Saturday, October 17
Moraga, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
vs
Utah State (Exb.)
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Gaels Host Utah State in Epic Exhibition Clash
10/15/2026 3:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. — For the first time in 231 days, there will be basketball inside UCU Pavilion, as the Saint Mary's Gaels, the defending WCC Champions, will play host to another defending champ, the reigning Mountain West kings and new Pac-12 member Utah State in an exhibition showdown. The preseason clash will give an exciting preview of both of these storied programs now each under the direction of a new head coach.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Utah State Aggies
Saturday, October 17 at 7 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
A FAMILIAR FACE PULLING THE STRINGS
With the departure of 25 year head coach Randy Bennett, Gaels student-athletes and fans alike were excited to hear the name Mickey McConnell named as the program's 27th head coach. McConnell first gained notoriety as a star point guard for the Gaels from 2007-11. He was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams as a student-athlete, including the Gaels' legendary Sweet 16 run in 2010, knocking down a massive go-ahead three pointer late against Villanova to help the Gaels shock the Wildcats and advance to the second weekend. He was named first team All-WCC that year, as well as in 2011, his senior season, where he also garnered WCC Player of the Year honors.
After an eight year professional career spanning five different countries, McConnell returned to his alma mater to begin his coaching career ahead of the 2019-20 season. While serving for seven years on staff, the Gaels enjoyed massive success, going 175-54 with five NCAA Tournament berths and four conference titles. Ahead of the 2022-23 season, McConnell was promoted to Associate Head Coach, a role he held until being named the Head Coach this past March.
While he has yet to coach a game as the Head Coach of the Gaels, McConnell has already been making waves, rebuilding his 2026-27 roster around his six returners by bringing in 10 new faces, including four power four transfers and the program's first ever McDonald's All-American, Darius Bivins.
A KEY RETURNING CORE
Coach McConnell will have a solid core of six returning players on the 2026-27 roster, with four of those starting at least one game last season. Point guard Joshua Dent leads the group after earning first team All-WCC honors a year ago. He started and appeared in every game for the Gaels last year after averaging just over three minutes per game as a true freshman. Rory Hawke and Kevin Gad have both been in the program for five years now. While Hawke battled injury through his first three years, the Aussie wing played his first full season last year, appearing in 32 of 33 contests, including his first four collegiate starts. A redshirt senior, Gad started each of the first seven contests last year before being sidelined with a season ending injury, but returns with a clean bill of health in 2026-27. Just a true sophomore, Mantas Juzenas made 26 appearances in his freshman year, including a start in the NCAA Tournament. Juzenas has also gained valuable experience as one of the top scorers in each of the last two FIBA U20 EuroBasket Tournaments. Rounding out the group of returners are redshirts Jazz Gardner, who was a regular starter for Pacific in the 2024-25 season, and Trent MacLean, son of nine-year NBA Veteran Don MacLean, who both spent a year in the Saint Mary's system.
ACC TO SMC PIPELINE
Saint Mary's brought in five transfers to this year's squad, with four of them coming out of one of the top power men's basketball conferences, the ACC. Vangelis Zougris was the most impactful ACC transfer from his previous school, starting each of his final six games at Louisville, including two ACC Tournament contests and two NCAA Tournament games. In that stretch, Zougris shot 64% from the field, even better than his solid 57% season total FG clip. Jeremy Dent-Smith was also a big contributor at his previous stop, Stanford, where, in conference play, he came off the bench to average 10.1 PPG, the most of any player in the conference. Salih Altuntas spent his freshman year at Miami, appearing in 32 contests for the Hurricanes, while Luke Fennell spent his first collegiate season at Syracuse, making 10 appearances as a true freshman. The Gaels' fifth transfer brought in by Coach McConnell did not play for an ACC school, but Thomas Ndong was a key contributor to an NCAA Tournament team, the Cal Baptist Lancers, and followed his former turned current associate head coach, Hardy Asprilla to Moraga.
THE YOUTH MOVEMENT
Rounding out the Gaels' roster makeup is a group of four freshmen hungry to make an early impact, especially with new five-in-five rules essentially nullifying the redshirt. Darius Bivins headlines the group out of Washington, D.C., the first McDonald's All-American to come to Saint Mary's in program history. Cooper Lewis comes to Moraga, from Lehi, Utah after being named the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year in his senior season. Big man Flynn Pavely keeps the Australia Pipeline to Moraga alive well, coming out of Frenchs Forest outside of Sydney. Sam Curvy rounds out of the group out of Jesuit High School in Portland, one of the top prep basketball programs in the state of Oregon.
ABOUT THE AGGIES
Fresh off of their fourth Mountain West Title in eight years, Utah State will now embark on year one in the newly formed Pac-12. They will do so with a new head coach, as Ben Jacobson will take the helm after two decades as the head coach at Northern Iowa. After leading the Panthers to five NCAA Tournaments in that span, Jacobson will now take the lead of an Aggie squad that has made it to each of the last four Big Dances. While Coach Jacobson retained just four players from last year's squad, those two were massive pieces, 2026 Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev and 2026 Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year Karson Templin. Jacobson also brought in a transfer class of nine, headlined by 2025 Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year Connor Turnbull (Evansville) and former All-Big12 honoree Dallin Hall (Virginia/BYU). While this matchup will not affect the all-time series history, the Aggies narrowly lead 7-6.
Tradition Built. Excellence Earned.
Built by generations of Gaels. Driven by the work that comes next.
2026–27 SINGLE GAME TICKETS — PURCHASE HERE
2026–27 SEASON TICKETS — CLAIM YOUR SEAT HERE
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Utah State Aggies
Saturday, October 17 at 7 p.m.
UCU Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS
A FAMILIAR FACE PULLING THE STRINGS
With the departure of 25 year head coach Randy Bennett, Gaels student-athletes and fans alike were excited to hear the name Mickey McConnell named as the program's 27th head coach. McConnell first gained notoriety as a star point guard for the Gaels from 2007-11. He was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams as a student-athlete, including the Gaels' legendary Sweet 16 run in 2010, knocking down a massive go-ahead three pointer late against Villanova to help the Gaels shock the Wildcats and advance to the second weekend. He was named first team All-WCC that year, as well as in 2011, his senior season, where he also garnered WCC Player of the Year honors.
After an eight year professional career spanning five different countries, McConnell returned to his alma mater to begin his coaching career ahead of the 2019-20 season. While serving for seven years on staff, the Gaels enjoyed massive success, going 175-54 with five NCAA Tournament berths and four conference titles. Ahead of the 2022-23 season, McConnell was promoted to Associate Head Coach, a role he held until being named the Head Coach this past March.
While he has yet to coach a game as the Head Coach of the Gaels, McConnell has already been making waves, rebuilding his 2026-27 roster around his six returners by bringing in 10 new faces, including four power four transfers and the program's first ever McDonald's All-American, Darius Bivins.
A KEY RETURNING CORE
Coach McConnell will have a solid core of six returning players on the 2026-27 roster, with four of those starting at least one game last season. Point guard Joshua Dent leads the group after earning first team All-WCC honors a year ago. He started and appeared in every game for the Gaels last year after averaging just over three minutes per game as a true freshman. Rory Hawke and Kevin Gad have both been in the program for five years now. While Hawke battled injury through his first three years, the Aussie wing played his first full season last year, appearing in 32 of 33 contests, including his first four collegiate starts. A redshirt senior, Gad started each of the first seven contests last year before being sidelined with a season ending injury, but returns with a clean bill of health in 2026-27. Just a true sophomore, Mantas Juzenas made 26 appearances in his freshman year, including a start in the NCAA Tournament. Juzenas has also gained valuable experience as one of the top scorers in each of the last two FIBA U20 EuroBasket Tournaments. Rounding out the group of returners are redshirts Jazz Gardner, who was a regular starter for Pacific in the 2024-25 season, and Trent MacLean, son of nine-year NBA Veteran Don MacLean, who both spent a year in the Saint Mary's system.
ACC TO SMC PIPELINE
Saint Mary's brought in five transfers to this year's squad, with four of them coming out of one of the top power men's basketball conferences, the ACC. Vangelis Zougris was the most impactful ACC transfer from his previous school, starting each of his final six games at Louisville, including two ACC Tournament contests and two NCAA Tournament games. In that stretch, Zougris shot 64% from the field, even better than his solid 57% season total FG clip. Jeremy Dent-Smith was also a big contributor at his previous stop, Stanford, where, in conference play, he came off the bench to average 10.1 PPG, the most of any player in the conference. Salih Altuntas spent his freshman year at Miami, appearing in 32 contests for the Hurricanes, while Luke Fennell spent his first collegiate season at Syracuse, making 10 appearances as a true freshman. The Gaels' fifth transfer brought in by Coach McConnell did not play for an ACC school, but Thomas Ndong was a key contributor to an NCAA Tournament team, the Cal Baptist Lancers, and followed his former turned current associate head coach, Hardy Asprilla to Moraga.
THE YOUTH MOVEMENT
Rounding out the Gaels' roster makeup is a group of four freshmen hungry to make an early impact, especially with new five-in-five rules essentially nullifying the redshirt. Darius Bivins headlines the group out of Washington, D.C., the first McDonald's All-American to come to Saint Mary's in program history. Cooper Lewis comes to Moraga, from Lehi, Utah after being named the Utah Gatorade Player of the Year in his senior season. Big man Flynn Pavely keeps the Australia Pipeline to Moraga alive well, coming out of Frenchs Forest outside of Sydney. Sam Curvy rounds out of the group out of Jesuit High School in Portland, one of the top prep basketball programs in the state of Oregon.
ABOUT THE AGGIES
Fresh off of their fourth Mountain West Title in eight years, Utah State will now embark on year one in the newly formed Pac-12. They will do so with a new head coach, as Ben Jacobson will take the helm after two decades as the head coach at Northern Iowa. After leading the Panthers to five NCAA Tournaments in that span, Jacobson will now take the lead of an Aggie squad that has made it to each of the last four Big Dances. While Coach Jacobson retained just four players from last year's squad, those two were massive pieces, 2026 Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev and 2026 Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year Karson Templin. Jacobson also brought in a transfer class of nine, headlined by 2025 Missouri Valley Defensive Player of the Year Connor Turnbull (Evansville) and former All-Big12 honoree Dallin Hall (Virginia/BYU). While this matchup will not affect the all-time series history, the Aggies narrowly lead 7-6.
Tradition Built. Excellence Earned.
Built by generations of Gaels. Driven by the work that comes next.
2026–27 SINGLE GAME TICKETS — PURCHASE HERE
2026–27 SEASON TICKETS — CLAIM YOUR SEAT HERE
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