Irvine, CA—The Big West released its Preseason Men's Basketball Poll Wednesday afternoon, and conference media members picked the Highlanders to finish in fifth place for the 2015-16 season. They also named UC Riverside seniors Taylor Johns and Jaylen Bland to the six-player Preseason All-Conference Team.
Johns and Bland are the top returning scoring duo in the Big West after averaging a combined 31.5 points per game a year ago. Johns was named to the All-Conference First-Team last season after finishing third in the league in scoring, second in rebounding, first in blocked shots, 12th in field goal percentage and 11th in steals. This year, if he matches his scoring average from a season ago, he will graduate from UC Riverside as the leading scorer in the history of the program.
Bland earned All-Conference Second Team honors a year ago, as he finished the season ranked seventh in the Big West in scoring, first in made three-pointers, 15th in rebounding and fourth in steals. His 95 made three-pointers were the second most in the history of the program.
Last year, the Highlanders won the second most games, and the second most conference games, in their Division I history, and they return four starters from the 2014-15 squad.
Media members tabbed UC Irvine as the overall favorite to claim the conference title, as they received 19 of the 23-first-place votes. UC Santa Barbara finished second in the poll and had two first-place nods, while Hawai'i was picked third, and Long Beach State came in fourth. Cal Poly collected the other two first place votes and finished in sixth, followed by CSUN and UC Davis in a tie for seventh and Cal State Fullerton in ninth.
| 2015-16 Media Poll Results |
| Team | 1st Place Votes | Points |
| 1 | UC Irvine | 19 | 198 |
| 2 | UC Santa Barbara | 2 | 161 |
| 3 | Hawai'i | | 133 |
| 4 | Long Beach State | | 128 |
| 5 | UC Riverside | | 120 |
| 6 | Cal Poly | 2 | 117 |
| 7 | CSUN | | 70 |
| 8 | UC Davis | | 70 |
| 9 | Cal State Fullerton | | 38 |
| Preseason Media All-Conference Team |
| Name | School | Pos | Year |
| Jaylen Bland | UC Riverside | G | Sr. |
| Michael Bryson | UC Santa Barbara | G | Sr. |
| Taylor Johns | UC Riverside | F | Sr. |
| Mamadou Ndiaye | UC Irvine | C | Jr. |
| Luke Nelson | UC Irvine | G | Jr. |
| Aaron Valdes | Hawai'i | G | Jr. |
