Gonzaga trio named All-WCC First Team

Three Bulldogs seniors were named all-conference

Cole Forsman | Mar 4, 2025

Gonzaga senior guards Ryan Nembhard (0) and Nolan Hickman (11). / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

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Gonzaga Bulldogs

Saint Mary's almost swept the individual awards for the 2024-25 West Coast Conference men's basketball season, while three players from Gonzaga were named All-WCC first team as the league announced its annual awards Tuesday.

Ryan Nembhard, Graham Ike and Nolan Hickman received all-conference honors for the second time in their respective collegiate careers, as Nembhard and Ike were on the All-WCC first team together in 2023-24 while Hickman was on the second team.

The Gaels had a handful of repeat award winners themselves. Head coach Randy Bennett won WCC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year, Augustas Marciulionis was tabbed WCC Player of the Year and 6-foot-11 senior Mitchell Saxen won WCC Defensive Player of the Year, each for the second consecutive season. Paulius Murauskas, who transferred to Saint Mary's after one season at Arizona, was named the WCC Newcomer of the Year and Gaels freshmen Mikey Lewis claimed the WCC Sixth Man of the Year honor.

Austin Rapp from Portland took home the WCC Freshman of the Year award, which means for the second season in a row, no one from Gonzaga was honored with an individual award. All six major awards, the all-conference teams and the all-freshman team were voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches.

Nembhard, who was the only Gonzaga player to be named the league's player of the week at any point this season, leads the nation with 311 assists, which is the conference's new single season record, in and out of WCC play, as well as the program's single season record. The senior guard is just one of 21 players in NCAA Division-I history to record at least 300 assists in a season. Nembhard's on track to average a double-double at 10.9 points and 10.0 assists per game.

Ike is fourth in the conference scoring 17 points per game while shooting a league-best 59.9% from the field and 61.1% during WCC play, which also topped the league. The Aurora, Colorado, native pulled down 7.9 rebounds per game in league play, which ranked ranked third, and had the highest defensive rebounding rate per KenPom.com.

Hickman, averaging 11.4 points per game, is shooting 44% from behind-the-arc, third-best in the league. The senior's 71 3-pointers are the second-most in the WCC. Over his four-year college career at Gonzaga, Hickman has knocked down 219 3-pointers, tying him with Gary Bell Jr. for the ninth-most in a career in school history.

Saint Mary's and Gonzaga, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the WCC Tournament that's set to tip off Friday in Las Vegas, led the way with three first-team all-conference selections each. Saxen appeared on the 10-player list for a third season in a row, while Santa Clara's Adama-Alpha Bal and San Francisco's Marcus Williams earned their second straight appearance on the all-conference first team.

2024-25 West Coast Conference Individual Awards
Coach of the Year - Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Player of the Year - Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Defensive Player of the Year - Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Newcomer of the Year – Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Sixth Man of the Year – Mikey Lewis, Saint Mary's
Freshman of the Year – Austin Rapp, Portland

All-Conference First Team:
Adama-Alpha Bal, Santa Clara
Nolan Hickman, Gonzaga
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Michael Rataj, Oregon State
Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Malik Thomas, San Francisco
Marcus Williams, San Francisco

All-Conference Second Team:
Parsa Fallah, Oregon State
Max Mackinnon, Portland
Carlos Stewart, Santa Clara
Christoph Tilly, Santa Clara
Lamar Washington, Pacific

All-Conference Honorable Mention
Luke Barrett, Saint Mary's
Nate Calmese, Washington State
Nate Kingz, Oregon State
Jevon Porter, LMU
Caleb Stone-Carrawell, LMU
Stefan Todorovic, Pepperdine
Lejuan Watts, Washington State

All-Freshman Team
Tony Duckett, San Diego
Mikey Lewis, Saint Mary's
Austin Rapp, Portland
Tyrone Riley IV, San Francisco
Tomas Thrastarson, Washington State