(L-R) Mitchell Saxen (Defensive Player of the Year, 1st Team), Augustas Marciulionis (Player of the Year, 1st Team), Luke Barrett (Honorable Mention), Mikey Lewis (6th Man of the Year, All-Freshman Team), Paulius Murauskas (Newcomer of the Year, 1st Team)
Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
MBB | Gaels Rake in the Hardware for WCC Season Awards, with Five Superlative Winners and Five All-Conference Honorees
3/4/2025 10:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN BRUNO, Calif. — To the victors go the spoils! After winning the WCC Regular Season Title for the third straight season, the Saint Mary's Gaels received loads of recognition on the end of season WCC awards list. Augustas Marciulionis was named Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, Mitchell Saxen earned his second straight Defensive Player of the Year nod, Paulius Murauskas was named Newcomer of the Year and Mikey Lewis garnered Sixth Man of the Year honors. Marciulionis, Murauskas and Saxen were all named First Team All-WCC, while Luke Barrett received honorable mention recognition and Mikey Lewis was named to the All-Freshman team. Head Coach Randy Bennett once again received the WCC Coach of the Year award, making it his fourth in a row, tying him with USF's Phil Woolpert for second longest streak in conference history.
Augustas Marciulionis became the second ever Gael to earn WCC Player of the Year honors, joining the likes of Steve Gray in 1962 and 1963. Despite having a breakout season to win the award a year ago, averaging 12.4 points and 5.3 assists per game, the senior out of Vilnius, Lithuania saw upticks in almost all of his statistical categories this year, averaging 14.4 points and 6.1 assists per game, while also leading the Gaels with 43 steals. He surpassed the 1000 point mark this year, now with 1175 for his career, and is nearing 500 assists, now at 485. Twice this season, Marciulionis recorded point-assist double-doubles, and seven times scored 20+ points in a game. His 189 assists rank 11th in the country currently. This is also his second First Team All-WCC nod.
In the history of the WCC Defensive Player of the Year Award heading into the 2024-25 campaign, there had been only one two time winner of this award, Gael great Diamon Simpson. Now, there are two, as Mitchell Saxen earned his second straight defensive player of the year nod. The big man from Seattle was the only player in the conference this year to record both 30+ blocked shots and 40+ steals. While his defensive prowess has been second to none in the WCC, Saxen has still managed to be a fearsome force on the interior offensively, averaging 10.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. His nine double-doubles ranks fourth in the conference this season, while he leads the WCC and ranks second in the country averaging 4.19 offensive rebounds per contest. Like Marciulionis, Saxen also surpassed 1000 points this season, now with 1285 points, and sits in fifth in program history with 896 rebounds and fourth with 150 blocks. With his 31 games played (and counting) this season, Saxen now has appeared in 152 games as a Gael, more than any other men's basketball player to come through Saint Mary's. This is Mitchell's third First Team All-WCC nod.
A sophomore transfer from Arizona, many folks around Saint Mary's Basketball or the WCC knew the name Paulius Murauskas. Three games into his Gaels career, he was known, going for three consecutive double-doubles to open his Saint Mary's tenure. That remained the theme of his season, as he finished the regular season tied for the most double-doubles in the conference with 12. The Gaels second leading scorer and the conference's leading rebounder, Murauskas averaged 13.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He became the first Gael in three seasons to score 30 in a game, doing so against Washington State on 2/15, and also was the first Gael with double-digit double-doubles since Jock Landale in 2017-18. He is the fifth Gael to be named WCC Newcomer of the Year, and the first since one of his coaches, Joe Rahon, won the award in 2015-16. He also received a First Team All-WCC nod.
The instant spark of offense that the Gaels needed all season long off the bench, true freshman Mikey Lewis became the second ever Saint Mary's student athlete to earn WCC Sixth Man of the Year, joining the likes of Tommy Kuhse. The Oakland native has been the Gaels best three point shooter all season long, burying 56 of his 136 attempts for a 41.2% clip. With a flair for big game spotlights, Lewis dropped 23 points in the Gaels victory over Big10 foe Nebraska and averaged 17 points per game in his first two collegiate matchups with Gonzaga, both victories. He is the 10th to be named to the WCC All-Freshman Team.
Luke Barrett rounds out the group of all-conference honorees, earning his first All-WCC nod as an honorable mention member. A first year starter, Barrett led the conference in minutes played, while averaging 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He logged his first six collegiate double-doubles this year, and had his first collegiate 20 point game in the conference opener against Pacific. Barrett will finish his career with career-highs in points, rebounds, field goals made, three pointers made, assists, blocked shots and steals.
For the fourth consecutive year and seventh time in his illustrious career, Head Coach Randy Bennett has been named the WCC Coach of the Year. Leading the Gaels to their third straight WCC Regular Season Title, Bennett notched a rare first in his tenure at the helm of Saint Mary's. The four straight ties legendary USF Head Coach Phil Woolpert for second most consecutive Coach of the Year nod as he remains the Coach with the second most WCC Coach of the Year nods overall. His 17-1 WCC record this season was the best conference record in program history, besting last year's 15-1 conference slate.
With all of these honors under their belt, the Gaels will head to Las Vegas to take part in the Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championship, where they will be the #1 seed, with their first action coming on Monday, March 10 at 6 PM.
Here's a look at the full all-conference award list:
2024-25 West Coast Conference Major Awards
Coach of the Year - Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Player of the Year - Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Defensive Player of the Year - Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Newcomer of the Year – Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Sixth Man of the Year – Mikey Lewis, Saint Mary's
Freshman of the Year – Austin Rapp, Portland
All-Conference First Team:
Adama-Alpha Bal, Santa Clara
Nolan Hickman, Gonzaga
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Michael Rataj, Oregon State
Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Malik Thomas, San Francisco
Marcus Williams, San Francisco
All-Conference Second Team:
Parsa Fallah, Oregon State
Max Mackinnon, Portland
Carlos Stewart, Santa Clara
Christoph Tilly, Santa Clara
Lamar Washington, Pacific
All-Conference Honorable Mention
Luke Barrett, Saint Mary's
Nate Calmese, Washington State
Nate Kingz, Oregon State
Jevon Porter, LMU
Caleb Stone-Carrawell, LMU
Stefan Todorovic, Pepperdine
Lejuan Watts, Washington State
All-Freshman Team
Tony Duckett, San Diego
Mikey Lewis, Saint Mary's
Austin Rapp, Portland
Tyrone Riley IV, San Francisco
Tomas Thrastarson, Washington State
#GaelsRise
Augustas Marciulionis became the second ever Gael to earn WCC Player of the Year honors, joining the likes of Steve Gray in 1962 and 1963. Despite having a breakout season to win the award a year ago, averaging 12.4 points and 5.3 assists per game, the senior out of Vilnius, Lithuania saw upticks in almost all of his statistical categories this year, averaging 14.4 points and 6.1 assists per game, while also leading the Gaels with 43 steals. He surpassed the 1000 point mark this year, now with 1175 for his career, and is nearing 500 assists, now at 485. Twice this season, Marciulionis recorded point-assist double-doubles, and seven times scored 20+ points in a game. His 189 assists rank 11th in the country currently. This is also his second First Team All-WCC nod.
In the history of the WCC Defensive Player of the Year Award heading into the 2024-25 campaign, there had been only one two time winner of this award, Gael great Diamon Simpson. Now, there are two, as Mitchell Saxen earned his second straight defensive player of the year nod. The big man from Seattle was the only player in the conference this year to record both 30+ blocked shots and 40+ steals. While his defensive prowess has been second to none in the WCC, Saxen has still managed to be a fearsome force on the interior offensively, averaging 10.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. His nine double-doubles ranks fourth in the conference this season, while he leads the WCC and ranks second in the country averaging 4.19 offensive rebounds per contest. Like Marciulionis, Saxen also surpassed 1000 points this season, now with 1285 points, and sits in fifth in program history with 896 rebounds and fourth with 150 blocks. With his 31 games played (and counting) this season, Saxen now has appeared in 152 games as a Gael, more than any other men's basketball player to come through Saint Mary's. This is Mitchell's third First Team All-WCC nod.
A sophomore transfer from Arizona, many folks around Saint Mary's Basketball or the WCC knew the name Paulius Murauskas. Three games into his Gaels career, he was known, going for three consecutive double-doubles to open his Saint Mary's tenure. That remained the theme of his season, as he finished the regular season tied for the most double-doubles in the conference with 12. The Gaels second leading scorer and the conference's leading rebounder, Murauskas averaged 13.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He became the first Gael in three seasons to score 30 in a game, doing so against Washington State on 2/15, and also was the first Gael with double-digit double-doubles since Jock Landale in 2017-18. He is the fifth Gael to be named WCC Newcomer of the Year, and the first since one of his coaches, Joe Rahon, won the award in 2015-16. He also received a First Team All-WCC nod.
The instant spark of offense that the Gaels needed all season long off the bench, true freshman Mikey Lewis became the second ever Saint Mary's student athlete to earn WCC Sixth Man of the Year, joining the likes of Tommy Kuhse. The Oakland native has been the Gaels best three point shooter all season long, burying 56 of his 136 attempts for a 41.2% clip. With a flair for big game spotlights, Lewis dropped 23 points in the Gaels victory over Big10 foe Nebraska and averaged 17 points per game in his first two collegiate matchups with Gonzaga, both victories. He is the 10th to be named to the WCC All-Freshman Team.
Luke Barrett rounds out the group of all-conference honorees, earning his first All-WCC nod as an honorable mention member. A first year starter, Barrett led the conference in minutes played, while averaging 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He logged his first six collegiate double-doubles this year, and had his first collegiate 20 point game in the conference opener against Pacific. Barrett will finish his career with career-highs in points, rebounds, field goals made, three pointers made, assists, blocked shots and steals.
For the fourth consecutive year and seventh time in his illustrious career, Head Coach Randy Bennett has been named the WCC Coach of the Year. Leading the Gaels to their third straight WCC Regular Season Title, Bennett notched a rare first in his tenure at the helm of Saint Mary's. The four straight ties legendary USF Head Coach Phil Woolpert for second most consecutive Coach of the Year nod as he remains the Coach with the second most WCC Coach of the Year nods overall. His 17-1 WCC record this season was the best conference record in program history, besting last year's 15-1 conference slate.
With all of these honors under their belt, the Gaels will head to Las Vegas to take part in the Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championship, where they will be the #1 seed, with their first action coming on Monday, March 10 at 6 PM.
Here's a look at the full all-conference award list:
2024-25 West Coast Conference Major Awards
Coach of the Year - Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Player of the Year - Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Defensive Player of the Year - Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Newcomer of the Year – Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Sixth Man of the Year – Mikey Lewis, Saint Mary's
Freshman of the Year – Austin Rapp, Portland
All-Conference First Team:
Adama-Alpha Bal, Santa Clara
Nolan Hickman, Gonzaga
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Michael Rataj, Oregon State
Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Malik Thomas, San Francisco
Marcus Williams, San Francisco
All-Conference Second Team:
Parsa Fallah, Oregon State
Max Mackinnon, Portland
Carlos Stewart, Santa Clara
Christoph Tilly, Santa Clara
Lamar Washington, Pacific
All-Conference Honorable Mention
Luke Barrett, Saint Mary's
Nate Calmese, Washington State
Nate Kingz, Oregon State
Jevon Porter, LMU
Caleb Stone-Carrawell, LMU
Stefan Todorovic, Pepperdine
Lejuan Watts, Washington State
All-Freshman Team
Tony Duckett, San Diego
Mikey Lewis, Saint Mary's
Austin Rapp, Portland
Tyrone Riley IV, San Francisco
Tomas Thrastarson, Washington State
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
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