Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
Saint Mary’s to Enshrine Omar Samhan, Jock Landale and 2011 Men’s Soccer Team into SMC Hall of Fame
12/20/2023 12:00:00 PM | General
MORAGA, Calif. — Every year, the Saint Mary's College Athletic Hall of Fame welcomes new members to its prestigious ranks. The Saint Mary's College Athletic Hall of Fame exists to ensure that the history and tradition of the College, as well as the contributions of individuals, is celebrated and recognized in a manner that enhances the College's reputation. This year, Omar Samhan '10, the 2011 Men's Soccer Team and Jock Landale '18, will all be added to the list of Saint Mary's Hall of Famers, to be forever remembered for their athletic accomplishments while at Saint Mary's College.
OMAR SAMHAN – MEN'S BASKETBALL
Omar Samhan came to Saint Mary's from nearby San Ramon Valley High School, and immediately made his impact felt in his freshman season. The 6-11 big man averaged nine points and six rebounds per contest in his debut season, earning freshman All-American honors, and only got better from there.
He is most remembered for his epic senior campaign during the 2009-10 season, where he averaged a double-double en route to earning WCC Defensive Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American honors. Samhan led the Gaels to a 28-6 record and to the 2010 WCC Tournament Title, the first won by Saint Mary's since 1997.
With the tournament title came an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, where Samhan and the Gaels quickly showed they deserved to be. Entering as a 10 seed in the South region, the Gaels first traveled to Providence, where they first dispatched of the seventh seeded Richmond Spiders before taking down the second seeded Villanova Wildcats in what Samhan called the "Best Win Ever", punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history, and the first since 1959. Omar averaged over 20 points per game in those two victories, and would put up a 15 point, nine rebound performance against Baylor in the Sweet 16, but the Bears would get the best of the Gaels, ending the Cinderella run.
Samhan would graduate from Saint Mary's as the all-time leader in field goals made (737), blocked shots (258) and game played (133), with the field goal and blocked shot records still holding today. He also is one of two players in program history to finish their career with 1,000+ points and 1,000+ rebounds for his career.
Following his time in Moraga, Samhan enjoyed a 10 year international career, highlighted by his 2011 Baltic League Title with Zalgiris and his 2015 Egyptian League Title with Alexandria Sporting Club. Samhan also reunited with his collegiate teammates to take part in the 2018 and 2019 TBT with Team Gael Force.
2011 MEN'S SOCCER TEAM
The 2011 Saint Mary's Men's Soccer Team went 7-3-2 in WCC play to capture the first conference title in program history, and finished the season ranked 14th in the country.
Their run to the Elite 8 featured two overtime wins in the NCAA tournament, including a double overtime victory over No. 8 UC Irvine. They are the only SMC team in the modern era to make the Elite 8 of an NCAA tournament.
Those Gaels were 17th in the country in shutout percentage, with 10 clean sheets that season, including one in the NCAA tourney against no. 25 CSU Bakersfield.
Keeper Doug Herrick made 88 saves for a .91 save percentage in 2011, which is 6th all time in SMC, single-season history. He had 11 wins that year, which is 4th all-time for the Gaels, and 10 shutouts, good for 3rd in a single season at SMC.
Herrick has the most minutes played in Gael history, including a single-season record 2,186 minutes in 2011. He was the SMC program record holder for wins and shutouts when his career ended, he'd eventually be passed by current Saint Mary's assistant Remi Prieur.
He was 12th in the country in total saves in 2011 and 38th in save percentage. Herrick played for Guam National Team and spent a little time with the Seattle Sounders Professionally, after initially being selected by the Portland Timbers in the 2012 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft. Today Herrick works in children's therapy and coaches for OL Reign Academy as their director of goalkeeping. After retiring, he joined Reign FC as goalkeeper coach in 2017.
Julian Godinez had eight assists overall that year to lead the Gaels after coming over from UC Davis, which put him 21st in the country. That 2011 SMC team was stopped only by the #1 team in the country and eventual champion North Carolina Tarheels.
JOCK LANDALE – MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jock Landale came to Saint Mary's from Melbourne, Australia as another top-tier recruit from Australia brought in by Head Coach Randy Bennett. From his freshman season, Landale proved to be a strong finisher in the paint, using his 6-11, 255 pound frame to outmuscle interior defenders.
His breakout season came in his junior year, when he averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds per game, helping the Gaels to a 29-5 record. The Gaels spent the entire season ranked in the AP-Top 25 that season, and earned the seventh seed in the West Regional. Landale would log a pair of double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament, playing 75 of 80 minutes in the Gaels two matchups against VCU and Arizona.
Despite a brilliant junior campaign that featured All-WCC and honorable mention All-American honors, Landale chose to return to Moraga for his senior season, and continued to build on what was already an illustrious career. As a senior, Landale scored a program record 761 points, averaging 21.1 per game to go along with 10.2 rebounds per contest. The Gaels would win a program record 30 games that year, including 19 in a row from December 2nd to February 8th, another program best. For his sheer dominance on the court, Landale was named the WCC Player of the Year as well as a second team All-American.
He finished his Gael career with 1658 points and 843 rebounds, and a program record 62.5% field goal percentage. He was just the second ever Gael to score 500+ points in consecutive seasons.
Following his time in Moraga, Landale played overseas in Serbia, Lithuania and his homeland of Australia, earning accolades wherever he went, and catching the attention of NBA teams. He signed with the San Antonio Spurs in 2021, and has since played with the Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and is currently a member of the Houston Rockets.
The Athletics Hall of Fame inductions will be part of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony presented by the Alumni Association on January 27. The event begins at 4:00 pm and will end at 7:00 pm, just in time for tip off of the Gaels Men's Basketball game against LMU. Register to attend the event here and get your tickets to the men's basketball game here.
#GaelsRise
OMAR SAMHAN – MEN'S BASKETBALL
Omar Samhan came to Saint Mary's from nearby San Ramon Valley High School, and immediately made his impact felt in his freshman season. The 6-11 big man averaged nine points and six rebounds per contest in his debut season, earning freshman All-American honors, and only got better from there.
He is most remembered for his epic senior campaign during the 2009-10 season, where he averaged a double-double en route to earning WCC Defensive Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American honors. Samhan led the Gaels to a 28-6 record and to the 2010 WCC Tournament Title, the first won by Saint Mary's since 1997.
With the tournament title came an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, where Samhan and the Gaels quickly showed they deserved to be. Entering as a 10 seed in the South region, the Gaels first traveled to Providence, where they first dispatched of the seventh seeded Richmond Spiders before taking down the second seeded Villanova Wildcats in what Samhan called the "Best Win Ever", punching their ticket to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history, and the first since 1959. Omar averaged over 20 points per game in those two victories, and would put up a 15 point, nine rebound performance against Baylor in the Sweet 16, but the Bears would get the best of the Gaels, ending the Cinderella run.
Samhan would graduate from Saint Mary's as the all-time leader in field goals made (737), blocked shots (258) and game played (133), with the field goal and blocked shot records still holding today. He also is one of two players in program history to finish their career with 1,000+ points and 1,000+ rebounds for his career.
Following his time in Moraga, Samhan enjoyed a 10 year international career, highlighted by his 2011 Baltic League Title with Zalgiris and his 2015 Egyptian League Title with Alexandria Sporting Club. Samhan also reunited with his collegiate teammates to take part in the 2018 and 2019 TBT with Team Gael Force.
2011 MEN'S SOCCER TEAM
The 2011 Saint Mary's Men's Soccer Team went 7-3-2 in WCC play to capture the first conference title in program history, and finished the season ranked 14th in the country.
Their run to the Elite 8 featured two overtime wins in the NCAA tournament, including a double overtime victory over No. 8 UC Irvine. They are the only SMC team in the modern era to make the Elite 8 of an NCAA tournament.
Those Gaels were 17th in the country in shutout percentage, with 10 clean sheets that season, including one in the NCAA tourney against no. 25 CSU Bakersfield.
Keeper Doug Herrick made 88 saves for a .91 save percentage in 2011, which is 6th all time in SMC, single-season history. He had 11 wins that year, which is 4th all-time for the Gaels, and 10 shutouts, good for 3rd in a single season at SMC.
Herrick has the most minutes played in Gael history, including a single-season record 2,186 minutes in 2011. He was the SMC program record holder for wins and shutouts when his career ended, he'd eventually be passed by current Saint Mary's assistant Remi Prieur.
He was 12th in the country in total saves in 2011 and 38th in save percentage. Herrick played for Guam National Team and spent a little time with the Seattle Sounders Professionally, after initially being selected by the Portland Timbers in the 2012 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft. Today Herrick works in children's therapy and coaches for OL Reign Academy as their director of goalkeeping. After retiring, he joined Reign FC as goalkeeper coach in 2017.
Julian Godinez had eight assists overall that year to lead the Gaels after coming over from UC Davis, which put him 21st in the country. That 2011 SMC team was stopped only by the #1 team in the country and eventual champion North Carolina Tarheels.
JOCK LANDALE – MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jock Landale came to Saint Mary's from Melbourne, Australia as another top-tier recruit from Australia brought in by Head Coach Randy Bennett. From his freshman season, Landale proved to be a strong finisher in the paint, using his 6-11, 255 pound frame to outmuscle interior defenders.
His breakout season came in his junior year, when he averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds per game, helping the Gaels to a 29-5 record. The Gaels spent the entire season ranked in the AP-Top 25 that season, and earned the seventh seed in the West Regional. Landale would log a pair of double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament, playing 75 of 80 minutes in the Gaels two matchups against VCU and Arizona.
Despite a brilliant junior campaign that featured All-WCC and honorable mention All-American honors, Landale chose to return to Moraga for his senior season, and continued to build on what was already an illustrious career. As a senior, Landale scored a program record 761 points, averaging 21.1 per game to go along with 10.2 rebounds per contest. The Gaels would win a program record 30 games that year, including 19 in a row from December 2nd to February 8th, another program best. For his sheer dominance on the court, Landale was named the WCC Player of the Year as well as a second team All-American.
He finished his Gael career with 1658 points and 843 rebounds, and a program record 62.5% field goal percentage. He was just the second ever Gael to score 500+ points in consecutive seasons.
Following his time in Moraga, Landale played overseas in Serbia, Lithuania and his homeland of Australia, earning accolades wherever he went, and catching the attention of NBA teams. He signed with the San Antonio Spurs in 2021, and has since played with the Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and is currently a member of the Houston Rockets.
The Athletics Hall of Fame inductions will be part of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony presented by the Alumni Association on January 27. The event begins at 4:00 pm and will end at 7:00 pm, just in time for tip off of the Gaels Men's Basketball game against LMU. Register to attend the event here and get your tickets to the men's basketball game here.
#GaelsRise
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