Davis, Calif. — UC Davis guard Elijah Pepper was named to the Big West Preseason Coaches' Team for the third time in his career, as announced by conference officials today (Oct. 19). In a vote by the coaches within the conference, Pepper, the All-Big West First Team selection from a year ago enters the 2023-24 season as one of the most well-rounded players in all of college basketball after averaging 22.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 5.9 rebounds per game last season.
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In the team polls, the Aggies were slotted to finish 5th by the coaches with UC Santa Barbara claiming the top spot in the poll. The Gauchos received nine first-place votes and 92 points in polling for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Long Beach State tallied the remaining two first-place votes and 82 points while Hawai'i (80 points) and UC Irvine (75 points) settled in as the remaining teams ahead of the Aggies in the third and fourth-place slots. UC Davis received 69 points.
Rounding out the slots six through 11 in the poll in descending order were Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside, Cal State Bakersfield, UC San Diego, CSUN, and Cal Poly.
The Aggies finished sixth last season in the Big West standings and reached the quarterfinals of the Big West Championship. Further insight provided by the Big West can be watched through their preview show which airs at 1:00 p.m. PT today on ESPN+
Pepper and the Aggies will open the season on November 6 against Jessup University, as UC Davis hosts the Warriors at 6:00 p.m. PT inside the University Credit Union.
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
|
|
JoVon McClanahan
|
Senior
|
Guard
|
Hawai'i
|
|
Ajay Mitchell
|
Junior
|
Guard
|
UC Santa Barbara
|
|
Elijah Pepper
|
Senior
|
Guard
|
UC Davis
|
|
Bryce Pope
|
Senior
|
Guard
|
UC San Diego
|
|
Aboubacar Traore
|
Junior
|
Forward
|
Long Beach State
|
|
Lassina Traore
|
Junior
|
Forward
|
Long Beach State
|
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