SAN FRANCISCO – Defending champion Oregon was slotted for a third-place finish in the Pac-12 preseason media poll released by the conference on Thursday.
Senior Chris Duarte and junior Will Richardson were named to the preseason Pac-12 all-conference first team.
The 20th-ranked Ducks were 24-7 and won the Pac-12 with a 13-5 conference record a year ago. It was Oregon's third regular season Pac-12 title in the last five seasons.
In the closest vote among the top three teams in league history, UCLA was picked to win with 251 points, followed by Arizona State with 246 and the Ducks at 241.