MBB | Saint Mary's Picked Third, Tass Named All-WCC in Preseason Poll

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — The West Coast Conference announced their 2020-21 Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll this morning which pegged the Gaels to finish third in the standings and elected Matthias Tass to the Preseason Team.

Saint Mary's received 63 votes to trail only Gonzaga (81) and BYU (69) in the projected polls. Following the Gaels are Pepperdine (57), San Francisco (52) and Santa Clara (38). SMC tied for third in the WCC standings last year.

The preseason selection for Tass is the first of his career and his first ever All-WCC recognition. The Gaels' big man was a presence for the team last season as a sophomore before suffering an ACL tear late in the non-conference schedule. Before his injury, the Estonain was averaging 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 23.4 minutes per contest. He also finished the season as the team leader in blocks and was fourth in assists despite only playing 14 games.

Saint Mary's has finished at least third or better in the WCC in 16 of the past 17 seasons under head coach Randy Bennett and will look to keep that trend alive this year with a new-look rotation. The Gaels lost 72 percent of their scoring this offseason, mainly with the departures of Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts, and six of the 13 members on this year's club are newcomers.

Bennett has a 208-82 (.717) record in conference play since coming to Moraga in 2001.

The official release from the conference can be viewed here. Full results from the poll are shown below.

2020-21 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll

Team (First Place Vote)		Pts.
1. Gonzaga	(9)	81
2. BYU	(1)	69
3. Saint Mary's		63
4. Pepperdine		57
5. San Francisco		52
6. Santa Clara		38
7. LMU		33
8. Pacific		31
9. San Diego		16
10. Portland		10

2020-21 All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Team

Name	Year	Pos.	Institution
Joel Ayayi	Jr.	G	Gonzaga
Alex Barcello	Sr.	G	BYU
Jamaree Bouyea	Jr.	G	San Francisco
Kessler Edwards	Jr.	F	Pepperdine
Corey Kispert	Sr.	F	Gonzaga
Colbey Ross	Sr.	G	Pepperdine
Eli Scott	Sr.	G	LMU
Matthias Tass	Jr.	C	Saint Mary's
Drew Timme	So.	F	Gonzaga
Josip Vrankic	Sr.	F	Santa Clara

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Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Fitts: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Junior

#3 Jordan Ford: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#11 Matthias Tass: F/C; 6' 10"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Fitts
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#3 Jordan Ford
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#11 Matthias Tass
: 6' 10"; Sophomore
: F/C

Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Fitts

#3 Jordan Ford

#11 Matthias Tass

Players Mentioned

#24 Malik Fitts

#3 Jordan Ford

#11 Matthias Tass