Kroner's Corner Year in Review: Most Successful Athletic Year in Department History
6/10/2026 10:28:00 AM | General
MORAGA, Calif. - Saint Mary's men's basketball, softball and baseball teams each repeated as a WCC champion this past season – and each displayed a flair for the dramatic in doing so.
** The Saint Mary's men's hoops team had to win all eight of its February games and did just that. The Gaels capped that run with a 70-59 victory over Gonzaga at UCU Pavilion to tie the Zags for the regular-season title with a 16-2 conference mark.
It was the fourth straight season in which the Gaels earned at least a share of the WCC championship.
** Sonja Garnett's softball team won all six of its conference series but still needed a 3-2 victory at Santa Clara on the second-to-last day of the regular season to clinch the outright title and a berth in an NCAA regional.
Hannah Ferguson's RBI single in the seventh inning lifted the Gaels over the Broncos. The program has grabbed at least a share of the WCC title for three consecutive years.
** Eric Valenzuela's baseball team rolled to three straight wins – over Pepperdine, regular-season champ Gonzaga and Pacific – in the WCC tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., before an epic Saturday.
The Gaels lost 9-8 to USF, then responded with a 7-6 thriller over the Dons, giving SMC back-to-back tourney titles. Lefty David Roberts recorded the final three outs, enabling the Gaels to both celebrate and exhale.
The repeat titles by those three programs are the main – but certainly not only – reasons that athletic director Mike Matoso takes a lot of pride in what the athletic department accomplished in the 2025-26 school year.
Two women's teams enjoyed excellent seasons though they didn't get to experience postseason play. Led by Sidney Middaugh's 10 goals, Theresa Romagnolo's soccer team went 12-2-4 (7-1-3 WCC), finished one point behind conference champ Pepperdine and owned an RPI of 41.
The Gaels were a conspicuous omission from the NCAA Tournament.
Janice Harrer's beach-volleyball squad put together a 26-12 record, including 8-3 in the WCC.
The Gaels' overall success in 2025-26 came after last June's House settlement that altered the landscape of college sports. The $20.5 million revenue-share money that schools can pay their student-athletes combined with the relatively recent additions of NIL and the transfer portal might have prompted some athletic departments to make drastic changes.
The softball and baseball teams made strong statements in their respective regionals. On May 16 in Eugene, Ore., the softball squad earned the first two regional wins in program history, topping Idaho State 3-1 and then eliminating host Oregon 5-4.
Ferguson had five hits over those two games and Odhi Vasquez earned the decision in relief in both wins.
Though Mississippi State knocked out the Gaels the next day, SMC had thoroughly validated its 42-16 record.
Two weeks later, Valenzuela's team left its mark on the national stage by beating No. 1 UCLA twice in three days, ousting the Bruins from the regional they hosted.
Jacob Johnson's two opposite-field solo homers keyed the Gaels' 3-2 win in the opener May 29. Two days later, Ian Armstrong's RBI single with two outs in the ninth sent the game to extra innings. Makoa Sniffen's single with two outs in the 10th brought home Cody Kashimoto for a 6-5 victory, likely the most significant in program history.
The Gaels later fell to regional champ Cal Poly, but what they did that weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium will be remembered for an extremely long time. Both the baseball and softball programs were one of just 14 schools in all of Division I to make the regional finals and Saint Mary's was the only school outside of the SEC, Big 12 and ACC to accomplish that feat. The Gaels softball program finished the 2026 season as the top ranked mid-major program according to D1 Softball and even cracked the top 25 in the national D1 Softball poll, coming in at No. 24 in the final poll released on June 9.
Matoso was referring to both the softball and baseball teams when he said, "To see this small, private school go compete at that high of a level is definitely a testament to our head coaches and all of our staff that help them out and to our kids to be in that mindset to play and compete."
And looking to the 2026-27 school year, major changes are on the horizon. Gonzaga is leaving the WCC for the reconstituted Pac-12, with Denver joining the conference. After Randy Bennett led the men's basketball program for 25 seasons, he departed for Arizona State in March. Former SMC guard and longtime assistant coach Mickey McConnell has become the head coach.
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has worked as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+ the past two seasons.
#GaelsRise
** The Saint Mary's men's hoops team had to win all eight of its February games and did just that. The Gaels capped that run with a 70-59 victory over Gonzaga at UCU Pavilion to tie the Zags for the regular-season title with a 16-2 conference mark.
It was the fourth straight season in which the Gaels earned at least a share of the WCC championship.
** Sonja Garnett's softball team won all six of its conference series but still needed a 3-2 victory at Santa Clara on the second-to-last day of the regular season to clinch the outright title and a berth in an NCAA regional.
Hannah Ferguson's RBI single in the seventh inning lifted the Gaels over the Broncos. The program has grabbed at least a share of the WCC title for three consecutive years.
** Eric Valenzuela's baseball team rolled to three straight wins – over Pepperdine, regular-season champ Gonzaga and Pacific – in the WCC tournament in Scottsdale, Ariz., before an epic Saturday.
The Gaels lost 9-8 to USF, then responded with a 7-6 thriller over the Dons, giving SMC back-to-back tourney titles. Lefty David Roberts recorded the final three outs, enabling the Gaels to both celebrate and exhale.
The repeat titles by those three programs are the main – but certainly not only – reasons that athletic director Mike Matoso takes a lot of pride in what the athletic department accomplished in the 2025-26 school year.
When you start to see that success," Matoso said, "it kind of goes throughout our entire department. I think it motivates our other coaches and our other student-athletes as well.
"They see it and (think), 'Well, why can't we do this as well?'
Two women's teams enjoyed excellent seasons though they didn't get to experience postseason play. Led by Sidney Middaugh's 10 goals, Theresa Romagnolo's soccer team went 12-2-4 (7-1-3 WCC), finished one point behind conference champ Pepperdine and owned an RPI of 41.
The Gaels were a conspicuous omission from the NCAA Tournament.
Janice Harrer's beach-volleyball squad put together a 26-12 record, including 8-3 in the WCC.
The Gaels' overall success in 2025-26 came after last June's House settlement that altered the landscape of college sports. The $20.5 million revenue-share money that schools can pay their student-athletes combined with the relatively recent additions of NIL and the transfer portal might have prompted some athletic departments to make drastic changes.
I think last year was hard with the House settlement," Matoso said. "You're wondering, 'What's going to happen? Are we going to survive this thing?' I was really careful not to knee-jerk and say, 'We're cutting sports' or, 'We're cutting scholarships.'
I kind of equate it to Y2K: There was this big buildup and then it came and you're like, 'Well, nothing happened.' … We just stayed the course with what we had been doing.
The softball and baseball teams made strong statements in their respective regionals. On May 16 in Eugene, Ore., the softball squad earned the first two regional wins in program history, topping Idaho State 3-1 and then eliminating host Oregon 5-4.
Ferguson had five hits over those two games and Odhi Vasquez earned the decision in relief in both wins.
Though Mississippi State knocked out the Gaels the next day, SMC had thoroughly validated its 42-16 record.
Two weeks later, Valenzuela's team left its mark on the national stage by beating No. 1 UCLA twice in three days, ousting the Bruins from the regional they hosted.
Jacob Johnson's two opposite-field solo homers keyed the Gaels' 3-2 win in the opener May 29. Two days later, Ian Armstrong's RBI single with two outs in the ninth sent the game to extra innings. Makoa Sniffen's single with two outs in the 10th brought home Cody Kashimoto for a 6-5 victory, likely the most significant in program history.
The Gaels later fell to regional champ Cal Poly, but what they did that weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium will be remembered for an extremely long time. Both the baseball and softball programs were one of just 14 schools in all of Division I to make the regional finals and Saint Mary's was the only school outside of the SEC, Big 12 and ACC to accomplish that feat. The Gaels softball program finished the 2026 season as the top ranked mid-major program according to D1 Softball and even cracked the top 25 in the national D1 Softball poll, coming in at No. 24 in the final poll released on June 9.
Matoso was referring to both the softball and baseball teams when he said, "To see this small, private school go compete at that high of a level is definitely a testament to our head coaches and all of our staff that help them out and to our kids to be in that mindset to play and compete."
And looking to the 2026-27 school year, major changes are on the horizon. Gonzaga is leaving the WCC for the reconstituted Pac-12, with Denver joining the conference. After Randy Bennett led the men's basketball program for 25 seasons, he departed for Arizona State in March. Former SMC guard and longtime assistant coach Mickey McConnell has become the head coach.
We've just got to worry about us and take care of what we're doing," Matoso said. "I think we're really good at being really efficient in the dollars that we spend and how we invest. The one thing I think I've learned in my time as an athletic director is you hire good people and you keep people – and then you just let 'em do their jobs. …
We're never going to have the fanciest of facilities or the bells and the whistles, but I think we hire really good head coaches and we recruit really tough, smart kids who want to compete and win. And we have a passionate fan base, loyal alumni and generous donors which all make Saint Mary's such a special place.
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has worked as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+ the past two seasons.
#GaelsRise
Monday, January 30
Saturday, May 28
Friday, May 13
Thursday, May 13
