Since Mickey McConnell was named the Saint Mary’s head basketball coach on March 23, the public exposure to the team has been limited to reports from the preseason games in Australia, an intersquad scrimmage at home and scrimmage against Utah State.

    Despite the limited public exposure, sellout crowds returned to the Saint Mary's UCU Pavilion for the start of the SMC season with games against Illinois State (23-13) on Nov. 2, an NIT semi-finalist, and North Dakota State (27-8), an NCAA tournament team on Nov. 4.

    Against Illinois State, Saint Mary’s overcame a poor shooting night from beyond the arc (4-17) and after trailing in double digits came back to win in overtime 90-85 and two nights later dominated North Dakota State, winning 105-64.

    After the 2026 season, the Gaels lost seven players in the transfer portal and with first-team all league guard Josh Dent the only returning starter, McConnell and his staff attacked the personnel issue the in same way that it attacked Saint Mary’s, effectively using the transfer portal and recruiting a strong freshman class. 

    Senior forwards Vangelis Zougris (Louisville), Thomas Ndong (Cal Baptist), and senior guard Jeremy Dent-Smith (Stanford) each played substantial minutes in the first two games with Zougris starting  his Gael career by hitting 12 straight field goals, mostly inside.

    “We needed some size and guys that have played and had experience and we also brought in some younger guys that we can develop,” McConnell said. 

    With only five returning players, the character, unity and the maturity of the team was essential for the team to come together. “I like our guys and that’s the most important part,” McConnell said. “We have good personalities and attitudes and it’s been easy to coach them and the new staff that we’ve brought in has helped a lot. None of the players have an ego about what we’re doing. They just want us to improve and they want us to win so it’s been pretty seamless from that point.”

    In the Illinois State game, McConnell went 10 deep and he was able to use the entire roster in the North Dakota State game. Forward Mantas Juzenas, who only played five minutes a game last season is now averaging 33 minutes a game and is leading in scoring (14.5), rebounding (11.0), and assists (5.0). Center Jazz Gardner has been a real factor inside on defense and has shown he can shoot from beyond the arc. Ndong (9.0) is shooting 78% from the field.

    “Mantas has picked up his game and that is something that we needed him to do,” McConnell said. “He had a great off season and is in better shape and a better space and will be raising his ceiling. Zougris gives us the physicality that we need. He is quick, athletic and his nature is to play hard.”

    The guards are led by Dent, Rory Hawke, Dent-Smith, and freshman Darius Bivins. Dent and Hawke have been the starters with Bivins, Dent-Smith and Luke Fennell all seeing time and McConnell has used 1, 2 or 3 guards on the court in both games. 

    “We have the guards that get it up and down the court and we’ve made a conscious effort to get the ball moving a little bit more side to side and that has helped us,” McConnell said.

    Dent has taken his role as the team’s leader seriously. “Knowing that we have a lot of transfers and freshmen new to the program, I want to make sure we ride the ups and downs, making sure I’m being aggressive, trying to continue on from last year,” Dent said, “We're a very good shooting team and we’re trying to speed up offensively so we’ll be able to stretch the floor.”

    “My goal is to make us hard to scout on offense because the ball is moving, our guys have options, and they can make decisions,” McConnell said. “Josh is the guy that everyone is looking up to and he has to be able to make the jump along with being the playmaker and the decision maker while keeping the aggressive nature that he had last year.  Darius is very talented and is wired the right way with a great attitude and a businesslike approach to the game. We can throw him the ball and give him some space. He’s super twitchy with the ball and fun to play with.”

    Bivins who is from Washington D.C. has made a quick adjustment to Saint Mary’s with the help of his teammates. “My mom's in the Air Force, so we lived out here for a little bit when I was younger but still it’s been amazing. The team, the coaching staff and all my teammates have made it easy and it feels like home. From day one when we came out here in the summer, they’ve made it feel like home.”

    McConnell has not been afraid to use different combinations on the court, at various times playing one guard, three forwards and a center, two guards and three forwards, and three guards and two forwards. In the two games, he made great use of the three-guard set. “At the end of the Illinois State game, I felt that our three guards (Dent, Bivins and Dent-Smith) gave us ball security and we were getting stops and they were the group that got us back in the game so we rolled with them.” 

    One of the major carry overs from the prior Saint Mary’s seasons turned out to be the home crowd, as loud, boisterous, and supportive as ever but it was an adjustment for the new players. “I underestimated how this was their first game in our program and Darius’s first game in college so there was a little bit of the nerves but once they settled in and could feel the crowd support, they realized why this place is so special and makes it a really tough place to play,” Mconnell said. “It got to the point where Illinois State began missing shots, turning the ball over, finishing with 18 turnovers, and it got our guys going.”

    Against North Dakota State, Saint Mary’s set a team record hitting 20 3-point shots and for the season they are averaging 24 assists per game, up from 15.3 last season. “The coaches have been preaching how we can turn good shots into great shots and everyone on the team is very unselfish and with that mentality, open shots and assists come easily,” Bivins said.

    McConnell made it clear from the beginning what he wanted from his team. “I want our guys to be tough and physical, good on the boards and good defensively. On the offensive end, I want our guys to be known for being unselfish with the ball movement and not being stagnant. The grittiness and physical nature of Saint Mary’s basketball is what I believe in and that’s what I want our guys to be known for.’And for the team, it’s fans and opponents, that should serve as McConnell’s coaching trademark.