2021 WCC Preseason Poll and Team Announced

FROM PRESS RELEASE

SAN MATEO, Calif. – Pepperdine received six first-place votes to earn top billing in 2021 WCC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Waves tallied 78 points in the annual poll and were one of four teams to receive a first-place vote. Gonzaga found itself at the top on two ballots and finished second overall with 67 points while San Diego (63 points) and BYU (50) each received one first-place vote and were third and fourth, respectively.

LMU and San Francisco finished tied for fifth with 40 points apiece while Portland (38), Santa Clara (30), Saint Mary’s (29) and Pacific (15) round out the preseason prognostication.

The coaches poll and preseason All-WCC team were selected solely by a vote of the conference’s 10 head coaches. Coaches cannot vote for their own teams and student-athletes.

The 2020 baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic and no WCC champion was crowned. BYU won the 2019 regular season title while LMU won the tournament in 2019. Gonzaga was picked first in the 2020 preseason poll.

The All-WCC Preseason Team, which includes 10 position players and five pitchers, features four returning players from the 2020 preseason squad: San Diego catcher Shane McGuire, Portland infielder Chad Stevens, Gonzaga short stop Ernie Yake and Gonzaga pitcher Alex Jacob. Those four also earned All-WCC recognition following the 2019 season, with Jacob and Stevens nabbing first-team honors, Yake receiving a second-team nod and McGuire being named honorable mention.

Pepperdine and Portland lead the way with four preseason honorees each while San Diego placed three on the preseason team, Gonzaga two, LMU one and Pacific one.