ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - California State University San Bernardino women's basketball has been picked to finish sixth as the California Collegiate Athletic Association announced its Preseason Coaches Poll on Friday morning.
 
Cal Poly Pomona collected 190 points and eight first-place votes to narrowly edge defending CCAA Tournament champion Cal State LA. The Golden Eagles received the other six first-place votes and finished just four points behind the Broncos with 186.
Chico State was selected third with 159 points, followed by Cal Poly Humboldt (140) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (134). Cal State San Bernardino was picked sixth with 119 points, while Cal State East Bay followed with 111.
 
Cal State Monterey Bay (97), Cal State San Marcos (88) and new CCAA member Menlo College (65) occupied spots 8-10. Fellow newcomer Fresno Pacific was just one point behind Menlo with 64, followed by UC Merced (52), San Francisco State (41) and Stanislaus State (24).
 
Cal State San Bernardino was selected sixth after going 10-12 in CCAA play and 12-15 overall last season. Dario Frias returns to the Coyotes as CSUSB's first-year head coach after previously serving as an assistant from 2013 to 2016. The 2026-27 squad will feature eight returners, including CCAA All-Conference Honorable Mention Jaushlynn Ruffin, and six newcomers, including 2025-26 CCAA Second Team All-Conference honoree MilaSarai Tau, who comes to CSUSB from Stanislaus State.
 
The 2026-27 women's basketball season gets underway in November, with CCAA play beginning Thursday, Dec. 3. The conference schedule will feature 14 teams for the first time, and the CCAA Tournament will also expand from six to seven teams this season. The 2027 championship will be played March 3-6 at Coussoulis Arena in San Bernardino. The top two seeds will receive byes into the semifinals.