Who’s in?: There are no teams in the WCC that will get an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. All teams participating in the conference tournament have RPI rankings below 100 except for Gonzaga who sits at 69.
On the Bubble: None
Bracket: 1 Pepperdine (29-22; 17-10) vs. 4 San Francisco (28-28; 15-12)
2 Gonzaga (29-22; 16-11) vs. 3 Loyola Marymount (24-28; 12-15)
Games run from 5/24-5/26
Regular Season: It was a wacky year to say the least in the WCC. Saint Mary’s, BYU, and San Diego were the preseason favorites in the league. None of those teams even qualified for the tournament. Although it was definitely a down year for the conference, the race was tighter than usual. Only six games separate first place from last.
Players to Watch: Pepperdine→ OF Jordan Qsar (.268, 11 HR, 59 RBI); OF Matthew Kanfer (.312, 5 HR, 29 RBI); Wil Jensen (0.74 ERA, 48.1 innings)
Gonzaga→ 1B Jake Vieth (.291, 8 HR, 28 RBI); OF Branson Trube (.289, 7 HR, 35 RBI); Daniel Bies (6-4, 2.59 ERA, 104 K, 97.1 innings)
LMU→ 1B Jamey Smart (.280, 4 HR, 44 RBI); Inf. Nick Sogard (.339, 2 HR, 21 RBI); Codie Paiva (6-5, 3.54 ERA, 81.1 innings)
San Francisco→ Inf. Michael Perri (.344, 9 HR, 44 RBI); C Riley Helland (.321, 2 HR, 34 RBI); Riley Ornido (8-4, 2.65 ERA, 91.2 innings)
Who will win?: It is going to be a complete dog fight this weekend in Stockton, California. Nobody stands as the clear favorite. If I had to choose one team though it would be Gonzaga. They have three starters with sub-three ERA and an experienced lineup. They have qualified for the tournament the last three years and finished as the runner-up last season.
