Keita Kobayashi
Ahead of the 2025-26 men’s and women’s basketball seasons, The UCSD Guardian organized the first-ever Big West Preseason Media Poll, sent out to student journalists and radio broadcasters from across the conference.
Eleven journalists from six different universities cast their ballots for the men’s poll. 2025 National Invitation Tournament runner-up UC Irvine was named the championship favorite, earning 103 points and six first-place votes. The Anteaters finished with a program record 32 wins in their 2024-25 campaign, and head coach Russell Turner and company look poised for another dominant season. UC Santa Barbara placed second, with 98 points and three first-place votes. The Gauchos are coming off two disappointing seasons where they went a combined 20-20 in conference play, but a promising transfer portal could see head coach Joe Pasternack’s men reach the Big Dance for the third time since 2020. Reigning Big West champions UC San Diego sits in third, with 93 points and two first-palace votes. After the departure of all five starters and longtime head coach Eric Olen, the Tritons are looking to new faces to recapture last season’s spark.
Cal State Northridge, UC Riverside, Cal Poly, and UC Davis fall in the next four spots, with only 10 points separating fourth and seventh. All four teams made the Big West Championship last season, and despite all four losing their top scorers, they are expected to return to Henderson for the postseason again this year. Hawai’i is expected to finish in eighth; the Rainbow Warriors suffered their first losing record since 2011-12 last year. Cal State Bakersfield, Long Beach State, and Cal State Fullerton round out the conference with 26, 25, and 6 points, respectively.
On the women’s side, nine journalists from five different universities cast their votes, with the Rainbow Wahine the decisive favorites. With 83 points, regular-season champion Hawai’i will look to repeat a successful 2024-25 season. UC Irvine is predicted to finish second with 80 points, with head coach Tamara Inoue seeking another Big West Championship title after winning the Anteaters’ first-ever title in 2023-24. UC Davis was ranked third with 68 points, while the Tritons came in fourth with 62 points. Fresh off their historic March Madness appearance and conference championship victory, the Tritons will seek a second conference win despite bidding farewell to multiple star players, including guard Sumayah Sugapong and forward Kayanna Spriggs.
UC Santa Barbara came in fifth with 54 points — a surprisingly high rank for a team that lost its 2024-25 points leader, guard Alyssa Marin. Long Beach State and UC Riverside came in at sixth and seventh with 44 and 42 points, respectively, hinting at a tight conference competition this season. Cal Poly rounded out the mid-tier predictions at eighth with 34 points. Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Bakersfield, and Cal State Northridge round out the last three slots with 16, 8, and 4 points, respectively. The top four teams in this poll and in the 2024-25 Big West standings all hit 20 or more wins last season, paving the way for a competitive 2025-26 season.
Methodology: This poll was independently conducted by The Guardian. It is not affiliated with the Big West Conference or the Athletics programs of its member schools. Ballots were sent out via email to the primary student newspaper of all 11 Big West universities and several college radio stations. Every outlet was allowed two unique ballots for each poll and given five days to vote.
The 11 voters on the men’s side are as follows:
Nicholas Wire (Daily Titan — Cal State Fullerton)
Junior Contreras (Long Beach Current — Long Beach State)
Timothy Hessen (Long Beach Current — Long Beach State)
Jack Fedor (New University — UC Irvine)
Jaden Hunter (New University — UC Irvine)
Jacob Ramos (Freelance — UC Irvine)
Terry Nguyen (The Highlander — UC Riverside)
Sasha Duda (KSDT Sports — UC San Diego)
Sam Propst (The UCSD Guardian — UC San Diego)
Alan Zhang (The UCSD Guardian — UC San Diego)
Mack Kiatrungit (KCSB Sports — UC Santa Barbara)
The nine voters on the women’s side are as follows:
Nicholas Wire (Daily Titan — Cal State Fullerton)
Timothy Hessen (Long Beach Current — Long Beach State)
Alan Ibarra (Long Beach Current — Long Beach State)
Jaden Hunter (New University — UC Irvine)
Jacob Ramos (Freelance — UC Irvine)
Sasha Duda (KSDT Sports — UC San Diego)
Isaiah Benitez (The UCSD Guardian — UC San Diego)
Abigail Kapur (The UCSD Guardian — UC San Diego)
Mack Kiatrungit (KCSB Sports — UC Santa Barbara)
Each ballot asked voters to predict the final standings of the upcoming Big West regular season. Points were assigned based on the rank; first place received 10 points, second place received 9, all the way until 11th place, which received 0. The final point totals are the sum of each team’s points from all journalists.