The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) men's basketball coaches have selected Chico State as the favorites in the 2023-24 conference's preseason poll.
 
The Wildcats received 133 points and seven first-place votes. Cal State San Bernardino placed second with 122 points and three first-place votes. Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State East Bay tied for third with 106 points. The Pioneers also received a first-place vote.
 
The next four spots went to Cal State Dominguez Hills (80), San Francisco State (77), Cal State San Marcos (73) and Cal State LA (69). The Golden Eagles collected the remaining first-place vote. The final four spots in the poll went to Stanislaus State (51), Sonoma State (51), Cal State Monterey Bay (48) and Cal Poly Humboldt (20).

2023-24 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
Chico State (7)	133
Cal State San Bernardino (3)	122
Cal Poly Pomona	106
Cal State East Bay (1)	106
Cal State Dominguez Hills	80
San Francisco State	77
Cal State San Marcos	73
Cal State LA (1)	69
Stanislaus State	51
Sonoma State	51
Cal State Monterey Bay	48
Cal Poly Humboldt	20
First-place votes in paranthesis

 

Chico State finished below .500 last season (13-16, 10-12 CCAA) with a young squad. They came together late in the year to earn the No. 6 seed in the CCAA Tournament and a first-round upset win. The Wildcats will return five of its top 6 scorers, including CCAA Freshman of the Year JoJo Murphy (15.7 ppg), CCAA All-Tournament selection Evan Oliver (11.7 ppg, 2.0 spg), along with All-CCAA honorable mention selections Joshua Hamilton (11.8 ppg, .822 ft%) and Kelvin Wright Jr. (9.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg).
 
Cal State San Bernardino reached the NCAA semifinals last season with a school record of 31 wins (31-4, 20-2 CCAA). It won the CCAA regular season, tournament titles, and the NCAA West Regional. All-CCAA selection Robby Robinson (8.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg) will be the only returning starter for the Yotes, who also have a new coaching staff. Intraconference transfers Jalen Flanagan (SFSU), Chris Mitchell (CPP), and Bryce Mitchell (HUM) will also join the team.
 
The coaches are expecting Cal Poly Pomona to bounce back in 2023-24 after a down year last season when it finished 12-14 (9-13). The Broncos will bring back five underclassmen, who all saw significant minutes last season. Shyheim Parm (10.9 ppg, 1.7 spg), Jaden Winfield (9.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Derrick Claxton (8.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Chris Gayles (8.3 ppg), and Caleb Nelson (7.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg) all averaged at least seven points as sophomores or younger.
 
Cal State East Bay is another team the coaches are expecting to climb in the standings. The Pioneers just missed out on the CCAA Tournament as they were edged in a tiebreaker on the final day and finished at 12-16 (10-12 CCAA). First team All-CCAA forward Grady Lewis is back after averaging 14.0 points (.613 fg%) and 6.8 rebounds as a freshman. CSUEB also returns six student-athletes who started at least eight games, including second and third-leading scorers Dimitrios Klonaras (11.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Chris James (8.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg).
 
Five of the top 6 leading scorers return for Cal State Dominguez Hills (12-16, 8-14 CCAA). All-CCAA selections DJ Guest (13.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Jordan Hilstock (10.4 ppg, .387 3pt%) return on the wings. Andre Ball (10.9 ppg), David Cheatom (9.1 ppg), and Jeremy Dent-Smith (6.3 ppg) will provide depth after each saw action in over 20 games last season.
 
San Francisco State put together one of its best seasons, claiming the No. 3 seed in the CCAA Tournament (16-13, 12-10 CCAA). The Gators went 9-4 at home and won seven of their last eight regular-season games. Starting center Jonah Roth (10.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and point guard CJ Bellamy (6.4 ppg) return this season for SF State.
 
Cal State San Marcos will have a new starting lineup and coaching staff. The Cougars had one of the best seasons in the program's history last year with 20 wins and a No. 2 seed in the CCAA Tournament (20-11, 17-5 CCAA). They reached the NCAA Regional semifinals with an upset of Azusa Pacific, and they did not lose a game after Feb. 23 to a team other than CSUSB.
 
Cal State LA is expected to have three All-CCAA selections in their starting lineup with the return of Shane Bell (13.0 ppg, 3.0 apg) and Dominic Escobar (12.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and the addition of SF State transfer Eche Okeke (11.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg).
 
Sonoma State and Stanislaus State tied for ninth with 51 points. Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal Poly Humboldt complete the lists. The Lumberjacks also have a new coaching staff.
 
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The 2023-24 season will begin on Friday, Nov. 10. The teams will try to earn one of the six bids to the CCAA Men's Basketball Tournament starting Thursday, Mar. 7, in San Bernardino. For more information, click here.