Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
Kroner's Corner Season 2: Aussie Aussie Aussie
1/20/2026 11:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Unquestionably, not all of the success Saint Mary's has enjoyed over the past quarter-century under head coach Randy Bennett derives from the Australian pipeline he has built.
But just as assuredly, almost all of the 25 players from Down Under have made extremely significant contributions to Bennett's 579 wins, the Gaels' 11 NCAA Tournament bids and SMC's six regular-season WCC titles since the beginning of the 2001-02 season.
Saint Mary's will pay tribute to the Gaels' Aussie connection Wednesday night when SMC hosts Oregon State. It's Australian Heritage Night at UCU Pavilion.
Bennett often has told the story of how he didn't set out to make Australia such an important part of his program. He simply was in need of good players when he found guard Adam Caporn for that 2001-02 season.
Landing Caporn helped the Gaels get forward Daniel Kickert, who was a key part of Bennett's first NCAA Tournament team in 2004-05. Guards Patty Mills (2007-09) and Matthew Dellavedova (2009-13) were the headliners as the pipeline truly took hold.
And now, Australia has become part and parcel of the SMC program.
Bennett said the Aussies "fit our program. They fit how I think you should be as a team/teammate: unselfish, tough, care about their team, their program. That's the stuff they care about."
Three Aussies are on this season's roster: senior center Harry Wessels, sophomore point guard Josh Dent and redshirt-freshman swingman Rory Hawke.
Hawke called it "super cool" that SMC is putting on Australian Heritage Night. "We're very grateful that they care about us enough to put on a night like this," Hawke said.
Said Dent: "It's just cool to know that the place cares about my heritage, my teammates' heritage. … It's good to feel wanted and to be celebrated."
Saint Mary's, of course, isn't the only school in the U.S. that had and has Australians on its roster. But the Moraga history from Caporn and Kickert to Mills and Dellavedova to Emmett Naar and Jock Landale to Kyle Bowen and Alex Ducas gives SMC a distinct advantage simply in terms of recognition in Australia.
"In America, you have those big college (basketball) names like Duke," Wessels said, "but in Australia, it's SMC. It's one of those names that people know. If you know college hoops in Australia, you know who Saint Mary's is."
Prospective Australian players appreciate what the SMC program has done for their countrymen who preceded them in Moraga.
"Seeing how they developed and how Saint Mary's worked out for them," Wessels said, "it's kind of cool to follow in that path."
Flynn Pavely, who's listed at 6-foot-11, will follow in Wessels' path next season when Pavely is set to become the 26th Australian to play for the Gaels.
Dellavedova, Landale and Mills were part of the Australian team in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Mills poured in 42 points in the Boomers' 107-93 victory over Slovenia in the bronze-medal game. That gave the Aussies their first Olympic medal in men's basketball.
"They're national heroes," Bennett said of Dellavedova, Landale and Mills. "I think they're legends for life, which is cool because they're great guys."
And as SMC prepares for Australian Heritage Night, Bennett remains grateful to Dellavedova, Landale, Mills and all of the other players who've made the pipeline so intertwined with the story of the Gaels.
"It's really helped our program," Bennett said, "and it's really helped my career."
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is in his second season working as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+.
Below is a list of the 25 Student-Athletes from Australia to Appear on a Saint Mary's Roster:
2001-03 Adam Caporn
2002-06 Daniel Kickert
2007-09 Carlin Hughes
2007-09 Lucas Walker
2008-09 Ben Allen
2007-09 Patrick Mills
2008-12 Clint Steindl
2009-13 Matthew Dellavedova
2009-13 Jorden Page
2009-13 Mitchell Young
2011-14 Matthew Hodgson
2013-17 Dane Pineau
2013-18 Emmett Naar
2014-18 Jock Landale
2015-19 Kyle Clark
2015-19 Jordan Hunter
2015-20 Tanner Krebs
2016-20 Jock Perry
2018-19 Alex Mudronja
2019-23 Kyle Bowen
2019-24 Alex Ducas
2023-24 Jensen Bradtke
2022-present Harry Wessels
2023-present Rory Hawke
2024-present Joshua Dent
But just as assuredly, almost all of the 25 players from Down Under have made extremely significant contributions to Bennett's 579 wins, the Gaels' 11 NCAA Tournament bids and SMC's six regular-season WCC titles since the beginning of the 2001-02 season.
Saint Mary's will pay tribute to the Gaels' Aussie connection Wednesday night when SMC hosts Oregon State. It's Australian Heritage Night at UCU Pavilion.
Bennett often has told the story of how he didn't set out to make Australia such an important part of his program. He simply was in need of good players when he found guard Adam Caporn for that 2001-02 season.
Landing Caporn helped the Gaels get forward Daniel Kickert, who was a key part of Bennett's first NCAA Tournament team in 2004-05. Guards Patty Mills (2007-09) and Matthew Dellavedova (2009-13) were the headliners as the pipeline truly took hold.
And now, Australia has become part and parcel of the SMC program.
Bennett said the Aussies "fit our program. They fit how I think you should be as a team/teammate: unselfish, tough, care about their team, their program. That's the stuff they care about."
Three Aussies are on this season's roster: senior center Harry Wessels, sophomore point guard Josh Dent and redshirt-freshman swingman Rory Hawke.
Hawke called it "super cool" that SMC is putting on Australian Heritage Night. "We're very grateful that they care about us enough to put on a night like this," Hawke said.
Said Dent: "It's just cool to know that the place cares about my heritage, my teammates' heritage. … It's good to feel wanted and to be celebrated."
Saint Mary's, of course, isn't the only school in the U.S. that had and has Australians on its roster. But the Moraga history from Caporn and Kickert to Mills and Dellavedova to Emmett Naar and Jock Landale to Kyle Bowen and Alex Ducas gives SMC a distinct advantage simply in terms of recognition in Australia.
"In America, you have those big college (basketball) names like Duke," Wessels said, "but in Australia, it's SMC. It's one of those names that people know. If you know college hoops in Australia, you know who Saint Mary's is."
Prospective Australian players appreciate what the SMC program has done for their countrymen who preceded them in Moraga.
"Seeing how they developed and how Saint Mary's worked out for them," Wessels said, "it's kind of cool to follow in that path."
Flynn Pavely, who's listed at 6-foot-11, will follow in Wessels' path next season when Pavely is set to become the 26th Australian to play for the Gaels.
Dellavedova, Landale and Mills were part of the Australian team in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Mills poured in 42 points in the Boomers' 107-93 victory over Slovenia in the bronze-medal game. That gave the Aussies their first Olympic medal in men's basketball.
"They're national heroes," Bennett said of Dellavedova, Landale and Mills. "I think they're legends for life, which is cool because they're great guys."
And as SMC prepares for Australian Heritage Night, Bennett remains grateful to Dellavedova, Landale, Mills and all of the other players who've made the pipeline so intertwined with the story of the Gaels.
"It's really helped our program," Bennett said, "and it's really helped my career."
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is in his second season working as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+.
Below is a list of the 25 Student-Athletes from Australia to Appear on a Saint Mary's Roster:
2001-03 Adam Caporn
2002-06 Daniel Kickert
2007-09 Carlin Hughes
2007-09 Lucas Walker
2008-09 Ben Allen
2007-09 Patrick Mills
2008-12 Clint Steindl
2009-13 Matthew Dellavedova
2009-13 Jorden Page
2009-13 Mitchell Young
2011-14 Matthew Hodgson
2013-17 Dane Pineau
2013-18 Emmett Naar
2014-18 Jock Landale
2015-19 Kyle Clark
2015-19 Jordan Hunter
2015-20 Tanner Krebs
2016-20 Jock Perry
2018-19 Alex Mudronja
2019-23 Kyle Bowen
2019-24 Alex Ducas
2023-24 Jensen Bradtke
2022-present Harry Wessels
2023-present Rory Hawke
2024-present Joshua Dent
Players Mentioned
MBB | Saint Mary's at Santa Clara Highlights, 1-17-26
Saturday, January 17
MBB | Randy Bennett Postgame at San Francisco, 1-13-26, Presented by University Credit Union
Tuesday, January 13
MBB | Saint Mary's at San Francisco Highlights, 1-13-26
Tuesday, January 13
MBB | Josh Dent Postgame vs. Washington State, 1-10-26, Presented by University Credit Union
Saturday, January 10
