KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As just announced by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Randy Bennett has been named the District Nine Coach of the Year. Also earning recognition from the NABC were Aidan Mahaney and Augustas Marciulionis, earning second team All-District Honors. 

For the second year in a row, Head Coach of the Gaels Randy Bennett has been named the District 9 Coach of the Year. The six time WCC Coach of the Year led the Gaels to a 26-7 record, including 23 wins in their last 25 matchups. The Gaels will be a five seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year, as they are the first mid-major non-Gonzaga school to achieve this feat since Memphis in the late 2000s. 

WCC Player of the Year and WCC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Augustas Marciulionis has been the Gaels second leading scorer and leader in assists this season. The junior out of Lithuania had a breakout campaign, starting every game, and scoring in double figures in 20 of them. He dropped a career-best 28 points at home against Pepperdine and logged his first three career double-doubles in conference play. He is currently ranked 30th in the country in assist to turnover ratio at 2.79. 

The Gaels leading scorer this season, Aidan Mahaney continued his offensive fireworks during his sophomore campaign. His 80 made threes tied him with teammate Alex Ducas for most made in the WCC. Aidan also saw steady increases in his rebounding and assist numbers. Three times Aidan tied his career high with 25 points this season. He was named first team All-WCC and to the WCC All-Tournament team. 

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