Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship
March 5-12, 2026 – Orleans Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.)

FIRST ROUND
Portland Pilots (13-18, 6-12 WCC) vs. Pepperdine Waves (9-22, 4-14 WCC)
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026
Time: 6:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
Live Coverage Links: Video | Audio
Tickets: WCCSports.com

THIS WEEK
• Portland enters the 2026 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Basketball Championship as the No. 9 seed and faces No. 12 Pepperdine on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The game will be aired on ESPN+ with RRoxy Bernstein and Dan Dickau on the call. Radio coverage will be on PortlandPilots.com with Jason Swygard calling the action.
• The winner advances to Friday's second round game against No. 8 Washington State at 6 p.m. also on ESPN+.
• Friday's winner moves on to Saturday's third round against No. 5 San Francisco.
• The tournament quarterfinals are Sunday, semifinals are Monday and championship game is Tuesday.
• Live coverage links for Portland games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
• Follow @PortlandMBB on Instagram and X for in-game updates.

PILOTS AT THE WCC TOURNAMENT
• Portland is 15-37 all-time at the WCC Championships and 8-17 in Las Vegas.
• Portland won the 1996 WCC Tournament to earn the automatic NCAA bid and were defeated in the finals of the 1995 tournament by Gonzaga, the only two finals appearances in school history.
• UP has reached the semifinals five times, most recently in 2015.
• Last season the Pilots were defeated by Pepperdine in the second round as the Waves won three games and advanced all the way to the semifinals.

FOXWELL'S HISTORIC SEASON HONORED
• Freshman PG Joel Foxwell was named to the All-WCC First Team and WCC All-Freshman Team on Tuesday.
• He joins Greg Anthony (1987) as the only Pilot freshmen to earn first team recognition. Foxwell is the first Portland first team selection since Alec Wintering following the 2015-16 season and just the second honoree in the last 15 years.
• The Melbourne, Australia native's record-breaking campaign on The Bluff included establishing a new single season assists record, setting the UP freshman season and single game scoring records, and matching the school record for assists in a game.
• He currently sits at 202 assists, breaking Wintering's mark of 187 during the 2015-16 season. His 488 points passed Austin Rapp's 2024-25 record of 428 and he is looking to eclipse the 500-point threshold in a season for just the 15th time in school history.
• Foxwell's 35-point effort against Pepperdine on Feb. 18 broke the mark set by Reggie Logan (32 vs. Pacific, Nov. 26, 1976), while his 15 assists versus Santa Clara on Dec. 30 matched the program record set by Tyler Robertson (Dec. 10, 2022 vs. New Orleans).
• Foxwell, Jeremiah Fears (Michigan St.), Josiah Davis (CSUN) and Donovan Dent (UCLA) are the only players in the country with multiple 15-assist games, while he is one of seven players with a 20-point, 15-assist game (vs. Santa Clara). He has eleven 20-point games, four double-doubles and six games with 10 or more assists.
• Foxwell and Northern Colorado's Quinn Denker are the only two players nationally averaging at least 15.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists. Foxwell leads the WCC and ranks ninth nationally in total assists and 15th in assists per game, which will also be a program record. He ranks sixth in the WCC in scoring, while his 17.7 points in league games is No. 3.

BALLISAGER WEBB PROVIDING BOOST
• Senior C Jermaine Ballisager Webb is averaging 8.3 points and 4.0 rebounds and has started the last 13 games. He set a new career high 18 points versus Oregon State and has reached double figures in five of the last seven games. He matched his high in points with 18 in Saturday's win versus San Diego.

INJURY AND ILLNESS IMPACT
• Portland has dealt with numerous injuries and illness. Riley Parker (foot), Timo George (shoulder), NaVaughn Long (hand) and Preston Lee (shoulder) are out for the season, while Carlin Briggs (knee) is still out recovering from offseason surgery.
• Cameron Williams (concussion) was the latest add to the report and has missed the last three games.
• UP was down to eight scholarship players last month and activated grad assistant Sam Noland, who previously played at Pacific Lutheran before joining the staff. He has played in all ten games since.
• Head coach Shantay Legans was added to the injury list with a torn Achilles suffered on Jan. 26 when he was filling in at practice for the shorthanded squad.

A WIN FOR THE AGES
• Portland's upset of No. 6 Gonzaga on Feb. 4 was the highest ranked win in program history (AP Poll), the first against a Top 10 team since 1968 and first win against a ranked opponent dating back to January 9, 2014 when the Pilots defeated No. 22 Gonzaga 82-73 in Portland. It snapped a 24-game losing streak to ranked opponents and 20-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
• Portland defeated No. 8-ranked Oklahoma City (74-63) for the program's only other Top 10 win at the Division I level. The Pilots are 2-34 all-time against Top 10 teams and 0-10 against teams ranked No. 1.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS
• Joel Foxwell has garnered seven WCC Freshman of the Week awards and was named the WCC and Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Feb. 10 after leading the Pilots to wins over Gonzaga and Seattle U.
• Before suffering a season-ending should injury, Timo George was the team's No. 2 scorer (12.5), while his 4.9 rebounds per game were second among WCC freshmen. He reached double figures in 11 of 15 games despite playing just 19.9 minutes per game. George was two field goals made shy of NCAA qualification in FG percentage. His 69.5 percent from the field would rank No. 2 nationally and lead the WCC. He was 7-for-7 from the field with 14 points and four rebounds versus Santa Clara on Dec. 30 before injuring his shoulder on the last play of the first half.
• Dante Censori-Hercules has started nine WCC games, scored the game-winner vs. Seattle U and has reached double figures twice in the last five games.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
• Portland's current roster features players from seven different countries including nine international student-athletes.
• The Australian pipeline continues to flow with four Pilots hailing from Down Under: Riley Parker, James O'Donnell, Carlin Briggs and Joel Foxwell.
• Throughout his five-year tenure with the Pilots, Legans has had nine different Aussies on the roster and 21 total international players from 12 different countries.

LEGANS' LATE SEASON SUCCESS
• Shantay Legans' teams have consistently performed well late in the season throughout his head coaching career. His overall record February 1 or later during his nine seasons is 64-37 (.634).

NATIONAL TEAM DUTY
• Four different players have been regular representatives on their home country's national teams either at the youth or senior level.
• Jermaine Ballisager Webb (Denmark) played on youth national teams from U15 on and represented the Senior National Team this Summer at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers. He averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds over four games as Denmark secured a qualifying spot.
• Timo George (Netherlands) helped the Netherlands U20 National Team to a fourth-place finish at the 2024 FIBA EuroBasket where he averaged 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He also represented the Netherlands at the U18 European Championships in 2023.
• Matúš Hronský (Slovakia) represented Slovakia at the 2021 U20 European Championships where he averaged 15.8 points in five games. Hronský also played for Slovakia's Senior National Team at the 2021 World Cup where he scored eight points in four games.
• Dante Censori-Hercules (Canada) also trained this Summer with the U-19 National Team.

BUILDING A WINNING ROSTER
• The Portland coaching staff focused on building the 2025-26 roster with experienced players from winning programs and Portland's five transfers fit the bill.
• Junior transfers Garrett Nuckolls and Cameron Williams were the top two scorers for Trinity Valley JC, which won the JUCO Division I national title last year.
• Riley Parker was a starter and team captain for St. Francis, which won the Northeast Conference Tournament to reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
• Senior F Matúš Hronský spent three years with Duquesne and played in two NCAA Tournament games in 2024, while sophomore C James O'Donnell was a key contributor for San Francisco, who won 25 games and played in the NIT.
• Additionally, Portland's three true freshmen all played for high level clubs or have national team experience: Timo George prepped at IMG Academy in Florida, Joel Foxwell played with pros in the Australian NBL and NBL1, while Dante Censori-Hercules competed at Hodan Prep, which has multiple alums playing in the NBA.

STAFF UPDATE
• Portland added two new assistant coaches to staff this offseason in Mark Berokoff and Anthony Separovich, while Decclan Mclean was promoted to an assistant coach after serving two years as a graduate assistant.
• Berokoff has more than 400 career wins along and multiple state and national championships as a head coach. He most recently served four years as head coach at NAIA Oklahoma City.  He led Randall University to three national titles and five semifinals in nine years (2012-21) at the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II level while serving as both head coach and athletic director.
• Separovich and Mclean are Australians that have helped solidified a strong pipeline for the Pilots Down Under. Separovich served as the AUSA Hoops Program and Recruiting Director from 2022-25. He was instrumental in recruiting, mentoring and guiding boys and girls players from Australia to earn college scholarships in the U.S. More than 500 student-athletes represented AUSA in AAU Tournaments across the U.S. in 2025. He helped place more than 100 student-athletes at U.S. colleges over the past three years, including a record 50 in 2024.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE (9-22, 4-14 WCC)
• The Waves swept the season series with Portland defeating the Pilots 67-63 in Malibu and 95-87 at the Chiles Center. Pepperdine defeated Washington State 88-79 on Saturday and has won three of their last five games.
• Aaron Clark (15.5) leads four Waves averaging double figures.
• Head coach Ed Schilling is in his second year at the helm.

PORTLAND-PEPPERDINE SERIES HISTORY
Series: PEP leads 71-44
H / A / N: 27-29 / 15-38 / 2-4

WE'RE RIVERBOAT PILOTS, NOT AIRPLANE PILOTS!
• Though a 1935 student contest resulted in the nickname "Chinooks" (after the Native American tribe that inhabited the area, and the largest of the salmon species in the Willamette River), the "Pilots" was chosen by presidential fiat. From that day forward, The Bluff had a new mascot, and he was Wally Pilot.
• When the University changed its name from Columbia University (its earliest sports teams were known as the Cliff dwellers or the Columbias), to the University of Portland in 1935, the name and University had already begun to adapt a more "nautical motif," suitable for a campus site overlooking the Willamette River. At the same time, the Pilot athletic teams became associated with Wally (a stylized riverboat pilot), and the pilot's wheel became the logical logo.
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