Helena Frye
The Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, and competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC) of the NCAA. The team has appeared in 13 NCAA tournaments and plays its home games in the University Credit Union Pavilion, which has a capacity of 3,500. The WCC is considered a mid-major athletic conference and sponsors 15 sports, but not football. The Saint Mary's Gaels have developed rivalries with other WCC teams, including the Gonzaga University Bulldogs and the San Francisco Dons.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the team | Saint Mary's Gaels |
| Sport | Basketball and volleyball |
| Home ground | University Credit Union Pavilion |
| Home ground capacity | 3,500 |
| Location | Moraga, California |
| Head coach | Randy Bennett |
| Conference | West Coast Conference (WCC) |
| Level | NCAA Division I |
| Historic rivals | San Francisco Dons, Santa Clara Broncos, Gonzaga University Bulldogs |
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Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team
The Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California. The team competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC) of the NCAA and plays its home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion, which has a capacity of 3,500. The Gaels have a historic rivalry with two other Catholic schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Francisco Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos, who are also members of the WCC. In recent years, they have developed a rivalry with the Gonzaga University Bulldogs of Spokane, Washington.
The Gaels have appeared in thirteen NCAA Tournaments, with their first appearance coming in 1959. They have also competed in six National Invitation Tournaments, holding a combined record of 7-7 in those tournaments. The team is currently coached by Randy Bennett, who has helped establish the Gaels as one of the top non-Power 5 programs in the country.
Under Bennett's leadership, the Gaels have consistently recruited Australian players, with at least one Australian player on the team every season since his arrival. Notable Australian players include Adam Caporn, Daniel Kickert, Matthew Dellavedova, and Patty Mills. In the 2007-08 season, the team enjoyed one of its best seasons in school history behind the play of freshman Patty Mills. They were ranked in the AP and USA Today top 25 lists and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, although they lost in the first round.
In 2010, the Gaels advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in the 64-team era, defeating second-seeded Villanova. Led by point guard Mickey McConnell in the following years, the Gaels compiled a 25-9 record, including their first win against Gonzaga in Spokane since 1995. In 2011-12, the Gaels won the outright WCC regular-season title, ending Gonzaga's streak.
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West Coast Conference
The Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, and competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC) of the NCAA Division I. The WCC was known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989. It consists of nine member schools across California, Oregon, and Washington, all of which are private, faith-based institutions. Seven members are Catholic Church affiliates, with five of these schools being Jesuit institutions.
The Saint Mary's Gaels play their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion, which has a capacity of 3,500. Their head coach is Randy Bennett, and the team has appeared in thirteen NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2025. Their historic rivals include the San Francisco Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos, two other Catholic schools in the WCC. More recently, the Gaels have developed a rivalry with the Gonzaga University Bulldogs of Spokane, Washington.
The WCC sponsors championship competitions in seven men's and nine women's NCAA-sanctioned sports. The newest addition is men's water polo, which was added in the 2023-24 academic year. The conference has remained stable during periods of massive upheaval in conference affiliations, such as in the 1990s and with the 2010 realignment that led to Brigham Young joining.
Some famous athletes who played collegiately for WCC schools include Mahershala Ali, a two-time Academy Award-winning actor who played basketball at Saint Mary's, and David Cooke, a former NBA player.
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NCAA Tournaments
The Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California. They compete in the West Coast Conference (WCC) of the NCAA Division I level. The WCC is considered a mid-major athletic conference and does not include football as one of its sponsored sports. Saint Mary's basketball team plays their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion, which has a capacity of 3,500 people. It is one of the smaller gyms in the WCC.
The Gaels have a historic rivalry with two other Catholic schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Francisco Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos, who are also part of the WCC. In more recent years, the Saint Mary's Gaels have developed a rivalry with the Gonzaga University Bulldogs of Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga has been to 23 consecutive NCAA tournaments, the longest streak for any school in the Western United States.
The Saint Mary's Gaels have appeared in 13 NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2025. In 2004-05, the team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament but lost in the first round. The following year, they enjoyed one of their best seasons in school history, ending up with another at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in 2008, but they again lost in the first round. In 2011-12, the Gaels compiled a 27-6 record and went 14-2 in the WCC, winning the outright WCC regular-season title.
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University Credit Union Pavilion
The Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California. The team competes in the West Coast Conference of the NCAA and plays its home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion, formerly known as McKeon Pavilion.
The Pavilion, which opened in 1978, is the largest enclosed arena in Contra Costa County. It has a capacity of 3,500, making it one of the smaller gyms in the WCC. The seating is mostly bleacher-style, with a handful of elevated VIP seats behind one basket. The small size of the gym is said to add to the intensity of the crowd during sold-out games, making it one of the tougher venues for opposing teams to play in.
The Gaels have enjoyed success in the Pavilion, appearing in thirteen NCAA Tournaments and developing rivalries with other WCC schools such as the San Francisco Dons, the Santa Clara Broncos, and the Gonzaga University Bulldogs. The men's basketball team posted a 15-1 record in their home gym during the 2004-2005 season, en route to an NCAA tournament berth. On January 8, 2005, they defeated Gonzaga 89-81, ending a 17-game losing streak against them.
The Pavilion has undergone several renovations over the years to improve the facility. In 2006, upgrades included painted bleachers, new chair backseats behind the reserved section, and a remodeled VIP section. There are also design plans to expand the gym's capacity by knocking out the front and back walls, but funding for this project is not yet available.
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Rivalries
The Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, competing in the West Coast Conference (WCC) of the NCAA. The WCC is considered a mid-major athletic conference and does not include football as one of its sponsored sports.
The Saint Mary's Gaels have two historic rivals: the San Francisco Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos, two other Catholic schools in the San Francisco Bay Area that are also part of the WCC.
In recent years, the Gaels have developed a rivalry with the Gonzaga University Bulldogs of Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga has risen to national prominence, having been invited to the NCAA tournament every year since 1999, and has become recognised as a major basketball power. They have been to all but one WCC tournament final since 1995 and have played for the conference title every year since 1998.
The Gaels earned their first win against Gonzaga in Spokane since 1995 behind point guard Mickey McConnell, but they have also suffered several losses to Gonzaga, including in the WCC tournament finals in 2008. Despite this, the Gaels were able to claim the outright WCC regular-season title in 2012, ending Gonzaga's streak of sharing the title since 2000.
The Saint Mary's Gaels have also faced rivals on the national stage, appearing in thirteen NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2025.
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Frequently asked questions
St. Mary's basketball team, the Gaels, competes in the West Coast Conference (WCC) of the NCAA Division I.
The St. Mary's Gaels play their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion, which has a capacity of 3,500.
The WCC began as the California Basketball Association in 1953, playing its first game on January 2, 1953. It became the "West Coast Athletic Conference" in 1956.
The Gaels' historic rivals are the San Francisco Dons and the Santa Clara Broncos, two other Catholic schools in the San Francisco Bay Area that are also in the WCC. More recently, they have developed a rivalry with the Gonzaga University Bulldogs of Spokane, Washington.
The St. Mary's Gaels men's basketball team has appeared in the NCAA Tournaments 13 times: in 1959, 1989, 1997, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
