SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- For the second straight year, the San Diego Toreros were picked to win the 2017 West Coast Conference Championship in the preseason poll of the WCC's 10 head coaches. The Toreros earned five of nine possible first-place votes and 77 overall points in the poll. 
 
Gonzaga, which shared a portion of the 2016 regular season title en route to the first at-large NCAA Regional berth in program history was tabbed second with 73 points, including three first-place votes. 
 
Winners of two of the last three WCC Tournament Championships, Pepperdine, earned 63 points and picked up two first place votes to sit in third place. BYU shared the 2016 regular season title and tallied 59 points in preseason balloting, good for fourth place overall. 
 
Saint Mary's made history last season, winning a share of the first regular season WCC title in program history and won the WCC Tournament for the first time en route to the program's inaugural NCAA Regional appearance. The Gaels were tabbed fifth with 49 points, followed by Bay Area rival San Francisco in sixth place with 40 points. 
 
Loyola Marymount (37), Pacific (21), Santa Clara (20) and Portland (13) round out the poll.
 
The new-look Pilots enter the season with 14 returning letterwinners, who are joined by a sizable group of newcomers. The baseball program welcomed 20 new players to The Bluff, which includes 12 freshmen, two redshirt-freshmen and six JC transfers.
 
Head coach Geoff Loomis returns for his second season at the helm of the program, and he's joined by second-year assistant coaches Gregg Swenson and Jake Valentine. New to the Portland bench is volunteer assistant coach David Tufo, Jr. Loomis is a former stand-out on the diamond for the Pilots, and he still holds the program record for career batting average (.372). He was inducted into the UP Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
 
The Pilots' season opener is barely a week away when they travel to CSUN for a four-game series, which begins on Friday, Feb. 17. The Pilots open their home schedule when they host Northwestern for a four-game non-conference set, which opens on Thursday, March 9 at the Joe Etzel Field. That weekend Portland will also hold its annual Diamond Dinner, scheduled for Saturday night, March 11.
 
The 2017 West Coast Conference Baseball Championship will be held at Banner Island Ballpark May 25-27 in Stockton, Calif.
 
2017 WCC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Vote), Points
1. San Diego (5), 77
2. Gonzaga (3), 73
3. Pepperdine (2), 63
4. BYU, 59
5. Saint Mary's, 49
6. San Francisco, 40
7. Loyola Marymount, 37
8. Pacific, 21
9. Santa Clara, 20
10. Portland, 13
 
2017 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Position Players
Name, Institution, Yr., Pos.
Riley Adams, San Diego, Jr., C
Jeff Bohling, Gonzaga, Sr., OF
Phil Caulfield, Loyola Marymount, Sr., IF
Tyler Frost, Gonzaga, Jr., OF
Nico Giarratano, San Francisco, Sr., IF
Zach Kirtley, Saint Mary's, Jr., IF
Keaton Kringlen, BYU, So., OF
Danny Mayer, Pacific, Jr., OF
Ross Puskarich, San Francisco, Jr., IF
Colton Shaver, BYU, Jr., C
 
2017 All-WCC Preseason Baseball Team – Pitchers
Name, Institution, Yr., Pos.
Eli Morgan, Gonzaga, Jr., RHP
Cameron Neff, Saint Mary's, Sr., RHP
Nick Sprengel, San Diego, So., LHP
Ryan Wilson, Pepperdine, Jr., LHP
Johnny York, Saint Mary's, Sr., LHP