Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Saint Mary's |
Conference | WCC |
Record | 533–216 (.712) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Mesa, Arizona, U.S. | June 9, 1962
Playing career | |
1980–1982 | Mesa CC |
1983–1985 | UC San Diego |
Position(s) | Guard |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1985–1986 | San Diego (volunteer assistant) |
1986–1988 | Idaho (graduate assistant) |
1988–1996 | San Diego (assistant) |
1996–1999 | Pepperdine (assistant) |
1999–2001 | Saint Louis (assistant) |
2001–present | Saint Mary's |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 533–216 (.712) |
Tournaments | 6–10 (NCAA Division I) 7–7 (NIT) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
4 WCC tournament (2010, 2012, 2019, 2024) 5 WCC regular season (2011, 2012, 2016, 2023, 2024) | |
Awards | |
6× WCC Coach of the Year (2008, 2011, 2016, 2022–2024) | |
Randall William Bennett (born June 9, 1962) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at Saint Mary's College of California. He has led the team to several second-place finishes and nine NCAA tournament appearances, culminating in regular season conference championships in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2023 and 2024 as well as WCC tournament championships in 2010, 2012, 2019, and 2024.
Born in Mesa, Arizona, Bennett graduated from Westwood High School in Mesa and began his collegiate career at Mesa Community College, playing under his father Tom from 1980 to 1982. Bennett then transferred to the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego). [1] [2] As a senior in the 1984–85 season, Bennett averaged 7.0 points and 1.5 rebounds. [3] Bennett graduated from UC San Diego in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in biology. [2]
While completing his degree at UC San Diego, Bennett began his coaching career in the 1985–86 season as an assistant coach at the University of San Diego under Hank Egan. [2] Bennett then coached at Idaho under Tim Floyd from 1986 to 1988. [1] After two seasons at Idaho, Bennett returned to the University of San Diego and rejoined Egan's staff as an assistant coach. In 1994, Brad Holland replaced Egan and retained Bennett, until Bennett left in 1996 to be assistant at Pepperdine under Lorenzo Romar. [2]
In 1999, Bennett followed Romar to Saint Louis. [4]
Bennett became a head coach for the first time in 2001 when Saint Mary's College of California hired him. Inheriting a team that won only two games the previous season, Bennett improved his team's win–loss totals every season until 2004–05, when Saint Mary's went 25–9 with a berth in the NCAA tournament. [2] [1] Bennett has led Saint Mary's to the NCAA Tournament in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023 and National Invitation Tournament in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2021. [2]
Given this success, Bennett has been linked to several coaching jobs in higher profile conferences in recent years, most recently at California, Oregon State, Oregon, and Utah of the Pac-12. [5] [6] [1]
Coach Bennett signed a ten year extension with Saint Mary's Gaels through 2026–27. [7]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saint Mary's Gaels (West Coast Conference)(2001–present) | |||||||||
2001–02 | Saint Mary's | 9–20 | 3–11 | 6th | |||||
2002–03 | Saint Mary's | 15–15 | 6–8 | 5th | |||||
2003–04 | Saint Mary's | 19–12 | 9–5 | T–2nd | |||||
2004–05 | Saint Mary's | 25–9 | 11–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2005–06 | Saint Mary's | 17–12 | 8–6 | T–2nd | |||||
2006–07 | Saint Mary's | 17–15 | 8–6 | T–3rd | |||||
2007–08 | Saint Mary's | 25–7 | 12–2 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2008–09 | Saint Mary's | 28–7 | 10–4 | 2nd | NIT quarterfinal | ||||
2009–10 | Saint Mary's | 28–6 | 11–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
2010–11 | Saint Mary's | 25–9 | 11–3 | T–1st | NIT first round | ||||
2011–12 | Saint Mary's | 27–6 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2012–13 | Saint Mary's | 28–7 | 14–2 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2013–14 | Saint Mary's | 23–12 | 11–7 | 4th | NIT second round | ||||
2014–15 | Saint Mary's | 21–10 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NIT first round | ||||
2015–16 | Saint Mary's | 29–6 | 15–3 | T–1st | NIT quarterfinal | ||||
2016–17 | Saint Mary's | 29–5 | 16–2 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2017–18 | Saint Mary's | 30–6 | 16–2 | 2nd | NIT quarterfinal | ||||
2018–19 | Saint Mary's | 22–12 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
2019–20 | Saint Mary's | 26–8 | 11–5 | T–3rd | Postseason not held | ||||
2020–21 | Saint Mary's | 14–10 | 4–6 | 7th | NIT first round | ||||
2021–22 | Saint Mary's | 26–8 | 12–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2022–23 | Saint Mary's | 27–8 | 14–2 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
2023–24 | Saint Mary's | 26–8 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
Saint Mary's: | 533–216 (.712) | 271–96 (.738) | |||||||
Total: | 533–216 (.712) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
Lorenzo Romar is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions, a position he has held since 2024. He previously was the head men's basketball coach at Pepperdine University, a position he held from 1996 to 1999 and resumed from 2018 to 2024. Romar also served as the head men's basketball coach at Saint Louis University from 1999 to 2002 and the University of Washington from 2002 to 2017.
The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members in the Pac-12 for many years, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis and scandal.
Don Gregory Graham is an American college basketball coach. He is a former head men's basketball coach at Boise State University.
Kelly Lee Graves is the current head women's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Previously, Graves was the head women's basketball coach at St. Mary's from 1997 to 2000, as well as Gonzaga University from 2000 to 2014. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Portland Pilots (1994–1997) and St. Mary Gaels, where he later got his first head coaching stint with the Gaels from 1997 to 2000. From the 2004–2005 season to the 2013–2014 season, he guided Gonzaga to ten consecutive West Coast Conference regular season titles. The 2007 team went 13–1 in conference play, and later won the WCC conference tournament. The school also received its first ever NCAA tournament appearance. He was named WCC co-coach of the year for his accomplishments. In 2005, 2010, and 2011, Gonzaga went undefeated in WCC regular season play.
The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most varsity teams compete in the West Coast Conference.
The 2009–10 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California in the 2009–10 college basketball season, coached by Randy Bennett for the 9th consecutive year. The Gaels compete in the West Coast Conference and played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion. They finished conference play with a record of 11–3 to place second. They were the champions of the 2010 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they entered as a No 10 seed South Region. Their first round win over 7 seed Richmond was the school's first tournament win since beating Idaho State in 1959. They continued to beat No 2 seed Villanova and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to No 3 seed and AP #19 Baylor to end their season 28–6
The Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represents Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, competing in the West Coast Conference of the NCAA. The team plays home games in the University Credit Union Pavilion, capacity 3,500; it is one of the smaller gyms in the WCC. The current head coach is Randy Bennett, who is the school's all-time wins leader. The Gaels have appeared in thirteen NCAA Tournaments—1959, 1989, 1997, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Richard Barton "Mickey" McConnell is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Saint Mary's Gaels of the West Coast Conference. He played college basketball at Saint Mary's College of California. In 2011, he was named West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year. McConnell was drafted in 31st round of the 2011 MLB First Year Player Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kyle Andrew Smith is an American college basketball coach who is the men's head coach for the Stanford Cardinal of the ACC. Prior to joining the Cardinal, Smith was the head coach at Columbia University, the University of San Francisco, and Washington State University. In his final season at Columbia, he led the team to a CIT Championship over UC Irvine. His coaching style has been dubbed “Nerdball”, which is a system that utilizes analytics to track and make decisions on many aspects about the team.
The 2013–14 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Randy Bennett's thirteenth season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels competed in the West Coast Conference and played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion. They finished the season 23–12, 11–7 in WCC play to finish in fourth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the WCC tournament where they lost to Gonzaga. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Utah in the first round before losing in the second round to Minnesota.
The 2013–14 Saint Mary's Gaels women's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California in the 2013–14 college basketball season. It was head coach Paul Thomas's eighth season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels, members of the West Coast Conference, played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion. They would finish the season 23–10, tying for fourth in the conference and making the WNIT.
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The 2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 17th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 in West Coast Conference play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament, they defeated Pepperdine in the quarterfinals before losing to BYU in the semifinals. They were one of the last four teams not selected for the NCAA tournament and as a result earned a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the first round and Washington in the second round before losing to Utah in the quarterfinals.
The 2018–19 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 18th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 22-12, to finish in 2nd place. In the WCC Tournament, they defeated San Diego in the semifinals and beat Gonzaga in the championship to win the WCC Tournament. Therefore, they received a automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and they lost in the first round to Villanova.
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The 2019–20 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 19th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 26–8, 11–5 in WCC play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated Pepperdine and BYU to advance to the championship game of the WCC tournament where they lost to Gonzaga. Despite being a virtual lock to receive an at-large bid to NCAA tournament, all postseason play was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020–21 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team were led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 20th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 14-10, 4-6 to finish in 7th place. They defeated Pepperdine in the quarterfinals in the WCC Tournament before losing in the semifinals to Gonzaga. They received an invitation to the NIT where they lost in the first round to Western Kentucky.
The 2021–22 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team were led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 21st season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, California, as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC). They finished the season 26–8, 12–3 in WCC play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in WCC tournament, they defeated Santa Clara in the semifinals, before losing to Gonzaga in the Championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the East Region, where they defeated Indiana in the first round before losing to UCLA in the second round.
The 2022–23 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 22nd season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, California, as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC). They finished the season 27–8, 14–2 in WCC Play to finish a tie for 1st place. They defeated BYU in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament before losing to Gonzaga in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated VCU in the First Round before losing to UConn in the Second Round.