MORAGA, Calif. — All-District teams began rolling out on Tuesday morning, and there is a heavy Saint Mary's flair across the board. Randy Bennett has been named the Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) for District 9. Aidan Mahaney was also named All-District by both associations, and Logan Johnson earned All-District honors from the USBWA.
 
For Bennett, the awards continue to roll in, as he was named the West Coast Conference's Coach of the Year for the second-straight season, and fifth time in his career. He also was the NABC Coach of the Year for District 9 last season, getting a lot of recognition for the work he has done to keep the Gaels near or at the top of the WCC. This year, the Gaels won their first share of the WCC regular season title since 2016, earning them the top seed in the conference tournament. They boast the fifth-best scoring defense in the NCAA, and have the sixth-best win percentage of any DI program over the last eight years.
 
Aidan Mahaney has already racked up a host of accolades this season, including being named a finalist for the Kyle Macy award. He was named First Team All-WCC as a freshman, which also puts him on the All-Freshman team in the conference. This puts Mahaney in rare air, joining Patty Mills as the only other Gael to be named to the All-WCC team as a freshman. He is the leading scorer for a freshman in the conference (14.5 points per game), a rank that is top-15 in the entire NCAA. He owns the second-most 20-point games by a Saint Mary's freshman, again behind Mills, and ends the conference tournament shooting 41.2% from beyond the arc. That puts Mahaney as one of five freshmen in the NCAA averaging over 14 points per game and shooting over 40% from three-point range.
 
Johnson was named the WCC's Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in his career, getting recognition for being one of the best defensive players in the country. His overall defensive game has taken a huge step forward this season, which has helped lead the Gaels to the fourth-best scoring defense in the NCAA. Johnson 147 steals as a Gael, the fifth most in program history, and leads the team with 51 this year. Those numbers helped him become a Lou Henson Award finalist, given to the best mid-major player in the country. He also has set a career-best in rebounding average at 4.8 per game. His all-around game has improved in his fifth collegiate season, leading the Gaels in points per game (14.7), assists (121), and free throws (99).
 
The Gaels will be in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 17 as they take on VCU inside MVP Arena in Albany, New York. Saint Mary's played VCU in the first round in 2017, beating the Rams 85-77 in Salt Lake City. For the second year in a row, the Gaels will enter the tournament as a five seed, equaling the best seed they've earned in program history. The game will be televised on TBS at 11:00 am PT, with Spero Dedes, Deb Antonelli, and AJ Ross on the call. The winner will play the winner of fourth-seeded UConn and No. 13 seed Iona on Sunday.