St. Mary’s was an analytical darling last season but their record did not reflect an NCAA Tournament team. Nonetheless, the Gaels caught fire down the stretch and managed to upset Gonzaga en route to winning the WCC Tournament and the automatic bid to the Big Dance. While they were ousted in the opening round of the event, reaching the most prestigious postseason tournament still marks 2018-19 as a strong season for the program.
Head coach Randy Bennett has built St. Mary’s into one of the nation’s most underrated and consistent programs. With regards to this coming season, he returns a ton of talent and KenPom is already quite high on them as the preseason No. 26 team in his rankings.
Star senior Jordan Ford is the headliner for this team. An electric scoring guard with the ability to fill it up in a hurry, he is the type of player that can single-handedly win games. Ford averaged 21.1 points per contest last season and should once again be one of the top scorers on the west coast. His ability to fill it up on a defensive-minded team is what makes him so valuable.
The Gaels are also returning Ford’s offensive partner in crime in Malik Fitts. A 6-foot-8 redshirt junior, Fitts averaged 15.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last season and is hungry for more. The South Florida transfer has been awesome since joining the St. Mary’s roster and he will be the secondary scoring option next to Ford once again this season.
Additionally, the Gaels also return Tanner Krebs, Tommy Kuhse, and Matthias Tass as potential starters. To put it simply, St. Mary’s only lost one key contributor this offseason and they are mostly running it back with a more experienced version of last season’s team. Analytics loved the Gaels a year ago and it is reasonable to assume they will once again. Will St. Mary’s post the record they are expected to this season?
If they do, then the Gaels have a very legit shot at knocking Gonzaga off their pedestal atop the West Coast Conference. Watch for Coach Bennett’s team to dance once again behind an elite defense and two offensive stars.