Big West Releases 2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Polls

IRVINE, Calif. – The 2023-24 Big West Conference preseason men's basketball coaches' poll was announced Thursday, Oct. 19 at 11 a.m. PT. Heading into their fourth year in the league, the Roadrunners have been predicted to finish eighth in the conference standings.

The Big West Men's Basketball Preview Show [espn.com] will air on ESPN+ later that day at 1 p.m. PT. Furthermore, the full coach interviews with Chloe Clark will be available on The Big West YouTube channel [youtube.com] on Wednesday as well.

Rod Barnes' led squad was voted to finish 8^th place for the second year in a row. The Roadrunners made it to the second round of the Big West Tournament last season. Looking to bounce back this season after an injury riddled 2022-23 season, the `Runners retooled with six newcomers in Corey Stephenson, Jaden Alexander, Cameron Wilbon, Kadar Waller, and former CSUN forward Fidelis Okereke.

The Big West coaches, who were unable to vote for their own student-athletes, selected a six-man Preseason All-Big West Team. No `Runners received enough votes to land a spot and earn preseason honors.

The full results of the poll are below.

The `Runners are preparing to kick off the 2023-24 season at home versus Southern Utah.

Season Tickets are on sale now at GoRunners.com/Tickets and those who cannot attend games in person can watch the `Runners live on ESPN+ and the ESPN family of networks. Bakersfield will also play Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 10 in a Spectrum SportsNet televised game.

2023-24 Big West Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank	Institution	Points

1.	UC Santa Barbara	92 (9)
2.	Long Beach State	82 (2)
3.	Hawai'i	80
4.	UC Irvine	75
5.	UC Davis	69
6.	Cal State Fullerton	58
7.	UC Riverside	45
8.	Cal State Bakersfield	36
9.	UC San Diego	31
10.	CSUN	18
11.	Cal Poly	12

First-place votes in parentheses

2023-24 All-Big West Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Team

Student-Athlete	Year	Position	Institution	Hometown

JoVon McClanahan	Sr.	Guard	Hawai'i	Vallejo, Calif.
Ajay Mitchell	Jr.	Guard	UC Santa Barbara	Ans, Belgium
Elijah Pepper	Sr.	Guard	UC Davis	Selah, Wash.
Bryce Pope	Sr.	Guard	UC San Diego	San Diego, Calif.
Aboubacar Traore	Jr.	Forward	Long Beach State	Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire
Lassina Traore	Jr.	Forward	Long Beach State	Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire

~GoRunners.com~

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Players Mentioned

#12 Kadar Waller: G; 5' 11"; Junior

#24 Corey Stephenson: G/F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#23 Fidelis Okereke: F; 6' 6"; Junior

#22 Cameron Wilbon: G; 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior

#25 Jaden Alexander: G/F; 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Players Mentioned

#12 Kadar Waller
: 5' 11"; Junior
: G

#24 Corey Stephenson
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: G/F

#23 Fidelis Okereke
: 6' 6"; Junior
: F

#22 Cameron Wilbon
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#25 Jaden Alexander
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Freshman
: G/F