Predicting WCC award winners, will Graham Ike finally win Player of the Year?

Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs are a perfect 5-0 to begin conference play in what is the program's final season as members of the West Coast Conference.

Gonzaga has dominated the WCC over the past quarter-century, although the last few years have belonged to Randy Bennett and the Saint Mary's Gaels. The Zags would love nothing more than to ride off into the Pac-12 with one more WCC regular season and conference tournament, championship under their belts.

Saint Mary's, meanwhile, would love to secure a third straight regular season title under coach Bennett, and it is once again shaping up to be quite the battle between the two powerhouse programs, who both remain undefeated in league play.

That's not to say teams like Santa Clara, San Francisco, LMU, and newcomer Seattle can't play spoiler at or near the top of the standings, with plenty of talented players and coaches sprinkled throughout the WCC this season.

The WCC gives out six end of the season awards - Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Sixth Man of the Year - and Gonzaga is in great position to secure a handful of awards before jettisoning to the Pac-12 along with Oregon State and Washington State ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Below are predictions for who will win each major WCC award now that we are past the halfway point of the season and about one-third of the way into conference play:

Player of the Year: Graham Ike - Gonzaga

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike (15). | Photo by Erik Smith

The WCC denied Graham Ike the conference Player of the Year award each of his first two seasons at Gonzaga, mostly because the Zags finished second in the standings behind Saint Mary's. Augustas Marciulionis is no longer in Moraga, but it's safe to say Paulius Murauskas will likely win this award if he keeps playing well and leads Saint Mary's to another regular-season title.

However, Gonzaga seems well-equipped to handle Saint Mary's this year, and if they end up winning the regular season, Ike should finally get his due. The 6'9 big man is tied with teammate Braden Huff for second in the WCC in points per game at 17.8 behind Murauskas, and he's second in rebounds per game at 8.6 behind SMC center Andrew McKeever.

Ike is also second in the conference in FG%, and recently put up a monstrous 34-point, 11-rebound performance against Santa Clara to lead the Zags to a comfortable 12-point win and secure is conference-leading tenth double-double.

This award feels very likely to come down to Ike and Murauskas, and could be determined by whichever team finishes atop the standings.

Coach of the Year: Mark Few - Gonzaga

Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few. | Photo by Myk Crawford

Speaking of awards that are likely to be determined by the league standings, the WCC Coach of the Year will likely be stationed in either Spokane or Moraga. Randy Bennett has won this award four years in a row, and while there could be some voter fatigue, it would be hard to deny him if the Gaels once again finish higher than the Zags in league play.

However, an 18-0 or 17-1 record by Gonzaga in their final go-round in the WCC should - keyword should - net coach Few what would be his 15th WCC Coach of the Year award.

Herb Sendek at Santa Clara will be in the mix as well if the Broncos stay hot, while newcomer Chris Victor is a name to keep an eye on if they garner some momentum down the stretch.

Newcomer of the Year: Tyon Grant-Foster - Gonzaga

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Tyon Grant-Foster (7). | Photo by Myk Crawford

Gonzaga won't sweep all the WCC awards, but it's hard to find a more deserving candidate for Newcomer of the Year than Grant-Foster, who has been a major weapon for the Zags on both ends of the floor this year.

The 6'7 wing is averaging 11.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 58.8% on two-point attempts in a reserve role for the Zags, and his play has improved dramatically since conference play began.

While there are higher scoring transfers at other programs - like Ty-Laur Johnson at San Diego and Rodney Brown at LMU - this award typically goes to a player on one of the top 2-3 teams in the league, and Grant-Foster is the best newcomer among those teams both statistically and in terms of on-court impact.

Freshman of the Year: Joel Foxwell - Portland

Portland’s Joel Foxwell, right, shoots over Oregon’s Wei Lin during the first half at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene Dec. 17, 2025. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Saint Mary's is the team that gets most of the attention for their Australian imports, but Shantay Legans has also done a tremendous job recruiting in the land down under. Joel Foxwell came to the bluff expected to be a bench player in year one, and instead is one of just five players in the country averaging 14 or more points and seven or more assists on the year.

The point guard has won five WCC Freshman of the Week awards already, and is the favorite to take home this honor over a great scoring guard at Washington State in Ace Glass III, and of course Gonzaga's star freshman guard Mario Saint-Supery.

Defensive Player of the Year: Will Heimbrodt - Seattle

Jan 2, 2026; Spokane, Washington, USA; Seattle U Redhawks forward Will Heimbrodt (15). | James Snook-Imagn Images

Heimbrodt is the anchor of what has been an outstanding defense for coach Chris Victor and Seattle U. The Redhawks rank No. 50 at KenPom in adjusted defensive efficiency, and have held 16 of 18 opponents under 80 points - with only Gonzaga (80 in OT) and Saint Mary's (93) above that threshold.

Heimbrodt is far and away the best shot blocker in the conference, even at 6'7, with his 46 total blocks and 2.7 blocks per game well ahead of WSU center ND Okafor, who sits at 30 and 1.7, respectively.

The junior is also averaging 1.2 steals and is a darling in the advanced metrics, and would be well deserving of this award as the best defensive player on what has been a surprisingly excellent squad for Seattle in year one of the WCC.

Sixth Man of the Year: Allen Graves - Santa Clara

Jan 8, 2026; Spokane, Washington, USA; Santa Clara Broncos forward Allen Graves (22). | James Snook-Imagn Images

If Grant-Foster does not win Newcomer of the Year, and if he continues to come off the bench for Gonzaga, he would be the heavy favorite to win this award. He could win both - it's not unprecedented - but if the league looks elsewhere, then Santa Clara's 6'9 big man Allen Graves is a great choice.

Graves is averaging 9.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, along with 2.0 steals, 1.9 assists, and 0.9 blocks in just 22.1 minutes - making him one of the most productive players in the league on a per-minute basis.

Graves was the best player on the floor for the Broncos against Gonzaga last week, and gets the nod over a few other great scorers who have pinballed in and out of the starting lineup this year, including LMU's MJ Amey and San Francisco's David Fuchs.

Other honorable mentions for this award include Gonzaga's entire bench - namely Jalen Warley and Mario Saint-Supery - as well as Toneari Lane at San Diego and Legend Smiley at San Francisco.

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