In May 2024, Seattle University announced that they would be ending their tenure in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to rejoin the West Coast Conference (WCC) in July 2025. This announcement sparked excitement among members of the Seattle U community, but at the same time there was some uncertainty about what this transition would look like for the institution. Now, over two years since the announcement, Seattle U Athletics has officially completed their first season back in the WCC since leaving the conference almost half a century ago.
“Everyone was excited about that opportunity, because when you are in a new environment, there’s this new standard of performance and competition, and it pushes us to do better,” Women’s Golf Senior Tsara Ralamboarison said.
For many involved with Seattle U Athletics, one of the main things to look forward to with joining the WCC were the changes in travel.
Currently, of the seven full-time member schools in the WAC, three are in Texas, another three are in Utah and one is in California. Due to the geographical diversity, traveling to games or meets was difficult. Athletes would have to balance traveling across time zones for contests while also maintaining their academics and other commitments. Now, in the WCC, the conference consists of schools that are strictly on the West Coast.
“The biggest thing that we were excited for, or at least the players, was the travel. Having teams in Texas, Utah, Arizona, it was pretty tough,” Men’s Basketball Redshirt Sophomore forward Will Heimbrodt said.
This change in geography didn’t only affect the athletes. Now, fans of Seattle U Athletics have the opportunity to watch their favorite team play against familiar schools. Of just over 7,000 total students at Seattle U, 32% of students hail from California, with a large population also coming from the Bay Area. All but two member schools in the WCC (Seattle U and Gonzaga University), are located in California, giving fans, families and alumni opportunities to see Seattle U play in their hometown.
Beginning this year, Seattle U launched a series of WCC Away-Game Receptions which gave opportunities to Seattle U alumni in different states and cities to gather prior to Seattle U games on the road. The first reception came before Seattle U Men’s Soccer took on number 15-ranked San Diego. This was followed by four more events for Men’s Basketball in Spokane, Portland, the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
Another highly anticipated aspect of the WCC was the elevated competition that the athletes would face. Kevin Li, a Junior on the Men’s Golf team, played his first two seasons in the WAC.
“I realized that we are going to stronger conferences, and I told myself I need to be more prepared… We were expecting stronger competitions and facing better teams, and I think that, at least for me, that’s a little extra motivation,” Li said.
Though both the WAC and WCC feature high-level competition, based on national rankings, teams in the WCC are stronger than those in the WAC. For Men’s Basketball, the WCC ranks in the top 10 out of 31 total Division 1 conferences. The WCC also has teams ranked in the top 25 for Men’s Soccer, Men’s Golf and Women’s Golf.
Seattle U made their presence known early in the year. Women’s Soccer boasted an impressive 10-3-6 overall record, proving that they could hold their own in a competitive conference. Senior midfielder Caroline Penner left her mark in the WCC in her final season of collegiate soccer, scoring a conference-leading 17 goals this past season, while being named WCC Offensive Player of the Year, First-team All-WCC, Academic All-WCC, CSC All-American and becoming the first in WCC history to lead the conference in goals in their first season in the conference.
Men’s Basketball also had an impressive showing to kick off their conference debut. The team held an overall record of 21-14, giving the team their first National Invitation Tournament berth since 1957. Though the Redhawks finished in the middle of the pack to conclude the season, the team put up good fights against highly ranked competition, including the likes of Gonzaga, Santa Clara University and Saint Mary’s University (Calif.). Heimbrodt was also named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year after a season where he finished third in the nation for blocks per game and led the conference in total blocks. Senior guard Maleek Arington finished second overall in the conference for steals per game.
Men’s Golf also had a strong showing in the WCC Championships, finishing tied for fifth in the tournament. Li tied for seventh, shooting four under par over the three-round tournament. Li was the WAC Individual Champion in 2024 and continued to perform at a high level in the WCC. Freshman Jacob Kang emerged as one of the premier golfers in the conference, finishing third in the conference tournament, finishing in front of multiple top 50 nationally ranked golfers.
Like the NCAA overall, the WCC landscape is continuously changing. In the past, the WCC did not have postseason championship tournaments for Men’s and Women’s Soccer nor Softball, a change from the WAC which had conference championships/tournaments for all the sports, excluding Rowing. As of last summer, the conference voted to add tournaments for soccer and softball beginning in the 2026-27 season. Since Seattle U joined the conference, the WCC has added three more member schools. The University of Denver will join the conference beginning in July 2026, while the University of California San Diego and Santa Barbara will be joining in the 2027-28 academic year. Another major change to the conference is that Gonzaga will be ending their 47-year tenure in the WCC to join the newly rebuilt Pac-12.
Though there were a lot of changes throughout this year during the university’s transition into the WCC, Seattle U’s mission and values that have been the backbone of the university’s athletics haven’t changed.
“Ultimately, the goal is to provide an exceptional student-athlete experience. That’s still such a big part of who we are and what we do and what we provide for students. The education of the whole person, the Redhawk experience, hasn’t changed at all. It’s just that competitive piece, and doing it on a slightly bigger stage…We’re going to want to keep winning,” Associate Athletic Director of Strategic Communications Sarah Finney said.
After an exciting conference debut, the future of the WCC and Seattle U’s role in the conference will be exciting to stay up to date with. Seattle U Athletics is back in action in the fall looking for a strong sophomore season.
