LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team has been picked to finish eighth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association preseason poll released by the conference on Tuesday.

The Golden Eagles received one first-place vote 69 points in the balloting of conference head coaches.

Chico State is favored to win the conference after receiving seven first-place votes and 133 points. Defending CCAA regular-season and NCAA West Region champion Cal State San Bernardino was second in the poll with three first-place votes and 122 points, while Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State East Bay tied for third with 106 points. Cal State Dominguez Hills was fifth with 80 points and San Francisco State was sixth with 77 points.

The top six teams will qualify for the CCAA Tournament, which is being hosted this year by Cal State San Bernardino.

Cal State San Marcos was seventh with 73 points, just ahead of the Golden Eagles with 69 points. Stanislaus State and Sonoma State were tied for ninth with 51 points, while Cal State Monterey Bay (48 points) and Cal Poly Humboldt (20 points) rounded out the poll. 

The Golden Eagles battled through a 2022-23 season that was filled with too many key injuries and illnesses that prevented them from competing at full strength for nearly the entire season. Cal State LA finished with an 11-17 overall record and wound up in a tie for ninth in the conference with an 8-14 mark. The Golden Eagles were 4-0 against perennial powers Chico State and Cal Poly Pomona and were in position to claim a conference tournament spot with two weeks left. Cal State LA, though, dropped its last four games of the season.

Cal State LA has eight players returning from last year's squad, including two who earned All-CCAA honors. Shane Bell, who was third on the team in scoring last season with 13.0 points per game, earned second-team honors, while Dominic Escobar was fourth on the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game and earned All-CCAA honorable mention.

Two other juniors, Kyjuan Cannady and Jaden Lazo, are back for their third seasons. Cannady overcame an early-season injury and had several strong games down the stretch, while Lazo increased his role on the team and appeared in 20 games with 12 starts after also missing some time early in the season.

Guard Deuce Walker is back after being one of only four players who played in all 28 games last season. Justin Collins, Emmanuel Sedoh and Kris Krause also return from last year's squad.

Cal State LA is also encouraged by a strong recruiting class that includes a third player who earned All-CCAA honors. Eche Okeke, who averaged 11.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, transfers in from San Francisco State and is expected to be a strong contributor for the Golden Eagles.

The other talented newcomers include Corey Cofield (East Los Angeles College), Ajahni Levias (North Dakota), Emanwel Henry (Glenville State), Robin Kniss (San Diego Christian College), Isaiah Fields (West Ranch High School), Connor Scales (Culver City High School) and Martin Zarzuela (Marantha High School), who competed for Cal State LA's track and field team last year.

Cal State LA will open the season at Biola on Nov. 10 in the PacWest/CCAA Crossover Tournament in La Mirada.