Saint Mary’s Earns Third Place Finish in Final 2025-26 Commissioner’s Cup Standings
6/3/2026 10:28:00 AM | General
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The West Coast Conference released its final 2025-26 Women's and Men's All-Sports Awards and Commissioner's Cup standings with Saint Mary's earning a third place finish for its best Commissioner's Cup finish since 2019.
The WCC Commissioner's Cup is an all-sports award presented at the end of each academic year to the league's top performing school in conference play and is based on a point system, reflecting the finish of each team in conference play. Stretching back to the 2001-02 school year, the Commissioner's Cup has become an annual tradition celebrating WCC athletic excellence.
Saint Mary's best finish in the Commissioner's Cup has been a pair of second place finishes back in 2024 and 2016. The Gaels' last third place finish came in 2019 as they ended 2026 with one of their most successful athletic years in university history. Saint Mary's athletics combined for 185 wins amongst men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, beach volleyball, men's and women's tennis, softball and baseball for the most combined program wins in an athletic year in department history.
Women's soccer led the charge in the fall with one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Gaels won 12 games and went 7-1-3 in WCC play, finishing in second place just a point behind league winners Pepperdine for their best conference finish since 2000. Head coach Theresa Romagnolo was named WCC Coach of the Year for just the program's second coach of the year winner and first since 2001 while sophomore keeper Kate Plachy was named Goalkeeper of the Year, finishing with twelve shutouts and a 0.611 Goals Against Average.
Men's basketball continued its dominance in the WCC, earning a share of their fourth consecutive WCC title after defeating No. 9 Gonzaga 70-59 in the final WCC home contest between the two foes. The Gaels finished conference play 16-2 and secured wins over Santa Clara and Gonzaga in the final week to earn a share of the league title. Saint Mary's earned three All-WCC First Team selections including point guard Joshua Dent and the Gaels also went on to make their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven-seed in Oklahoma City.
Saint Mary's had one of its best spring campaigns in department history this year with successful seasons from the likes of beach volleyball, softball and baseball. Beach won a program record 26 matches this season and finished 8-3 in conference play. Softball won its third straight WCC Championship and after a 3-2 win on national television over Santa Clara, the Gaels also punched their ticket to the program's third NCAA Tournament appearance. Saint Mary's finished league play 15-3 and also won a program record 42 games after a pair of wins in the Eugene Regional over No. 13 Oregon and Idaho State. The Gaels' baseball program went 15-12 in conference play for a top five WCC finish and also ended the season as back-to-back WCC Tournament Champions for its third conference tournament title in program history.
To put a bow on the entire year, Saint Mary's very own Sydney Wilson, Braxton Brown and Nalani Jihad were given the WCC Champion of Change award for their efforts outside of competition, leading numerous student groups and seminars on inclusion and equality in and out of sports. The trio attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit in Eugene this past May and are crucial campus leaders as members of the Saint Mary's Black Student Athlete Alliance, helping advocate and voice for change within their campus community.
Full 2025-26 Commissioner's Cup and Women's and Men's All-Sports standings can be found below:
2025-26 West Coast Conference Commissioner's Cup Standings
Men's All-Sports Award Standings
Women's All-Sports Award Standings
Men's Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete
Maxi Homberg, Pepperdine men's tennis
Women's Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete
Caroline Penner, Seattle U women's soccer
Men's Postgraduate Scholarship
Maxi Homberg, Pepperdine men's tennis
Women's Postgraduate Scholarship
Caroline Penner, Seattle U women's soccer
Champion of Change
Sydney Wilson, Braxton Brown and Nalani Jihad, Saint Mary's
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
The WCC Commissioner's Cup is an all-sports award presented at the end of each academic year to the league's top performing school in conference play and is based on a point system, reflecting the finish of each team in conference play. Stretching back to the 2001-02 school year, the Commissioner's Cup has become an annual tradition celebrating WCC athletic excellence.
Saint Mary's best finish in the Commissioner's Cup has been a pair of second place finishes back in 2024 and 2016. The Gaels' last third place finish came in 2019 as they ended 2026 with one of their most successful athletic years in university history. Saint Mary's athletics combined for 185 wins amongst men's and women's soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, beach volleyball, men's and women's tennis, softball and baseball for the most combined program wins in an athletic year in department history.
Women's soccer led the charge in the fall with one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Gaels won 12 games and went 7-1-3 in WCC play, finishing in second place just a point behind league winners Pepperdine for their best conference finish since 2000. Head coach Theresa Romagnolo was named WCC Coach of the Year for just the program's second coach of the year winner and first since 2001 while sophomore keeper Kate Plachy was named Goalkeeper of the Year, finishing with twelve shutouts and a 0.611 Goals Against Average.
Men's basketball continued its dominance in the WCC, earning a share of their fourth consecutive WCC title after defeating No. 9 Gonzaga 70-59 in the final WCC home contest between the two foes. The Gaels finished conference play 16-2 and secured wins over Santa Clara and Gonzaga in the final week to earn a share of the league title. Saint Mary's earned three All-WCC First Team selections including point guard Joshua Dent and the Gaels also went on to make their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance as a seven-seed in Oklahoma City.
Saint Mary's had one of its best spring campaigns in department history this year with successful seasons from the likes of beach volleyball, softball and baseball. Beach won a program record 26 matches this season and finished 8-3 in conference play. Softball won its third straight WCC Championship and after a 3-2 win on national television over Santa Clara, the Gaels also punched their ticket to the program's third NCAA Tournament appearance. Saint Mary's finished league play 15-3 and also won a program record 42 games after a pair of wins in the Eugene Regional over No. 13 Oregon and Idaho State. The Gaels' baseball program went 15-12 in conference play for a top five WCC finish and also ended the season as back-to-back WCC Tournament Champions for its third conference tournament title in program history.
To put a bow on the entire year, Saint Mary's very own Sydney Wilson, Braxton Brown and Nalani Jihad were given the WCC Champion of Change award for their efforts outside of competition, leading numerous student groups and seminars on inclusion and equality in and out of sports. The trio attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit in Eugene this past May and are crucial campus leaders as members of the Saint Mary's Black Student Athlete Alliance, helping advocate and voice for change within their campus community.
Full 2025-26 Commissioner's Cup and Women's and Men's All-Sports standings can be found below:
2025-26 West Coast Conference Commissioner's Cup Standings
| 1. | Pepperdine | 105.26 |
| 2. | Santa Clara | 102.23 |
| 3. | Saint Mary's | 90.33 |
| 4. | Gonzaga | 88.23 |
| 5. | Portland | 82.30 |
| 6. | San Diego | 81.33 |
| 7. | LMU | 75.83 |
| 8. | San Francisco | 68.03 |
| 9. | Pacific | 58.80 |
| 10. | Seattle U | 39.60 |
Men's All-Sports Award Standings
| 1. | Santa Clara | 40.93 |
| 2. | Gonzaga | 38.33 |
| 3. | Pepperdine | 38.26 |
| 4. | San Diego | 37.33 |
| 5. | Pacific | 37.30 |
| 6. | San Francisco | 36.73 |
| 7. | Saint Mary's | 36.46 |
| 8. | Portland | 34.70 |
| 9. | LMU | 23.73 |
| 10. | Seattle U | 23.60 |
Women's All-Sports Award Standings
| 1. | Pepperdine | 63.30 |
| 2. | Santa Clara | 61.30 |
| 3. | Saint Mary's | 52.60 |
| 4. | LMU | 52.10 |
| 5. | Gonzaga | 49.90 |
| 6. | Portland | 47.60 |
| 7. | San Diego | 43.80 |
| 8. | San Francisco | 31.30 |
| 9. | Pacific | 20.70 |
| 10. | Seattle U | 16.00 |
Men's Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete
Maxi Homberg, Pepperdine men's tennis
Women's Mike Gilleran Scholar-Athlete
Caroline Penner, Seattle U women's soccer
Men's Postgraduate Scholarship
Maxi Homberg, Pepperdine men's tennis
Women's Postgraduate Scholarship
Caroline Penner, Seattle U women's soccer
Champion of Change
Sydney Wilson, Braxton Brown and Nalani Jihad, Saint Mary's
"What a year for Saint Mary's athletics", said Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso. "As a department, we recorded 185 combined wins for our highest win total in department history. Men's basketball and softball have established continued success with basketball winning a share of its fourth consecutive conference title and softball winning its third straight WCC title which punched its ticket to the program's third NCAA Regional appearance. We also had four spring athletic programs represented in NCAA postseason play to end the year for one of the most successful athletic campaigns in university history. A huge shoutout to all of our coaches and amazing student-athletes for their dedication and commitment to excellence within their respective programs. In a world of continuous change in college athletics, Saint Mary's is continuing to move forward and achieve new heights as we embark on this new chapter in the West Coast Conference" (Matoso).
Be sure to follow your Gaels on Facebook, Instagram, and X to get all the latest Saint Mary's athletics updates and information.
#GaelsRise
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