Randy Bennett is no longer the head coach of Saint Mary’s basketball, but a former assistant, Mickey McConnell, hopes to continue the tradition.
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.
For the first time since the 2000-01 season, Saint Mary’s basketball will not be coached by Randy Bennett. The legendary Gaels head coach left for Arizona State after compiling a 589-228 record and starting a legitimate rivalry with Gonzaga.
In comes Mickey McConnell, who played for Saint Mary’s basketball from 2007-11 and then returned to the coaching staff in 2019. Now he gets his shot at leading the program he’s committed to.
McConnell starts his tenure with a very interesting roster. While the Gaels lose most of their top talent from last year, they do return Joshua Dent, who was arguably their second most impactful player last year. In terms in incoming talent, UNLV transfer Myles Che missed all of last season, but was a crucial part of UC Irvine’s 2024-25 campaign when they went 32-7. Other Power 5 transfers include Vangelis Zougris, Luke Fennell, and Saliah Altuntas, who didn’t see much action on the floor in their previous stops, but look to grow into much bigger roles with the Gaels.
But the biggest thing for McConnell as a head coach is what Saint Mary’s basketball has been known for since Bennett got to town – getting more out of less. This isn’t to say the Gaels haven’t had a lot of talent over the past few decades, and this might be some of the least they’ve had in quite a few years. But McConnell knows the Saint Mary’s way and should be a good option to keep the bus moving forward.
Head coach: Mickey McConnell (1st season overall)
2025-26 record: 27-6 (16-2)
2026 postseason finish: Lost to Texas A&M (63-50) in first round of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- EVERYONE but Joshua Dent and some deep rotation players
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Nevada (Nov. 8) – Lake Tahoe, NV
- vs. Saint Louis (Nov. 20)
- vs. UCLA (Nov. 26) – San Diego, CA
- vs. Georgetown OR Texas (Nov. 27) – San Diego, CA
Projected Rotation
PG: Joshua Dent (6-3, 190, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.2 PPG, 5.6 APG, 2.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 40.4 3P%, 91.8 FT%
SG: Myles Che (6-3, 190, Rs.-Jr.)
Missed 2025-26 season with injury (UNLV)
2024-25 stats: 12.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 2.8 APG, 42.9 3P% (UC Irvine)
SF: Luke Fennell (6-6, 190, So.)
2025-26 stats: 1.1 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 0.4 APG, 10 GP (Syracuse)
PF: Vangelis Zougris (6-8, 240, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 2.6 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.6 APG, 57.1 FG% (Louisville)
C: Salih Altuntas (6-10, 274, So.)
2025-26 stats: 1.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.1 APG, 65.7 FG% (Miami-Fla)
6: Rory Hawke (6-5, 200, Rs.-So.)
2025-26 stats: 2.4 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 0.3 APG, 50.9 FG%
7: Darius Bivins (6-0, 175, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 73 ranked recruit
8: Jazz Gardner (7-0, 260, Rs.-Sr.)
Redshirted last season
2024-25 stats: 4.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.4 APG, 60.2 FG% (Pacific)
9: Mantas Juzenas (6-6, 215, So.)
2025-26 stats: 2.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.3 APG, 48.4 3P%
10: Thomas Ndong (6-10, 245, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 4.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.4 APG, 56.8 FG% (Cal Baptist)
11: Kevin Gad (6-6, 205, Rs.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 1.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.7 APG, 7 GP
*Missed rest of season with injury*
12: Flynn Pavely (7-0, 250, Fr.)
International recruit from Australia
13: Trent MacLean (6-8, 205, Rs.-Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 241 ranked recruit (2025)
Saint Mary’s basketball team MVP: Joshua Dent
Having Joshua Dent back must be a dream for a first-year head coach. On last year’s 27-win team, he was first on the team in assists per game, third in points per game, first in steals per game, and one of the most efficient shooters on the team, as well as hitting over 90% of his free throws.
Dent’s biggest problem was turnovers, as he led Saint Mary’s with 2.3 per game. However, when you have the ball in your hands that much, it’s bound to happen, and doesn’t neccesarily mean sloppy play.
Dent’s biggest challenge this year will be putting up that production without Paulius Murauskas, Mikey Lewis, and Dillan Shaw. Last year was a very talented group, but this season may require more out of Dent.
Saint Mary’s basketball make-or-break player: Vangelis Zougris
Out of the handful of Power 5 transfers the Gaels got to come in, Zougris is the most compelling. At Louisville last year, he played just under 10 minutes per game, started in six games, and showed the potential of being an efficient inside scorer. However, with just 2.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, it is such a small sample size.
But the reason to believe in Zougris is being held back on a strong Louisville team. There are a lot of frontcourt players on this Saint Mary’s basketball squad, but Zougris figures to be the leader of the pack. With Dent controlling the point, Zougris could see one of the biggest rises in production in all of college basketball. It will be fun to see the sophomore start to rise in 2026-27.
Key statistic: Adjusted defensive efficiency
Trivia fact for you! Do you know how many straight seasons Saint Mary’s basketball has had a top-20 team in KenPom’s defensive ratings? How about six in a row? Randy Bennett had the Gaels as a pure shutdown team for years, and now that he’s gone, what will that look like?
Now, obviously, since McConnell is a former player and coach under Bennett, the style and commitment to defense should stay the same. But will it be at the same level that it was under Bennett? It’s not really a statistic you can measure with a small sample size, but more of something that will happen over time. But it will be crucial to see what McConnell decides to do with this team and how well it plays out.
Saint Mary’s basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in the WCC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament first round exit