CORVALLIS, Ore.  – The Cascade Collegiate Conference basketball season is rapidly approaching and the CCC Pre-Season Coaches Polls have been released. The Bushnell women have been selected to finish fifth while the men have been picked sixth.
 
On the women's side, Eastern Oregon garnered five first-place votes was picked to defend it's crown after going 30-3 last season and splitting the CCC Championship with Lewis-Clark State. The Warriors in turn were picked second, collecting six first-place votes and were just one point behind the Mounties.
 
The final first-place vote went to Southern Oregon in third, scoring 123 points. Oregon Tech was fourth with 99 while the Beacons landed close behind in sixth with 96 points. All three were picked to finish in the same spot as they did during the 2022-2023 campaign.
 
On the men's side, the defending CCC and NAIA National Champion College of Idaho unsurprisingly grabbed all 12 first-place votes as unanimous picks to repeat and win their fourth straight conference crown. Last season the Yotes went 36-1 with a perfect 22-0 run through the CCC. 
 
Eastern Oregon, the second-place finishers from a year ago, were picked to finish second, but the was plenty of movement in the poll after that. Lewis-Clark State and Oregon Tech, who tied for sixth-place last season, were both picked to finish third in 2023-2024, scoring 106 points. Southern Oregon was fifth with 93, followed closely by Bushnell with 92. Last year the Beacons finished in eighth place.
 
The basketball teams will both unofficially kick of their season on Sunday with the annual alumni games as the women tip-off at 2:00 pm, followed by the men at 4:00 pm.