Irvine Valley's men's basketball team was ranked No. 8 in Southern California in the California Community Colleges Men's Basketball Coaches Association Preseason Poll, which was released on Thursday.
The Lasers were ranked behind Antelope Valley, Chaffey, Saddleback, San Bernardino Valley, Riverside, Santa Monica and Citrus in the poll.
Irvine Valley finished last season with a record of 25-5 overall. The Lasers were ranked No. 1 in the state for the first time ever at one point during last year's poll.
Irvine Valley opens the 2014-15 season with a home game against Cuyamaca next Thursday at 5 p.m. at Irvine Valley.
The Lasers are expected to be led by sophomore returners Chris Porter, Jalen Hall, Jimmy Golden, Andrew Bastien, Ronnie Harris and Chris Salas.
Porter, Hall and Golden were all starters last season.
Porter was named first team all-Orange Empire Conference last season after averaging 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds last season.
Golden averaged 7.5 points and Hall averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 assists a year ago.
