Following an offseason of early departures and graduation losses, WSU coach David Riley and the Cougs have landed a team with nine newcomers: Four from the transfer portal, four true freshmen and one veteran international import. That group will join three key returners – guard Tomas Thrastarson, wing Rihards Vavers and forward ND Okafor – in taking on the Cougars’ second and final season as affiliate members of the WCC before the rebuilt Pac-12 launches next year.

As teammates around her departed this past offseason, Eleonora Villa chose to stay in Pullman, and her leadership and vast skillset should have a huge impact for Cougars.

Forgive Washington State women’s basketball coach Kamie Ethridge if it seems like she was in the same position at the start of the season a year ago.

Last year’s Eastern Washington men’s basketball team was young, with four first- or second-year players shouldering significant minutes. It wasn’t ideal.

Entering its fifth year under head coach Joddie Gleason and associate head coach Skip Gleason, the Eastern Washington women’s basketball team is decidedly a Gleason-recruited team.

In season three of his tenure as Idaho’s basketball coach, Alex Pribble’s plan for the Vandals is to put it all together.

A year ago, the Idaho team Arthur Moreira hoped he would have did not quite fit his picture for the team he did have. Nonetheless, the Vandals adjusted on the fly. With 13 new players, they figured out their strengths and posted an 18-12 record before losing to Montana in the Big Sky Conference tournament. This year, Moreira sees the picture coming into sharp focus.

For the third straight year, the Whitworth men’s basketball team will need to regroup after losing its top two scorers from the previous season.

Last season, with almost an entirely new roster, was a year of rebuilding and growth – albeit with its fair share of growing pains – for Whitworth’s women’s basketball. Fourth-year head coach Kenny Love hopes the takeaways from that year will pay off for the Pirates this upcoming season.