The West Coast Conference men's basketball coaches have chosen Gonzaga to unseat defending champion Saint Mary's as league champion in 2012-13.

The Bulldogs secured seven first-place ballots in the annual preseason coaches poll. BYU finished second and Saint Mary's third, each of them landing one first-place vote.

Santa Clara, expected to rebound strongly after finishing winless in the WCC a year ago, was picked sixth. USF, which saw six underclassmen leave the program after last season, is seventh.

Saint Mary's guards Matthew Dellavedova and Stephen Holt and Santa Clara guard Kevin Foster were named to the 10-man preseason all-WCC team in a vote of the coaches.

Here's how the West Coast Conference men's basketball coaches picked the league finish (with first-place votes in parenthesis and total points):

WCC coaches poll

1. Gonzaga (7) 63

2. BYU (1) 55

3. Saint Mary's (1) 52

4. Loyola Marymount 37

5. San Diego 36

6. Santa Clara 35

7. San Francisco 19

8. Portland 18

9. Pepperdine 12

Preseason All-WCC team

G Gary Bell Jr., Gonzaga, So.; F Brandon Davies, BYU, Sr.; G Johnny Dee, San Diego, So.; G Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's, Sr.; C Sam Dower, Gonzaga, Jr.; G Kevin Foster, Santa Clara, Sr.; F Elias Harris, Gonzaga, Sr.; G Stephen Holt, Saint Mary's, Jr.; G Anthony Ireland, Loyola Marymount, Jr.; G Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga, So.;