BYU Women’s Basketball Picked First In 2021-22 WCC Preseason Poll

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball is the favorite to win the West Coast Conference in 2021-22.

On Wednesday, the WCC coaches released their preseason poll and tabbed Jeff Judkins’ squad as the preseason pick to take home the title.

NO. 1 PRE-SEASON and not 1, not 2, but 3 players on the ALL-WCC
PRE-SEASON TEAM 😤 Stay tuned Cougs, this team is doing BIG things this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/fuHg9oiN5z

— BYU Women’s Hoops (@byuwbb) October 13, 2021

BYU brings back a potential Top 25 team led by Shaylee Gonzales, Lauren Gustin, and Paisley Harding. All three players were selected as First Team All-WCC selections.

Last year’s BYU team finished second in the WCC with a 13-3 league record in the regular season, and a heartbreaking loss in the WCC Tournament Championship game to Gonzaga. Despite the loss in the conference tournament, BYU received an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament and was able to win a game, taking down No. 6 seed Rutgers in the first round, before falling to National Runner-Up Arizona 52-46.

.@byuwbb grabbed that 🔝 spot in the #WCChoops coaches poll pic.twitter.com/0sEWkQ6YVl

— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) October 13, 2021

BYU landed eight of the ten first-place votes from WCC coaches. Coaches can’t vote for their own team, so Judkins and one other WCC coach voted for Gonzaga with the two other first-place votes.

BYU opens the 2021-22 season against Lipscomb at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, November 9. The Cougars have a non-conference schedule that features six games against Power Five opponents, with two of those teams coming to the Marriott Center.

BYU Women’s Basketball picked No. 1 in WCC preseason Coaches Poll

1. BYU (8 first-place votes)

2. Gonzaga (2)

3. San Diego

4. San Francisco

5. Portland

6. Santa Clara

7. Saint Mary’s

8. LMU

9. Pepperdine

10. Pacific

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.