SAN BRUNO, Calif. — As just announced by West Coast Conference Commissioner Stu Jackson, the WCC will be adding a 10th member for the 2027-28 academic year, as UC San Diego will be joining the Gaels and eight other WCC conference members. UC San Diego will join following the departure of Gonzaga and affiliate members Oregon State and Washington State, who will all be playing in their final season as WCC members in 2025-26. This will leave the WCC as a nine team conference for just one season before the Tritons join to restore the league to 10. 

Located a little less than 10 miles north of fellow WCC member the University of San Diego, UCSD became an NCAA Division I institution in the 2020-21 academic year. Prior to that, the Tritons competed in the NCAA Division II ranks for two decades, and were widely regarded as one of the best programs in the DII ranks, appearing in 222 NCAA Division II National Tournaments, and winning three. UCSD currently sponsors 24 sports, 15 of which are sponsored by the WCC. One year ago, the Tritons received national recognition when their men's basketball team won 30 games and made the NCAA Tournament in their first year eligible. Their baseball team won the Big West in 2023, but was not eligible for postseason at the time, and their women's basketball team won the Big West and made their first DI NCAA Tournament this past year. 

With the addition of UCSD, the WCC will now have four Southern California teams (San Diego, UC San Diego, LMU and Pepperdine), four Northern California teams (Santa Clara, San Francisco, Saint Mary's, and Pacific and two Pacific Northwest schools (Portland and Seattle U). 

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