Top 5 basketball players who could return to Saint Mary's for 2024-25 season ft. Mitchell Saxen

Saint Mary's Gaels exited March Madness early, finishing 22-8. In the following weeks, players began to enter the transfer portal. This includes top scorer Aidan Mahaney and forward Joshua Jefferson. Their departure has left a massive void on the roster.

Saint Mary's recently added Paulius Murauskas from Arizona to the roster. Here are a few other players that could play with him.

Top five basketball players who could return to Saint Mary's for the 2024–25 season

1) Augustas Marciulionis

With Mahaney gone, Saint Mary's will rely on Augustas Marciulionis, who averaged 3.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists while shooting 43.8%. The guard had the most growth in the team, as he went from 3.1 to 5.9 in his sophomore year and jumped to 12.4 points this season, which was the second-best for the Gaels.

As he returns for his senior year, his game is expected to improve, helping him to join the starting five. Marciulionis started nine out of 35 games during his junior season.

2) Mitchell Saxen

The center announced his return via social media. Mitchell Saxen is an important piece on Saint Mary's roster. He averaged 11.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocks. Saxen leads the team in rebounding and blocking. He shot 55.9% from the floor, fifth best in the West Coast Conference.

Mitchell Saxen was named First Team All-WCC this season, a first in his career. He also earned First Team Academic All-WCC honors.

3) Luke Barrett

Luke Barrett played 17.1 minutes per game and averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. This is an improvement above his 2.4-point average from the 2022–23 season.

As he continues to expand his skillset, Barrett will need to step up and increase his performance, as he only has one more year of college eligibility.

4) Mason Forbes

The red-shirt senior has one more year of eligibility as he played during the 2020 COVID year. This season, he averaged 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds. Forbes has not announced his intentions for the next season yet.

5) Harry Wessels

The freshman played 29 of 35 games and averaged 4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting at 62.8%. Harry Wessels is expected to have slightly more minutes, as he has averaged 9.2 this season. He will still be the backup center to Mitchell Saxen.

What do you think of the returning five? Let us know in the comment section below.