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 TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordWCC recordWCC Tournament recordNCAA TournamentsSweet SixteensBYUMark PopeUtah Valley468–26 (.723)32–12 (.727)2–3 (.400)10GonzagaMark FewGonzaga (asst.)24658–129 (.836)318–32 (.908)47–5 (.904)2211Loyola MarymountStan JohnsonMarquette (asst.)324–27 (.471)10–17 (.370)2–2 (.500)00PacificLeonard PerryPacific (asst.)28–22 (.267)3–11 (.214)0–1 (.000)00PepperdineLorenzo RomarArizona (asst.)596–115 (.455)22–40 (.355)5–4 (.556)73PortlandShantay LegansEastern Washington219–15 (.559)7–7 (.500)1–1 (.500)10Saint Mary'sRandy BennettSaint Louis (asst.)22481–201 (.705)244–93 (.724)26–18 (.591)81San DiegoSteve LavinSt. John's10–0 (–)0–0 (–)0–0 (–)84San FranciscoChris GerlufsenSan Francisco (asst.)10–0 (–)0–0 (–)0–0 (–)00Santa ClaraHerb SendekArizona State797–84 (.536)46–45 (.505)5–6 (.455)81 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 PollRankTeam (First Place Votes)Points1.Gonzaga (9)812.Saint Mary's (1)73T-3.BYU57T-3.San Francisco575.Portland486.Santa Clara437.Pepperdine338.San Diego318.Loyola Marymount1710.Pacific10

All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball team HonorRecipientPreseason All-WCC TeamRasir Bolton, GonzagaAlex Ducas, Saint Mary'sLogan Johnson, Saint Mary'sKeshawn Justice, Santa ClaraHouston Mallette, PepperdineTyler Robertson, PortlandKhalil Shabazz, San FranciscoJulian Strawther, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaFousseyni Traore, BYU

Rankings

+LegendImprovement in rankingDrop in rankingNot ranked previous weekRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll(Italics)Number of first place votes Pre/ Wk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18FinalBYUAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVGonzagaAP2261418151110986141216131210C22512181512111086141416121210Loyola MarymountAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVPacificAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVPepperdineAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVPortlandAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVSaint Mary'sAPNVRVRVNVNVRVRVNVRVRVRV221815171517CRVRVRVRVNVRVRVRVRVRV24221814171416San DiegoAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVSan FranciscoAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVSanta ClaraAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV

Regular season

Conference matrix BYUGonzagaLoyola MarymountPacificPepperdinePortlandSaint Mary'sSan DiegoSan FranciscoSanta Claravs. BYU–2–01–10–21–10–12–00–11–12–0vs. Gonzaga0–2–1–10–10–20–21–10–10–20–2vs. Loyola Marymount1–11–1–1–10–20–21–11–11–01–0vs. Pacific2–01–01–1–0–21–11–00–22–01–1vs. Pepperdine1–12–02–02–0–1–11–02–01–02–0vs. Portland1–02–02–01–11–1–2–00–21–11–0vs. Saint Mary's0–21–11–10–10–10–2–0–20–20–2vs. San Diego1–01–01–12–00–22–02–0–1–12–0vs. San Francisco1–12–00–10–20–11–12–01–1–2–0vs. Santa Clara0–22–00–11–10–20–12–00–20–2–Total7–914–29–77–92–145–1114–24–127–911–5

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. +TeamTournamentDatesResultBYUBattle 4 AtlantisNovember 23–257thGonzagaPhil Knight InvitationalNovember 24–273rdLoyola MarymountJamaica ClassicNovember 18–201stPacificPacific MTENovember 22–28–PepperdineDiamond Head ClassicDecember 22–25PortlandPhil Knight InvitationalNovember 24–278thSaint Mary'sWooden LegacyNovember 23–242ndSan DiegoLas Vegas InvitationalNovember 25–264thSan FranciscoHall of Fame ClassicNovember 21–221stSanta ClaraBahamas ChampionshipNovember 18–202nd

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: +WeekDatePlayer of the WeekFreshman of the Week1November 14, 2022Brandin Podziemski, Santa ClaraAidan Mahaney, Saint Mary's2November 21, 2022Eric Williams, San DiegoChance Stephens, LMU3November 28, 2022Tyler Robertson, PortlandAlden Applewhite, Portland4December 5, 2022Brandin Podziemski (2), Santa ClaraAidan Mahaney (2), Saint Mary's5December 12, 2022Drew Timme, GonzagaAidan Mahaney (3), Saint Mary's6December 20, 2022Drew Timme (2), GonzagaDallin Hall, BYU7December 27, 2022Maxwell Lewis, PepperdineJevon Porter, Pepperdine8January 2, 2023Drew Timme (3), GonzagaAidan Mahaney (4), Saint Mary's9January 9, 2023Keylan Boone, PacificAidan Mahaney (5), Saint Mary's & Moe Odum, Pacific10January 16, 2023Logan Johnson, Saint Mary’sAidan Mahaney (6), Saint Mary's11January 23, 2023Cam Shelton, LMUAidan Mahaney (7), Saint Mary's12January 30, 2023Julian Strawther, GonzagaAidan Mahaney (8), Saint Mary's13February 6, 2023Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary'sAidan Mahaney (9), Saint Mary's14February 13, 2023Cam Shelton (2), LMUJevon Porter (2), Pepperdine15February 20, 2023Brandin Podziemski (3), Santa ClaraAidan Mahaney (10), Saint Mary's16February 27, 2023Brandin Podziemski (4), Santa Clara & Cam Shelton (3), LMUJevon Porter (3), Pepperdine

Postseason WCC tournament

* 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 79–76Lost to (4 W) UConn 82–54 Saint Mary's 5 WestDefeated (12 W) VCU 63–51 Lost to (4 W) UConn 70–55

All-WCC Awards and Teams On March 2, 2022, the West Coast Conference announced the following awards: +HonorRecipientSchoolPlayer of the YearBrandin PodziemskiSanta ClaraDrew TimmeGonzagaCoach of the YearRandy BennettSaint Mary’sDefensive Player of the YearLogan JohnsonSaint Mary'sNewcomer of the YearBrandin PodziemskiSanta ClaraSixth Player of the YearMalachi SmithGonzagaAll-WCC First TeamLogan JohnsonSaint Mary'sAidan MahaneySaint Mary'sBrandin PodziemskiSanta ClaraTyrell RobertsSan FranciscoMitchell SaxenSaint Mary'sKhalil ShabazzSan FranciscoCam SheltonLMUCarlos StewartSanta ClaraJulian StrawtherGonzagaDrew TimmeGonzagaAll-WCC Second TeamMarcellus EarlingtonSan DiegoKeshawn JusticeSanta ClaraMaxwell LewisPepperdineFousseyni TraoreBYUMoses WoodPortlandAll-WCC Freshman TeamJuan Sebastian GorositoPortlandDallin HallBYUAidan MahaneySaint Mary'sMoe OdumPacificJevon PorterPepperdineWCC Honorable MentionKeylan BoonePacificAlex DucasSaint Mary'sSpencer JohnsonBYUKeli LeaupepeLMUTyler RobertsonPortlandAnton WatsonGonzaga

References