IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Santa Barbara tops The Big West men’s basketball preseason poll for the third year in succession, having garnered nine of the 11 first-place votes by league head coaches.
 
The Gauchos received nine first-place votes for a total of 92 points. Last season UC Santa Barbara went 27-8 overall, won a share of the regular season title with a 15-5 conference record and were victorious in The Big West Championship, earning the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos were defeated in the first round of the tournament by No. 3 seed Baylor. 
 
UC Santa Barbara is expected to be led by preseason All-Big West selection Ajay Mitchell. The junior guard from Ans, Belgium is a two-time All-Big West honoree and was last season’s Player of the Year after averaging 16.3 points and a league-leading 5.1 assists. Also returning the Gauchos are senior guard Josh Pierre-Louis (9.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.4 apg) and junior guard Cole Anderson (7.2 ppg, .405 3P%) who were mainstays in last year's championship run. 
 
The remaining two first-place nods went to Long Beach State for a total of 82 points. Hawai’i (80), 2022-23 co-regular season champion UC Irvine (75) and UC Davis (69) fill out the top five.
 
The Long Beach State duo of junior forward Aboubacar Traore, an All-Big West Honorable Mention selection last year, and junior forward Lassina Traore, the reigning Big West Newcomer of the Year and First Teamer, get nods onto the preseason team. The two were the top rebounders in the league last season with Lassina grabbing 10.5 boards to go along with 12.9 points per game. Aboubacar pulled down 8.8 rebounds with 10.1 points and 3.5 assists per contest. The Beach will also look to depend on senior guard Marcus Tsohonis, who set the Long Beach State single-game scoring record with 46 points in a win at UC San Diego, and junior guard Jadon Jones, the 2021-22 Big West Defensive Player of the Year, for contributions.  
 
Hawai’i senior guard JoVon McClanahan earns a spot on the preseason team after averaging 11.3 points and 3.5 assists per game last season that culminated into an All-Big West Second Team selection. Senior guard Noel Coleman, a two-time All-Big West honoree that put up 12.2 points per contest last season, and senior forward Bernardo da Silva, who recorded 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game a year ago, are key veterans that are expected to bolster the starting lineup for the Rainbow Warriors. 
 
UC Davis senior guard Elijah Pepper claims territory on the preseason team after being the leading scorer in The Big West last season, putting up 22.5 points, along with 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for an All-Big West First Team membership. The Aggie backcourt will be potent with the return of junior guard Ty Johnson, an all-conference honorable mention selection who logged 14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game a season ago. 
 
Cal State Fullerton (58), last year’s championship runner-up, is selected sixth, followed by UC Riverside (45), Cal State Bakersfield (36), UC San Diego (31), CSUN (18) and Cal Poly (12) to round out the poll.
 
Triton senior guard Bryce Pope takes the final spot on this year's preseason team. Pope was an All-Big West Second Team selection and the second-leading scorer in the conference averaging 18.4 points per game last season.
  
The 2023-24 season begins with seven teams in action on Monday, Nov. 6. Big West play, consisting of a 10-week double round-robin schedule, opens just ahead of the new year with five contests on Thursday, Dec. 28. The Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, return for the third straight year inside The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev., March 13-16. 

Fans can tune in at 1 p.m. PT today, Thursday, Oct. 19 for the 2023-24 Big West Basketball Preview airing live on ESPN+. Tim Neverett and Richie Schueler will provide analysis of all 11 Big West teams heading into the season and insights on the games, players and teams to watch as the 54th season of Big West men’s basketball begins. Chloë Clark will join Neverett and Schueler, providing coaches commentary and insightful feature stories on Big West student-athletes.  

Aching for more content beyond the one-hour season preview? Full coach interviews will be available on The Big West YouTube channel as the show airs.