SAN MATEO, Calif. – No. 10 Gonzaga and No. 17 Saint Mary’s once again had their names called multiple times for the West Coast Conference 2022-23 men's basketball all-conference end of the year honors. All-American forward Drew Timme was named the Co-Player of the Year with Brandin Podziemski of Santa Clara, and Podziemski was also named the Newcomer of the Year. For Saint Mary's, Randy Bennett earned Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year, and Logan Johnson was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year. Gonzaga's Malachi Smith won Sixth Man of the Year.
All five major individual awards – along with the All-West Coast Conference Teams and the All-Freshman Team – were voted on solely by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Timme adds to his collegiate trophy case with his second-straight WCC Player of the Year honor. Just shy of seventh on the WCC career scoring list, Timme led Gonzaga to its 11th-straight outright or shared WCC Regular Season Championship with its victory over Saint Mary's last Saturday. Timme is tied for first in the WCC in scoring - 14th in the nation - at 21.2 ppg. He ranks second in school history in career scoring, and is just 39 points shy of first. Timme secured 30 points on four occasions in 2022-23. Ranking second in the WCC in field goal percentage (61.6), trailing only his teammate Anton Watson, Timme collected a Conference-best 17 field goals made at Pacific on Jan. 21 and also owns the second and third-best totals in that category this season.
Podziemski has Santa Clara riding high heading to Las Vegas for the University Credit Union WCC Basketball Tournament as the No. 3 seed and currently on a seven-game winning streak. The sophomore transfer from Illinois ranks third in the WCC in scoring at 19.9 ppg. He ended the regular season scoring 20 points in six of the final seven games. He also ranks second in the league in rebounding at 8.8 rpg and tied for fifth in steals. Podziemski led the WCC in 2022-23 with 12 double-doubles and heads to the Conference tournament having secured a double-double in his last four straight games. Podziemski becomes the first Bronco to earn WCC Player of the Year honors since John Bryant in 2008-09.
In his 22nd season guiding the 17th-ranked Gaels, Bennett earned his fifth WCC Coach of the Year accolade, and second straight year. Bennett, who earned his 500th career coaching victory earlier this season, gave Gaels fans plenty to cheer for this season. In addition to defeating Gonzaga in Moraga for the second straight year, SMC concluded the regular season on a 17-game home winning streak against WCC foes. The No. 1 seed in this year’s UCU WCC Basketball Tournament, Bennett guided Saint Mary's a to a share of the WCC Regular Season Championship.
One of Bennett's standout players, Johnson has captained a Saint Mary's defense that ranks fifth in the country in scoring defense (59.3 ppg), and Johnson's efforts have helped hold 15 opponents to fewer than 60 points this season. Not only strong at the defensive end, but Johnson has led the way for Saint Mary's offensively to close out the regular season, as well. Over his last six games, Johnson averaged over 25 points per game, including 29 last week in the win over Pacific and 27 in the regular-season finale at Gonzaga.
Smith was pivotal off the bench during his first season at Gonzaga, competing in all 30 games. Smith reached double figures in scoring 12 times, including a stretch of five in a row in December. He reached 20 points twice this season, highlighted by a season-high 27 points against Portland on Jan. 14. Most recently, Smith contributed 13 points in last Saturday's win over Saint Mary's.
Saint Mary's led the way with three first-team selections (Johnson, Aidan Mahaney, Mitchell Saxen), while the Broncos, San Francisco and Gonzaga notched two each. Four of the first-team honorees were selected to the Preseason All-WCC Team, as well.
2022-23 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Major Individual Honors
Co-Players of the Year: Brandin Podziemski, Santa Clara; Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s
Newcomer of the Year: Brandin Podziemski, Santa Clara
Sixth Man of the Year: Malachi Smith, Gonzaga
Defensive Player of the Year: Logan Johnson, Saint Mary's
2022-23 All-WCC Men’s Basketball First Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Logan Johnson |
Sr. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Aidan Mahaney |
Fr. |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Brandin Podziemski |
So. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Tyrell Roberts |
Sr. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Mitchell Saxen |
Jr. |
C |
Saint Mary's |
| Khalil Shabazz |
Sr. |
G |
San Francisco |
| Cam Shelton |
Sr. |
G |
LMU |
| Carlos Stewart |
So. |
G |
Santa Clara |
| Julian Strawther |
Jr. |
G |
Gonzaga |
| Drew Timme |
Sr. |
F |
Gonzaga |
2022-23 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Second Team
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
School |
| Marcellus Earlington |
Sr. |
G |
San Diego |
| Keshawn Justice |
Sr. |
F |
Santa Clara |
| Maxwell Lewis |
So. |
F |
Pepperdine |
| Fousseyni Traore |
So. |
F |
BYU |
| Moses Wood |
Jr. |
F |
Portland |
2022-23 All-WCC Men’s Basketball Freshman Team
| Name |
Pos. |
School |
| Juan Sebastian Gorosito |
G |
Portland |
| Dallin Hall |
G |
BYU |
| Aidan Mahaney |
G |
Saint Mary's |
| Moe Odum |
G |
Pacific |
| Jevon Porter |
F |
Pepperdine |
2022-23 WCC Men’s Basketball Honorable Mention Selections
Keylan Boone, Pacific; Alex Ducas, Saint Mary's; Spencer Johnson, BYU; Keli Leaupepe, LMU; Tyler Robertson, Portland; Anton Watson, Gonzaga