Driving against the Zags: Mitchell Saxen played his 150th game as a Gael in the victory over Gonzaga. / Photo by Oliver McKenna/Icon Sportswire 2025 via AP
Kroner’s Corner: A Reflection on the Mitchell Saxen Era
Longtime Bay Area sports journalist Steve Kroner talks with the defending West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year at the end of this championship season with the Gaels.
About a half hour after Saint Mary’s 79–66 win over Portland on February 19, center Mitchell Saxen discussed how he has tried to balance keeping his mindset on the short-term tasks while reminiscing about his career with the Gaels that is nearing its end. “It’s a lot of compartmentalizing and trying to focus on the game at hand or the practice we have the next day,” Saxen said in the press room at UCU Pavilion. “It’s hard not to just tear up in that moment and think of all the summer three-a-days and stuff in this gym, the wonderful teammates I’ve had and just how grateful I am.”
The Gaels surely are grateful for what Saxen has brought to the program. After averaging three points and 2.3 rebounds in his first two seasons playing behind Matthias Tass, Saxen earned first-team All-WCC honors in each of the next two seasons, averaging 11.7 points and 7.6 boards. This season, Saxen is averaging 10.3 and 7.9, meaning he has a good chance at becoming a three-time first-team All-WCC selection. In SMC’s 58–55 win at LMU on Thursday night, Saxen played in his 151st game, setting the school record; swingman Alex Ducas, who now plays in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder, played in 150.
Saxen, a 6-foot-10, 250-pounder from Seattle's Ingraham High, scored 16 points and grabbed nine boards in the Gaels’ 74–67 victory at Gonzaga on February 22. That win assured Saint Mary’s of a third straight regular-season conference title (the Gaels shared it with the Zags in 2022–23), something that absolutely is not coincidental with Saxen being the starting center for each of those three seasons.
“An unsung hero”
Saint Mary's Head Coach Randy Bennett called Saxen “an unsung hero. People don't realize how good he is, but for some reason, he keeps ending up on a team that wins a lot of games. So, there’s something to be said for that.”
Though Saxen played less than 10 minutes per game and did not make a start in his first two seasons, he had committed fully to SMC.
“I didn’t go in with any expectations of ever being a starter, the guy that’s relied upon,” Saxen said. “I just wanted to be as good as I could be and just to maximize every day. And when you do that in this program, it pays off…
“A lot of people want to transfer out early or try to find a better situation early, but sometimes the best situation is to develop behind really good players. I feel like that was kind of the story of my career and the story of a lot of Gael careers.”
It’s also the story of Saint Mary's forward Luke Barrett, who has gone from walk-on to a starter in his five seasons in Moraga. Barrett and Saxen are roommates.
Barrett called Saxen “just so dependable.” Barrett added that Saxen, the WCC Defensive Player of the Year last season, “is that guy who always has your back. On both sides of the ball, he’s showing up every night. There's nothing he cares more about than just getting a win and making the team better.
“If (guard Augustas Marciulionis) is the best player I've ever played with, then Mitch is probably the best teammate I’ve ever had.”
Barrett, Marciulionis, and Saxen were also honored on Senior Night before the Gaels hosted Oregon State on March 1. Saxen appreciates that he’s inevitably connected with Barrett and Marciulionis, but Saxen wanted to acknowledge some of his former teammates who helped him specifically and the SMC program in general:
- Guard Tommy Kuhse “showed us how to welcome new guys into the program and be a good teammate.”
- Forward Kyle Bowen provided toughness and leadership. “Every time I think about how I want to present myself as a leader during a tough workout or something, I just think about, ‘What would K.B. do?’”
- On Alex Ducas and guard Logan Johnson: “What their talk-track was like and how they brought it every day was huge.”
Swats and Steals
Saxen is the rare big man who thrives as much at stealing balls as he does swatting them. He ranks third in the WCC in blocks per game at 1.3 and is tied for 11th in steals per game at 1.3.
“A lot of it is basketball feel,” Saxen said, referring to his ability to create steals. “It can’t be taught per se, but I watch a lot of basketball.” Saxen mentioned he specifically watches the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, another big man who’s adept at making steals.
“It’s a credit to our defensive system, too… I know where I can sort of shrink the floor and help poke a ball out every once in a while.”
Not surprising, Saxen paid tribute to Bennett, who is finishing his 24th season as the Gaels’ head coach.
“He’s such a great father figure, mentor, whatever you want to call it,” Saxen said. “But as a head coach, he’s not allowed to get as close to his players as he could. And you know he cares so, so much about you. He just has to maintain the persona. He’s coaching you hard and holding you to it…
“There have been ups and downs in my career. He’s been the guiding force and it permeates through the rest of the program, for sure.”
Bennett called Saxen “a super unselfish teammate. He’s got a great heart. He cares about people so much. So, I’m lucky to coach him. That’s where I would leave it: I'm just very fortunate to have coached Mitchell Saxen.”
Last year Saxen completed a bachelor’s in Business Administration. He’s thankful “to be able to say I'm a Gael for life … and hopefully, I can be one of those people that gets looked back on in this program as a consummate Randy Bennett Gael.”
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for over four decades, mainly for KPIX-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has begun working alongside Brian Brownfield on the Gaels' men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+. “Kroner’s Corner” is a regular feature on SMCGaels.com.
