WCC Basketball Preview: Saint Mary's Gaels

Saint Mary’s is coming off a great year where they took the WCC regular season title, and beat an SEC team in the second round of the NCAA tournament. While they will be returning a key starter in Forward Paulius Murauskas, the Gaels are going to have a lot of production they’ll need to replace. No loss is bigger than point guard Augustas Marciulionas, who was named West Coast Conference player of the year each of the last two seasons. In addition, they’ve also lost starters Luke Barrett and Mitchell Saxen to graduation. This being said, head coach Randy Bennett has put together a lot of good teams in his tenure with Saint Mary’s, and the Gaels should once again be a force in the West Coast Conference.

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Guard

The most notable returner in the backcourt is sophomore Mikey Lewis, who averaged eight points per game as a freshman and dropped 18 in their road win over Gonzaga. A talented shooter both off the catch and off the dribble, the Gaels are hoping that the combo guard will be a big part of the offense this season. They also have another proven scorer in San Diego transfer Tony Duckett, a solid ball-handling guard who averaged 10.5 points last season for the Toreros. Outside of these two guys, however, the Gaels are looking fairly young in the guard realm, and coach Bennett might be looking for inexperienced players to step up in 2026. This could include sophomore Rory Hawke, who missed the entirety of last season working his way back from an injury. Hawke shot very well in the six games he played in as a true freshman, and he could be a difference-maker at shooting guard this year if he’s healthy. Australian combo guard Josh Dent, who played in 24 games last season as a true freshman, might also see a prominent boost in playing time in his sophomore campaign. It’s also worth pointing out that SMC’s highest recruit in this year’s class, Dillan Shaw, is listed as a “G/F” on the roster, which seems to imply that he can step into a shooting guard role.

Overall, the guard position should have a solid foundation with Lewis and Duckett. But the depth in this area is in question heading into November, and it might take some time for the full rotation to shape up.

Forward

Coming off a first-team all-conference year, junior Paulius Murauskas leads the front court. A do-it-all power forward who thrives in the post, the Lithuanian is primed to carry a big load this season now that they are without Mitchell Saxen and Luke Barrett. Outside of Murauskas, the Gaels are going to be young at forward, and it will be interesting to see the approach they decide to take with all the freshmen in this area. Four-star recruit Dillan Shaw, a dynamic small forward known for being a true scorer, could see a lot of action right away.

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Center

One of the main strengths of this team will be their bigs. With two guys over seven feet tall, the Gaels should be difficult down low and on the offensive glass. 7'1" senior Harry Wessels averaged five points and three rebounds in 34 minutes per game last season, and he is primed for a starting center role with the graduation of Mitchell Saxen. 7'2" Andrew McKeever will be a sophomore this year, and looking to build off a freshman campaign where he played valuable minutes.

Wrap-Up

The Gaels have a solid foundation in their starting lineup with both Murauskas and Lewis. However, this is a young team overall, and a big question for this season will be the depth they are able to develop. The amount of immediate production from their four-star freshmen, Dillan Shaw and Trent Maclean, could be a big factor in what this team's ceiling might be. This is a team that beat Gonzaga twice last year, and they are hungry to keep what they've started going.

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