Saint Mary’s basketball looks to maintain their status within the top tier of the West Coast Conference and perhaps take another bite out of the Gonzaga dynasty.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Saint Mary’s basketball.
Saint Mary’s has been the 1b to Gonzaga in the WCC for quite some time. Since 2008-09, the Bulldogs have won the conference title all but four times, in which the Gaels were able to cut down the nets.
Just as much as Saint Mary’s is coming for Gonzaga, though, San Fransisco, our No. 66 team in CBB Rank, leads a pack of second-tier teams trying to change the conference hierarchy in their own right.
One thing you can rely on with Randy Bennett’s program is quality defense year in and year out. The Gaels have not finished outside the top 11 in defensive efficiency since 2019-20.
That said, Bennett’s roster — filled with underclassmen — is extremely unproven this year on both ends, albeit plenty talented. This strikes me as a situation where the coaching staff can maximize what they have to work with, but ultimately is a retooling year, setting up the foreseeable future.
Head coach: Randy Bennett (25th season overall, all at Saint Mary’s)
2024-25 record: 29-6 (17-1)
2025 postseason finish: Lost in NCAA Tournament Round of 32 to Alabama (80-66)
Notable departures:
- Augustas Marciulionis (14.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, 3.1 RPG, 1.3 SPG)
- Mitchell Saxen (10.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.3 BPG)
- Luke Barrett (9.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.4 APG)
- Jordan Ross (8.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.6 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. North Texas (Nov. 14)
- vs. Boise State (Dec. 14) – Idaho Falls, ID
- vs. Florida Atlantic (Dec. 19)
Projected Rotation
PG: Mikey Lewis (6-3, 180, So.)
2024-25 stats: 8.2 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.6 APG, 37.4 3P%
SG: Tony Duckett (6-5, 185, So.)
2024-25 stats: 10.4 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.9 APG (San Diego)
SF: Dillan Shaw (6-7, 205, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #94 ranked recruit
PF: Paulius Marauskas (6-8, 225, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 12.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.3 APG
C: Harry Wessels (7-1, 255, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 5.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.3 APG, 1.0 BPG, 54.6 FG%
6: Trent McLaughlin (6-6, 190, Gr.-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 22.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.7 SPG (Northern Arizona)
7: Liam Campbell (6-4, 205, Rs.-Fr.)
2024-25 stats: Did not play (redshirt)
8: Mantas Juzenas (6-6, 2015, Fr.)
International prospect (Lithuania)
9: Joshua Dent (6-3, 190, So.)
2024-25 stats: 0.6 PPG, 0.3 APG, 0.2 RPG
10: Andrew McKeever (7-1, 255, Fr.)
247Sports Composite unranked recruit
Saint Mary’s basketball team MVP: Paulius Marauskas
Does Bennett have another international star in his hands? This Lithuania native has the makings of one, at least within the structure of the system.
Marauskas snuck onto the diabolically large all-WCC first-team after a productive season, but one in which he played second fiddle to Augustus Marciulionis. Marauskas is a traditional four man — great out of the short post with an existing, yet not terribly efficient outside shot (33.6% from three in his career).
It is worth nothing Marauskas’ production was decidedly greater against lower tier competition last season. Per Torvik, he had an offensive box plus minus of -2.5 against seven top 50 opponents last season, while it was +2.6 in his 34 games overall. While he clearly needs to improve against these larger, more capable athletes, the good news is that only Boise State and Gonzaga project as the only top 50 teams on the preseason schedule.
Saint Mary’s basketball make-or-break player: Harry Wessels
I could easily look to one of the six freshmen on this roster as “make-or-break” but I actually have my sights set on an upperclassman center. Wessels has had a pedestrian career at Saint Mary’s behind some very talented bigs and now has a great chance to break out as a senior. Not only does he have this opportunity but the Gaels desperately need him to get going, particularly on the offensive end.
Wessels’ role has previously been limited to a rim runner, which has made him efficient and loved by the analytic sites, but he needs a more well-rounded game.
Of course, defensively, Wessels is already great. If you lower the minutes share requirement to 30%, Wessels’ 7.1% block rate led the WCC in 2024-25. You can be nit-picky and claim that he needs to polish his ball screen coverage, but I have zero doubt Bennett can accomplish that given his developmental track record.
Because of his defense, Wessels is likely to maintain a lineup spot but the Gaels desperately need someone to exceed their expectation scoring wise and he is a great candidate.
Key analytic: Effective experience
Torvik’s effective experience metric measures the average number of years a roster has spent in college basketball weighted by projected minutes played. In other words, a roster entirely comprised of true freshmen would have an effective experience of 0, and one with all fifth-year seniors would have a 4.0 effective experience.
Saint Mary’s has an effective experience of 0.99, which is the fourth lowest in Division 1. The only teams lower are Colorado (did not make our top 100), Duke (has high end one-and-done talent), and New Haven (just bumped up from Division II). For further context, Gonzaga’s is 2.53 and San Francisco’s is 2.30.
Again, these are not bad basketball players, but certainly unproven ones. While 2025-26 has every making of a developmental year for the program, you cannot count them out from competing in the NCAA Tournament when Randy Bennett is on the sidelines.
Saint Mary’s basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 2nd in the WCC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 32 exit