IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West announced its preseason men's basketball coaches' poll and preseason team on Thursday morning, as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches. Defending Big West Champion UC San Diego was selected to finish fourth in the conference in the preseason survey of head coaches.
Last year, the Tritons posted an 18-2 conference record on the way to the program's first Big West regular season title. UC San Diego then captured the conference tournament title and appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time in program history.
New Tritons head coach
Clint Allard '08 will discuss the upcoming season on Friday morning as part of The Big West's Basketball Preview on The Field of 68 with Jeff Goodman and Richie Schueler. Allard is scheduled to appear at approximately 11:15 am PDT, with the interview available on-demand following the show.
UC San Diego basketball season tickets are available online by logging on to
UCSDTritons.com/tickets, by calling (858) 534-1430, or by visiting the Triton Box Office in the Price Center on the UC San Diego campus between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, e-mail the box office at
triton-tix@ucsd.edu.
The full 2025-26 Big West Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and Preseason Coaches' Team run below.
2025-26 BIG WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
| No. |
School |
Pts. (First Place) |
| 1. |
UC Irvine |
98 (8) |
| 2. |
UC Santa Barbara |
93 (3) |
| 3. |
Hawai'i |
76 |
| 4. |
UC San Diego |
69 |
| 5. |
CSUN |
63 |
| 6. |
UC Davis |
58 |
| 7. |
Cal Poly |
54 |
| 8. |
Long Beach State |
31 |
| 9. |
UC Riverside |
26 |
| 10. |
Cal State Bakersfield |
20 |
| 11. |
Cal State Fullerton |
17 |
2025-26 BIG WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' TEAM
| Player |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
| Jurian Dixon |
UC Irvine |
So. |
G |
| Mahmoud Fofana |
CSUN |
Sr. |
F |
| Jason Fontenet II |
UC Santa Barbara |
Jr. |
G |
| Andre Henry |
UC Irvine |
Gr. |
G |
| Aidan Mahaney |
UC Santa Barbara |
Sr. |
G |
| Gytis Nemeiksa |
Hawai'i |
Sr. |
F |
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
