Rising: Paulius Murauskas hit a career-high 29 points in the Gaels’ victory over Utah in Salt Lake City. Now he’s WCC Player of the Week. / Photo by Joe Oliver for SMC Athletics
Gaels Garner West Coast Conference Top Awards Again. And They’re on National Watchlists for Offense and Defense
To kick off December, Paulius Murauskas and Andrew McKeever are WCC Player and Freshman of the Week. Mikey Lewis has been both. Augustas Marciulionis and Mitchell Saxen earned spots on watchlists for national awards. And that's not all.
The latest men’s basketball accolades in the West Coast Conference—Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week—both belong to Gaels. That’s not even the first time this season this has happened. Two different Gaels also won Freshman of the Week back-to-back. On the national stage, Saint Mary’s players earned spots on preseason watchlists for offensive and defensive prowess. And for those looking at mid-major basketball teams across the country, one take has the Gaels as the top team in the country.
Here’s a quick rewind, starting with the latest.
December: Paulius Murauskas and Andrew McKeever Sweep WCC Weekly Awards
For the second time this season, Saint Mary's swept the WCC Weekly Awards: Paulius Murauskas was named the WCC Player of the Week, while Andrew McKeever earned his second nod as Freshman of the Week. The awards were announced on December 9.
Murauskas and McKeever both provided quality minutes in the Gaels 2–0 wins over UTSA and Utah. This is the third time this season that Gaels have had at least one Men's Basketball student-athlete honored with a WCC weekly award, and the second time that the Gaels have swept both awards this season.
Paulius Murauskas shook off a slow shooting night against UTSA, playing a physical brand of basketball to earn his fifth double-double as a Gael (12 points, 12 rebounds). He followed that up with a career night against Utah, scoring 29 points to go along with seven boards to lead the Gaels to their third Power Four victory of non-conference play. (The other two have been big wins over Nebraska and USC.) Murauskas buried 6–10 three-pointers, including three in the final six possessions of the game to put the game on ice for the Gaels.
When both Mitchell Saxen and Harry Wessels picked up two fouls in the first half against Utah, the Gaels went to Andrew McKeever off the bench—the first time this season he saw action in the first half. McKeever impressed with one made field goal on one attempt, four rebounds, and one blocked shot. The Gaels then went back to McKeever in the second half as Saxen got into deeper foul trouble, and he hit two more field goals (on two more attempts) and four more rebounds, leading to his team-high eight for the night. McKeever played a career-high 21 minutes in Salt Lake City, the most of any Gaels center in that contest.
November 25: Andrew McKeever’s Stellar Debut Earns Him WCC Freshman of the Week Honors
The Gaels went back-to-back with WCC Freshman of the Week honors in November. After Mikey Lewis secured his first WCC weekly award on November 18, Andrew McKeever was selected by the conference as the week's top freshman. McKeever and Lewis are the first two Gaels to earn Freshman of the Week honors in the same season since the inception of the award in 2020.
McKeever, who redshirted last season, saw his first collegiate action in the week before the award. He scored 10 points, shooting 83% from the field against Stanislaus State. He used every inch of his 7’1” frame to dominate on the glass and rim protect defensively, bringing down seven rebounds and swatted away a couple of Warrior layup attempts.
November 18: Mikey Lewis Wins WCC Freshman and Player of the Week
Saint Mary's Men's Basketball came out of the gates hot this season with a 4-0 start, including a pair of wins over teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, Akron and Nebraska. A big reason why was their freshman phenom sixth man, Mikey Lewis. He was already averaging 16.3 points per contest, and shooting 54% from the field and 52% from three. Those numbers all jumped up mightily when he scored 18 against Akron and 23 against Nebraska, shooting 14–25 from the field and 9–14 from three. That earned him honors as WCC Freshman of the Week and WCC Player of the Week. He is the first player since Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren (2022) to earn this distinction.
One to Watch: Augustus Marciulionis named to the Lou Henson Early Season Watch List and the Preseason Watchlist for the John R. Wooden Award
The Lou Henson Award is an award given annually to the top player in mid-major college basketball. It should come as no surprise to Gael fans that Augustas Marciulionis opened the season on the Lou Henson Award Early Season Watch List, announced on November 19 by College Insider.
Marciulionis comes off of a dream season with the Gaels in 2023–24, leading them to both a WCC regular season and tournament title, their first time accomplishing this feat since 2012. The Vilnius, Lithuania, native became the second-ever Gael to earn both WCC Player of the Year and WCC Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the same season, with the other being Gael great Matthew Dellavedova. He finished the season ranked in the nation's top 40 in assists (181), assists per game (5.3), and assist to turnover (2.70), while averaging 12.4 points per game.
The Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I college basketball, honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons. Henson led the Fighting Illini to 16 postseason appearances, including 12 NCAA tournaments and a Final Four appearance in 1989. He also took New Mexico State to the Final Four—one of a handful of coaches to accomplish that feat with two teams.
Marciulionis has also been named to the preseason watchlist for the John R. Wooden Award, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club in November. Chosen by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball, the Wooden Award All American Team and Most Outstanding Player Award.
Created in 1976, the Los Angeles Athletic Club John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball. Previous winners include Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Kevin Durant ('07), and the last two years’ recipients are Caitlin Clark of Iowa and Zach Edey of Purdue.
Center of the Year Watch List: Mitchell Saxen
On November 1, the Basketball Hall of Fame announced that the Gaels’ Mitchell Saxen had been named to the Preseason Top-20 Watchlist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year. Saint Mary’s fans can now cast their vote for Saxen at hoophallawards.com.
Now in his fifth season with the Gaels, the 6’10” big man from Seattle is coming off of his best season—and back-to-back All-West Coast Conference nods. Last season, Saxen averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per contest, and he helped leaSd the Gaels to the WCC Regular Season and Tournament Titles. He was named Defensive Player of the Year in the conference after leading the WCC with 43 blocks to go along with 134 defensive rebounds. And he was key in the Gaels earning recognition as the No. 3 defense in the country.
Named for three-time NCAA National Champion and First Team All-American, the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award has been given since 2015. This prestigious award honors the best centers in men’s college basketball and is presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame, highlighting the elite talent in the sport.
Gaels fans can support Mitchell Saxen’s bid for the award by participating in fan voting. In early February, the watch list of 20 players will be narrowed to 10, and then in early March, to just five. Later in March, the five finalists will be presented to the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, where winners will be selected.
UP NEXT: The Gaels head to Idaho Falls for a neutral site game vs. Boise State on December 14. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Pacific.
