifinals Monday, March 6 | Semifinals Monday, March 6 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 | Championship Tuesday, March 7 |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Saint Mary’s | 76 | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Loyola Marymount | 63 | 5 | BYU | 69 | | | |
| | | | 5 | BYU | 82 | 5 | BYU | 73 | | | | 1 | Saint Mary's | 51 |
| 8 | Portland | 92 | 8 | Portland | 71 | | | | | | | 2 | Gonzaga | 77 |
| 9 | San Diego | 74 | | | | | | | 2 | Gonzaga | 84 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Santa Clara | 87 | 6 | San Francisco | 73 | | | |
| | | | 6 | San Francisco | 80 | 6 | San Francisco | 93* | | | | | | |
| 7 | Pacific | 84 | 7 | Pacific | 63 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Pepperdine | 71 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* denotes overtime period

### NCAA Tournament

| School | Seed | Region | First round | Second round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| Gonzaga | 3 | West | Defeated (14 W) Grand Canyon 82–70 | Defeated (6 W) TCU 84–81 | Defeated (2 W) UCLA 79–76 | Lost to (4 W) UConn 82–54 | DNP | DNP |
| Saint Mary's | 5 | West | Defeated (12 W) VCU 63–51 | Lost to (4 W) UConn 70–55 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |

## All-WCC Awards and Teams

On March 2, 2022, the West Coast Conference announced the following awards:
| Honor | Recipient | School |
| Player of the Year | Brandin Podziemski | Santa Clara |
| Player of the Year | Drew Timme | Gonzaga |
| Coach of the Year | Randy Bennett | Saint Mary’s |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Logan Johnson | Saint Mary's |
| Newcomer of the Year | Brandin Podziemski | Santa Clara |
| Sixth Player of the Year | Malachi Smith | Gonzaga |
| All-WCC First Team | Logan Johnson | Saint Mary's |
| All-WCC First Team | Aidan Mahaney | Saint Mary's |
| All-WCC First Team | Brandin Podziemski | Santa Clara |
| All-WCC First Team | Tyrell Roberts | San Francisco |
| All-WCC First Team | Mitchell Saxen | Saint Mary's |
| All-WCC First Team | Khalil Shabazz | San Francisco |
| All-WCC First Team | Cam Shelton | LMU |
| All-WCC First Team | Carlos Stewart | Santa Clara |
| All-WCC First Team | Julian Strawther | Gonzaga |
| All-WCC First Team | Drew Timme | Gonzaga |
| All-WCC Second Team | Marcellus Earlington | San Diego |
| All-WCC Second Team | Keshawn Justice | Santa Clara |
| All-WCC Second Team | Maxwell Lewis | Pepperdine |
| All-WCC Second Team | Fousseyni Traore | BYU |
| All-WCC Second Team | Moses Wood | Portland |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Juan Sebastian Gorosito | Portland |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Dallin Hall | BYU |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Aidan Mahaney | Saint Mary's |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Moe Odum | Pacific |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Jevon Porter | Pepperdine |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Keylan Boone | Pacific |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Alex Ducas | Saint Mary's |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Spencer Johnson | BYU |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Keli Leaupepe | LMU |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Tyler Robertson | Portland |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Anton Watson | Gonzaga |