MBB | Rahon Returns to Gaels as Director of Player Development

MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's men's basketball head coach Randy Bennett announced today the addition of former Gael great Joe Rahon to his staff as the program's newest Director of Player Development. Rahon returns to Moraga after spending the past four years playing professionally overseas.

The point guard played for two seasons under Bennett between 2015-17 after transferring from Boston College following his sophomore year. Rahon jumped into the starting lineup as a redshirt junior and formed one of the most formidable backcourts in Saint Mary's history alongside Emmett Naar.

"Joe is one of the strongest leaders I've coached," Bennett said. "We are thrilled to have him join our staff and he brings a ton of experience and basketball knowledge to the team."

As a junior, Rahon averaged just under 37 minutes per game, 10.7 points, and 5.4 assists en route to a First Team All-WCC honor. The San Diego native was one of the nation's leaders in total assists and assist-to-turnover ratio that season and helped the Gaels finish 29-6.

In his senior campaign, Rahon continued his stellar play and led the team in minutes played (36.4), assists (192), and steals (36) while picking up his second First Team All-WCC nod. As a team, SMC led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio largely due to Rahon's presence on the court. Not only was he a great floor general, Rahon also became just the fourth Gael ever to win the WCC Defensive Player of the Year Award that season.

Saint Mary's achieved their highest AP poll ranking ever during the 2016-17 year at No. 12 and would go on to make the NCAA Tournament as a 7-seed. After taking down VCU in the opening round, the Gaels fell to No. 4 Arizona in a close game to finish the season 29-5.

Despite playing just two seasons as a Gael, Rahon finished his career seventh all-time in assists in program history and his name is littered throughout the school's record book. He is fourth all-time in assist average (5.52) and his 1,293 minutes played as a senior ranks second all-time in a single season.

Following his illustrious college career, Rahon headed to Europe to begin his professional journey. He played his first professional season with Limburg United in Belgium and spent the past two seasons with the Fraport Skyliners in Germany.

#GaelsRise – Join the men's basketball waitlist HERE to receive 2021-22 season ticket information, as Saint Mary's welcomes fans back to University Credit Union Pavilion this season.

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