Point Loma is the five-time defending Pacific West Conference champion, and at least on paper they are the odds-on favorite to make that six.

The Sea Lions are coaches favorite to win the title in 2026-27, voted on annually by the league’s coaches. Point Loma received eight of the ten first place votes and 98 total poll points. Westmont was second with one first place vote and 88 points.

There is a decent gap between the Sea Lions and Warriors, and the rest of the field. Hawaii Pacific is third with 65 points, Jessup is one digit back at 64, followed by Vanguard (53) in fifth, and Concordia in sixth (49). Tied for seventh is Biola (45) and Chaminade (45), with Hawaii Hilo ninth (31) and Dominican in tenth (11).

Point Loma won the 2025-26 regular season title, the PacWest tournament championship and reached the NCAA Division II West Region final where their season ended against unbeaten CSU East Bay. Coach Justin Downer’s team finished 27-6 when all was said and done.

The Sea Lions have two starters back from that team and nine returnees overall. The starters are Third Team All-PacWest picks Tyce Paulsen and Andrew Hommes. Downer also picked up four solid transfers in Kaden Minter (Concordia), Marcellus Edwards (Concordia), Otto Landrum (Boston), and Jaden Karuletwa (Arkansas). Minter was a Second Team All-PacWest selection last year for the Golden Eagles.
Those new pieces will attempt to cover the loss of PacWest Player of the Year Andrew Nagy.

Westmont reached the PacWest title game a year ago under Justin Leslie, a first-year coach for the Warriors but long a coach at the Division II level including at Azusa Pacific. Westmont would finish in second place in the conference and Leslie would be named the PacWest Coach of the Year.

The Warriors return four starters including Aidan Mandel (Sr., 6-8, Forward, All-PacWest Second Team). Leslie has 13 returnees overall and added transfers Joe Ofori (Biola), Pasha Shemirani (Pepperdine).

Hawaii Pacific, who finished third in the conference last year, lands in the same slot in the preseason poll. Last year, under head coach Jesse Nakanishi, the Sharks reached the conference semifinals and qualified for the NCAA tournament.

Nakanishi will be in a bit of a rebuild, with just one starter back in Avi Halpert. He has six returnees overall but added a batch of newcomers with six transfers including Evan Kilminster from USC-Beaufort, a Second Team All-Peach Belt selection.
 
Jessup might have been the surprise of 2025-26, tying for fourth in the conference. They are picked to finish fourth this year, one poll point behind Westmont. Head Coach Mark Darnell has three starters back from that team and also returns the PacWest Freshman of the Year in Tom Parsons. Darnell also has back his leading scorer from last year in Cayden McDaniel, but the Warriors graduated the PacWest Defensive Player of the Year, Andre Norris.
 
Fifth in the poll is Vanguard (53 points). The Lions were 16-13 last year under veteran coach Rhett Soliday, now in his 16^th season. The Lions return two starters and eight returnees overall but graduated the PacWest’s leading scorer in Erik Howlin. Soliday will replenish with five transfers, four of them from the Division II or I levels.
 
In sixth is Concordia, under first-year coach Scott Clark, replaces Ken Ammann who was at the Concordia helm for 25 years.  Clark inherits one starter in Radek Homer and just five returnees overall. But the Golden Eagles will reload with eight transfers, including three from the Division I level.
 
Biola and Chaminade tied for seventh with 45 poll points. Biola, directed by Dr. Dave Holmquist, entering his 49th season with an astounding record of 1095-462. The Eagles had three starters back and seven returnees, and will help bolster that group with five transfers, including three from Division I. Chaminade, under 16^th year head coach Eric Bovaird, is rebuilding with just three players back but they have eight transfers on the roster.
 
Hawaii Hilo is in the ninth spot. Head coach Kaniela Aiona, in his seventh season, has three starters back. Dominican is tenth, with a new coach in Greg Rahn. The Penguins will rebuild with nine transfer.

The official tip-off of the 2026-27 season begins Oct. 30-Nov. 1 with the Hawaii Tip-Off Classic. All teams will be underway by the following weekend, with conference play beginning Dec. 3. The PacWest tournament will be held in La Mirada this year with Biola hosting, March 4-6.