SAN MATEO, Calif. — The West Coast Conference announced their 2021-22 Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll on Thursday morning. For the second consecutive year, the Gaels are picked to finish third in the standings and landed one player on the Preseason Team. Logan Johnson earned the preseason selection from the WCC, the first in his career.
 
Saint Mary's received 63 votes to trail only Gonzaga (81) and BYU (72) in the projected polls. Loyola Marymount (56) is directly behind the Gaels, after being projected to finish seventh last year, while San Francisco (49) and Santa Clara (45) are close behind. Last year, the Gaels finished fourth in the WCC after the KenPom Adjusted Winning Percentages were used.
 
Johnson raised his game to a new level during his first full season as a starter, especially during ­­conference play. The junior has averaged 15.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in Saint Mary's 10 conference games and led the team in scoring across the entire season.  His 49.6 shooting percentage in league play was second best on the team and even more impressive considering his guard position. For the season, Johnson has shot 45.5 percent overall. 
 
Saint Mary's has finished at least third or better in the WCC in 16 of the past 18 seasons under head coach Randy Bennett, and should add to that this year. Saint Mary's is one of two teams in the country returning every single minute played from one season ago.
 
Bennett has a 212-88 (.707) record in conference play since coming to Moraga in 2001 and 167-49 (.773) since the 2007-08 season.
 
Full results from the poll are shown below.
 
2021-22 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Place	Team	First Place	Points
1.	Gonzaga	9	81
2.	BYU	1	72
3.	Saint Mary's		63
4.	LMU		56
5.	San Francisco		49
6.	Santa Clara		45
7.	Pepperdine		31
8.	Pacific		24
9.	San Diego		20
10.	Portland		9

 

2021-22 Men's Basketball Preseason All-WCC Team
Name	Yr.	Pos.	School
Alex Barcello	Sr.*	G	BYU
Jamaree Bouyea	Sr.*	G	San Francisco
Logan Johnson	Sr.	G	Saint Mary's
Caleb Lohner	So.	F	BYU
Andrew Nembhard	Sr.	G	Gonzaga
Eli Scott	Sr.*	G/F	LMU
Khalil Shabazz	Sr.	G	San Francisco
Drew Timme	Jr.	F	Gonzaga
Josip Vrankic	Sr.*	F	Santa Clara
Jalen Williams	Jr.	G	Santa Clara

 
*COVID Senior
 
#GaelsRise — 2021-22 season tickets are on sale now! To purchase new season tickets, click HERE. If you have questions, contact the ticket office by email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu or call 925-631-4689…Saint Mary's Basketball…#TogetherAgain