The 2025-26 college basketball season will bring a relatively tame round of conference realignment following the mayhem of a 2024-25 campaign marked by high-major upheaval. This time around, with many of the moves becoming official as of July 1, there are just five schools on the move and no changes coming to the high-major level.
Among the hoops-centric highlights in this year’s realignment is Seattle joining the the WCC, as the conference temporarily expands to 12 basketball teams before Gonzaga departs for the Pac-12 in 2026-27. Oregon State and Washington State will be joining the Zags in the reformed Pac-12, meaning the upcoming season will also be the second and final year for the Beavers and Cougars as temporary WCC hoops members.
Those changes will drop the league back to nine members, which was its tally during the 2023-24 season. But for now, the WCC will enjoy one season as a 12-team league led by a supercharged brand in the Zags, who have been its bell cow for nearly 30 years. Last season was a banner year for the WCC, which finished a record-high No. 7 in KenPom’s conference rankings amid the temporary additions of Oregon State and Washington State.
While the retention of Saint Mary’s and addition of Seattle solidified the WCC’s future, the upcoming season will mark a swan song of sorts for a longstanding, Gonzaga-oriented version of the conference.
The dawn of the 2025-26 academic and athletic year also brings yet another new member to the Division I ranks, as the University of New Haven begins its transition from Division II. The Chargers went 12-17 in D-II last season but reached the D-II Elite Eight in 2023.
Other moves for the 2025-26 are football-centric, as Delaware and Missouri State will join Conference USA and begin playing FBS football. UMass is also moving to the MAC, which marks a downgrade in basketball for the Minutemen. However, the MAC provides a home for…
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