# 2019–20 West Coast Conference men's basketball season

The 2019–20 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2019 and will end with the 2020 West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in March 2020. This is the 69th season for WCC men's basketball, and the 31st 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.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

On March 26, 2019 Dave Rose announced his retirement after 14 seasons as the head coach at Brigham Young University. His career record at BYU was 348-135 with 8 seasons where his team qualified for the NCAA tournament. Shortly thereafter, Mark Pope, the head coach at Utah Valley University, was announced as the head coach at BYU. Pope had previously been an assistant coach at BYU from 2011-15.
In March 2019, Kyle Smith was selected as the new head coach at Washington State signing a six-year contract after the previous coach Ernie Kent was fired. Todd Golden, an assistant coach at USF, was later named as the new head coach for the Dons. At just 34 years old, Golden became the 7th youngest coach in Division I history. Golden formerly played at Saint Mary's from 2004-07.

### 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 | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 |
| Gonzaga | Mark Few | Gonzaga (asst.) | 21 | 569–122 (.819) | 276–30 (.902) | 43–5 (.896) | 20 | 9 |
| Loyola Marymount | Mike Dunlap | Charlotte Bobcats | 6 | 70–87 (.446) | 31–57 (.352) | 2–5 (.286) | 0 | 0 |
| Pacific | Damon Stoudamire | Memphis Grizzlies (asst.) | 4 | 39–58 (.402) | 17–35 (.327) | 1–3 (.250) | 0 | 0 |
| Pepperdine | Lorenzo Romar | Arizona (asst.) | 2 | 16–18 (.471) | 6–10 (.375) | 3–1 (.750) | 7 | 3 |
| Portland | Terry Porter | Minnesota Timberwolves (asst.) | 4 | 28–69 (.289) | 6–46 (.115) | 1–3 (.250) | 0 | 0 |
| Saint Mary's | Randy Bennett | Saint Louis(asst.) | 19 | 414–174 (.704) | 208–85 (.710) | 22–15 (.595) | 7 | 1 |
| San Diego | Sam Scholl | San Diego (asst.) | 2 | 23–16 (.590) | 7–9 (0.438) | 3–1 (0.750) | 0 | 0 |
| San Francisco | Todd Golden | San Francisco (asst.) | 1 | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 | 0 |
| Santa Clara | Herb Sendek | Arizona State | 4 | 44–51 (.463) | 26–26 (.500) | 1–3 (.250) | 8 | 1 |
Notes:
* Year at school includes 2019–20 season.
* Overall and WCC records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the 2019–20 season.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

2019-20 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll :
| Rank | Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Gonzaga (7) | 79 |
| 2. | Saint Mary's (3) | 75 |
| 3. | BYU | 65 |
| 4. | Pepperdine | 56 |
| 5. | Santa Clara | 50 |
| 6. | San Francisco | 40 |
| 7. | Loyola Marymount | 34 |
| 8. | Pacific | 21 |
| 8. | San Diego | 21 |
| 10. | Portland | 9 |

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

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Yoeli Childs, BYU |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Tahj Eaddy, Santa Clara |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Kessler Edwards, Pepperdine |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Malik Fitts, Saint Mary's |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Jordan Ford, Saint Mary's |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | TJ Haws, BYU |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Charles Minlend, San Francisco |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Colby Ross, Pepperdine |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Killian Tillie, Gonzaga |
| Preseason All-WCC Team | Jahlil Tripp, Pacific |

## 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 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Post |
| BYU | AP | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | 23 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 18 |
| BYU | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 15-T | 16 | 16 |
| Gonzaga | AP | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 2 (15) | 1 (54) | 1 (63) | 1 (54) | 1 (30) | 2 (31) | 2 (19) | 2 (15) | 2 (15) | 2 (14) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Gonzaga | C | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 2 (4) | 1 (23) | 1 (30) | 1 (27) | 1 (16) | 1 (19) | 2 (17) | 2 (12) | 2 (13) | 2 (11) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Loyola Marymount | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Loyola Marymount | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pacific | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pacific | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pepperdine | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pepperdine | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Portland | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Portland | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Saint Mary's | AP | 20 | 18 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | RV | | | RV | | RV | RV | RV |
| Saint Mary's | C | 20 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| San Diego | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| San Diego | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| San Francisco | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| San Francisco | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Santa Clara | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Santa Clara | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Regular season
### Early season tournaments

All ten of the schools from the West Coast Conference participated in multiple-team events or early season tournaments. The following table summarizes the results of each tournament.
| Team | Tournament | Finish | Record | Bracketed | Arena | Arena Location | Hosted By | TV Partner |
| BYU | Maui Invitational | 3rd of 8 | 2-1 | Yes | Lahaina Civic Center | Maui, Hawaii | Chaminade University of Honolulu | ESPN |
| Gonzaga | Battle 4 Atlantis | 2nd of 8 | 2-1 | Yes | Imperial Arena | Nassau, Bahamas | N/A | ESPN |
| Loyola Marymount | Junkanoo Jam | 3rd of 4 | 1-2 | No | GCA Gymnasium | Bimini, Bahamas | Gateway Christian Academy | FloHoops |
| Pacific | Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic | 3rd of 4 | 1-2 | No | Stan Sherriff Center | Honolulu, Hawaii | University of Hawaii at Manoa | Spectrum Sports |
| Pepperdine | Wooden Legacy | 8th of 8 | 0-3 | Yes | Titan Gym | Fullerton, California | Cal State Fullerton | ESPN |
| Portland | Diamond Head Classic | 8th of 8 | 0-3 | Yes | Stan Sherriff Center | Honolulu, Hawaii | University of Hawaii at Manoa | ESPN |
| Saint Mary's | Sacramento Classic | N/A | 2-1 | No | Campus sites | Campus Sites | Campus Sites | ESPN & Others |
| San Diego | Boca Raton Beach Classic | 4th of 4 | 0-2 | Yes | RoofClaim.com Arena | Boca Raton, Florida | Florida Atlantic University | CUSA.tv |
| San Francisco | Oahu Classic | N/A | 3-1 | No | Campus sites | Campus Sites | Campus Sites | ESPN & Others |
| Santa Clara | Cable Car Classic | 1st of 4 | 3-0 | No | Leavey Center | Santa Clara, California | Santa Clara University | WCC Network |

### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | BYU | Gonzaga | LMU | Pacific | Pepperdine | Portland | Saint Mary's | San Diego | San Francisco | Santa Clara |
| vs. Brigham Young | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. Gonzaga | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Loyola Marymount | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Pacific | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Pepperdine | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Portland | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Saint Mary's | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. San Diego | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. San Francisco | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | – | 0–2 |
| vs. Santa Clara | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – |
| Total | 13–3 | 15–1 | 4–12 | 11–5 | 8–8 | 1–15 | 11–5 | 2–14 | 9–7 | 6–10 |

### Player of the Week

Throughout the year, the West Coast Conference named a player of the week as follows:
| Week | Date | Player | School |
| 1 | November 11, 2019 | Jordan Ford | Saint Mary's |
| 2 | November 18, 2019 | Filip Petrusev | Gonzaga |
| 3 | November 25, 2019 | Isaiah White | Portland |
| 4 | December 2, 2019 | TJ Haws | BYU |
| 5 | December 9, 2019 | Eli Scott | LMU |
| 6 | December 16, 2019 | Jordan Ford | Saint Mary's |
| 7 | December 23, 2019 | Colby Ross | Pepperdine |
| 8 | December 31, 2019 | Ryan Woolridge | Gonzaga |
| 9 | January 6, 2020 | Jahlil Tripp | Pacific |
| 10 | January 13, 2020 | Charles Minlend | San Francisco |
| 11 | January 20, 2020 | Corey Kispert | Gonzaga |
| 12 | January 27, 2020 | Kameron Edwards | Pepperdine |
| 13 | February 3, 2020 | Filip Petrusev | Gonzaga |
| 14 | February 10. 2020 | Jahlil Tripp | Pacific |
| 15 | February 17, 2020 | Filip Petrusev | Gonzaga |
| 16 | February 24, 2020 | Yoeli Childs | BYU |
| 17 | March 2, 2020 | Yoeli Childs | BYU |

## All-WCC awards and teams

On March 3, 2020, the West Coast Conference announced the following awards:
| Honor | Recipient | School |
| Player of the Year | Filip Petrusev | Gonzaga |
| Coach of the Year | Damon Stoudamire | Pacific |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Jahlil Tripp | Pacific |
| Newcomer of the Year | Jake Toolson | BYU |
| All-WCC First Team | Yoeli Childs | BYU |
| All-WCC First Team | Malik Fitts | Saint Mary's |
| All-WCC First Team | Jordan Ford | Saint Mary's |
| All-WCC First Team | T. J. Haws | BYU |
| All-WCC First Team | Corey Kispert | Gonzaga |
| All-WCC First Team | Filip Petrusev | Gonzaga |
| All-WCC First Team | Colbey Ross | Pepperdine |
| All-WCC First Team | Killian Tillie | Gonzaga |
| All-WCC First Team | Jake Toolson | BYU |
| All-WCC First Team | Jahlil Tripp | Pacific |
| All-WCC Second Team | Kameron Edwards | Pepperdine |
| All-WCC Second Team | Kessler Edwards | Pepperdine |
| All-WCC Second Team | Charles Minlend | San Francisco |
| All-WCC Second Team | Eli Scott | LMU |
| All-WCC Second Team | Josip Vrankic | Santa Clara |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Sedrick Altman | Pepperdine |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Jaden Bediako | Santa Clara |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Daniss Jenkins | Pacific |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Keli Leaupepe | LMU |
| All-WCC Freshman Team | Drew Timme | Gonzaga |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Joel Ayayi | Gonzaga |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Ryan Woolridge | Gonzaga |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Braun Hartfield | San Diego |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Jamaree Bouyea | San Francisco |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Jimbo Lull | San Francisco |
| WCC Honorable Mention | Trey Wertz | Santa Clara |