In a very close vote, Cal State Dominguez Hills edged out Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State LA to be named the favorites in the 2024-25 CCAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
The Toros earned 136 points and six first-place votes to earn the nod as the conference’s preseason favorites. Cal State San Bernardino collected four first-place votes and finished second with 131 points. The remaining two first-place votes went to Cal State LA, who finished third with 129 points.
 

2024-25 CCAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Cal State Dominguez Hills (6)	136
Cal State San Bernardino (4)	131
Cal State LA (2)	129
Chico State	94
Cal State East Bay	85
San Francisco State	82
Cal Poly Pomona	74
Sonoma State	57
Cal Poly Humboldt	41
Cal State San Marcos	39
Cal State Monterey Bay	37
Stanislaus State	31
(First-place votes in parathesis)

Chico State came in fourth in the poll with 94 points. The Wildcats were followed by Cal State East Bay (85), San Francisco State (82), and Cal Poly Pomona (74). Sonoma State collected 57 points to rank eighth. The next four spots went to Cal Poly Humboldt (41), Cal State San Marcos (39), Cal State Monterey Bay (37), and Stanislaus State (31).
 
Cal State Dominguez Hills was the 2023-24 CCAA regular season co-champions after posting a 17-5 conference record (22-8 overall). The Toros will return the CCAA Player of the Year Jeremy Dent-Smith (17.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .468 fg%) along with five other letterwinners, including All-CCAA selections Alex Garcia (8.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and DJ Guest (7.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg). CSUDH was just ranked No. 12 in the NABC Div. II preseason poll.
 
Last year, Cal State San Bernardino shared the 2023-24 CCAA regular season championship, matching CSUDH’s 17-5 record. It reached the CCAA Tournament title game and won the NCAA West Regional for the second consecutive season. The Coyotes will have just one starter from that regional championship team (Evan Guillory) but will still have an experienced squad as coach Gus Argenal turned to the transfer portal to complete his roster, which includes All-CCAA selections Charlie Henderson (Cal State San Marcos), Andrew Henderson (Sonoma State) and Evan Oliver (Chico State).
 
Cal State LA put together one of the program’s best seasons in 2023-24, winning their first CCAA Tournament Championship and the right to host the NCAA West Regional. The Golden Eagles finished the season 24-8 (16-6 CCAA), and they will bring back three All-CCAA selections from that team; Shane Bell (12.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, .506 fg%), Corey Cofield (12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, .491 fg%) and Dominic Escobar (10.4 ppg, .425 3fg%). Last year, LA led the CCAA in scoring with 78.0 ppg.
 
Chico State reached the NCAA Regional semifinal last year before finishing the season at 21-9 (15-7 CCAA). The Wildcats were picked fourth in the preseason poll, the same place it finished last year in the standings. Chico will have to replace three graduating all-conference selections, but they will bring back the 2022-23 CCAA Freshman of the Year JoJo Murphy (10.7 ppg, .404 3fg%).
 
Cal State East Bay went 19-11 last season and 14-8 in the CCAA. The Pioneers earned a win in the CCAA to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2020.  Payden White (5.2 ppg) and Tyree Campbell (12.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, .458 fg%) return as starters for a CSUEB team that led the CCAA in field goal percentage last season (.467).
 
San Francisco State will be looking to qualify for the CCAA Tournament for the third straight season and seventh in the last nine years. The Gators put together a 17-14 record last year and edged out Sonoma State for the final spot in the CCAA Tournament with an 11-11 conference record. Leading scorer and rebounder Jailen Daniel-Dalton (11.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg) will be one of four starters back for SF State. He will be joined by CJ Bellamy (4.8 ppg, 1.9 apg), Caleb Oden (7.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Tyjean Burrell (10.1 ppg). Donovan Cooks (5.9 ppg) and Devon Jackson (5.3 ppg) also have experience as starters.
 
The coaches expect Cal Poly Pomona to move up in the standings this season. After tying for eighth last year (10-16, 9-13 CCAA), the Broncos were selected seventh in the preseason poll. They will bring back three starters from that team: Caleb Nelson (4.1 ppg, 5.4 RPG), Michael Ofoegbu (7.9 ppg, 3.9 RPG), and Jaden Winfield (9.3 ppg, 4.0 RPG).
 
Sonoma State claimed the eighth spot in the 2024-25 preseason poll after going 15-13 (11-11 CCAA) last season. The Seawolves made a late push to the CCAA Tournament, winning six of their previous eight games, but fell short due to a tiebreaker. Julian Bryant (9.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg) is the lone starter returning for the Seawolves.
 
Cal Poly Humboldt (41), Cal State San Marcos (39), Cal State Monterey Bay (37), and Stanislaus State (31) complete the list of the 2024-25 CCAA men’s basketball preseason poll.
 
Follow CCAA games throughout the season through FloCollege at GoCCAA.org/FloCollege. Packages start at just $9.95 per month. Sign up today to support your favorite team and student-athletes.
 
The 2024-25 season will begin for a majority of the teams on Friday, Nov. 8. CSUSB will tip its season off a week early on Nov. 1 at the CCA Division II Canadian Tip-Off Classic in Langley, B.C., Canada. The 12 CCAA teams will try to earn one of the six bids to the CCAA Men's Basketball Tournament starting Thursday, Mar. 6, in San Marcos. For more information on the CCAA Basketball Tournament, click here.
 

2024-25 Men's Basketball Watchlist
NAME	YR	POS	SCHOOL
Adam Afifi	Sr.	F	Cal State Dominguez Hills
Shane Bell	Sr.	G	Cal State LA
Tyree Campbell	Jr.	F	Cal State East Bay
Corey Cofield	Sr.	F	Cal State LA
Jailen Daniel-Dalton	Sr.	F	San Francisco State
Jeremy Dent-Smith	Jr.	G	Cal State Dominguez Hills
Rob Diaz	So.	G	Cal Poly Humboldt
Dominic Escobar	Sr.	G	Cal State LA
Andrew Henderson	Sr.	G	Cal State San Bernardino
Evan Oliver	Sr.	G	Cal State San Bernardino