The Broncos of Santa Clara University have quietly been one of the more consistent mid-major programs in college basketball. They have won at least 20 games in four of the past five seasons. Last year, the Broncos won 20 games including a thrilling buzzer-beater against West Coast Conference juggernauts, the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They also had individual players receive plenty of recognition. Adama Bal was a member of the WCC All-Conference team. Jake Ensminger made the conference’s All-Freshman squad. With eight returning players and potentially high impact transfers, Herb Sendek’s squad will look to climb into the upper echelon of the WCC.
West Coast Conference Preview: Santa Clara Broncos
Santa Clara Broncos: Key Departures
Carlos Marshall Jr.
Without a doubt, the biggest departure for the Santa Clara Broncos is WCC Honorable Mention guard Carlos Marshall Jr. The six-foot-six guard brought an extremely physical style of play to the team with a level of experience and grittiness. With averages of 13.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, Marshall Jr. was second on the team in scoring average. He was also Santa Clara’s most lethal shooter with a blistering 42% shooting percentage from deep on over four and a half attempts per contest. He scored over 20 points six different times and was dynamic against the Saint Mary’s Gaels, averaging 24.5 points while shooting 54% from the floor against the reigning conference champions.
Santa Clara Broncos: New Additions and Top Returners
Adama Bal
Santa Clara Broncos fans received outstanding news during the offseason when WCC All-Conference wing Adama Bal announced his return. Bal brings legitimate NBA athleticism and size to the roster along the perimeter. Standing six-foot-seven, Bal enjoyed a breakout season with a stat-sheet stuffing averages of 14.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Most importantly, he brings the ability to create his own offense with the ball in his hands. In close matchups or with the shot clock winding down, having a perimeter scoring threat such as Bal is imperative.
Carlos Stewart
Carlos Stewart started his college career in Santa Clara. During the 2022-2023 season he put up nightly averages of 15.2 points a game while slashing 44% from the floor, 40% from three, and 83% from the line. He spent this past season with the LSU Tigers where his production and availability took a hit. Due to a knee injury, Stewart only appeared in 13 games and averaged just 4.7 points per game. Stewart looks to get back on track where his career originally got started.
Elijah Mahi
Elijah Mahi won’t turn heads when compared to other big name transfers from across the country. Yet, the Ontario native was an absolute force in the CCCAA as arguably the top junior college player in California. Mahi led West Valley College to a state championship and a perfect 33-0 record. Thanks to averages of 17.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, Mahi will bring outstanding depth to an already very talented Santa Clara frontcourt.
Rest of the Roster
The reality is that this team is returning loads of proven contributors. Johnny O’Neil returns as a six-foot-ten stretch big who chipped in double figure scoring last year. Jake Ensminger was one of the conference’s top freshmen who provided utility as a rebounder and rotational defender. Last year’s starting center Christoph Tilly returns as well as sixth-man Tyeree Bryan. This team will have options at every position and can realistically have upwards of 10 players ready to contribute.
Santa Clara Broncos: The Schedule
The Broncos will kick start the coming season with an exciting matchup against Saint Louis University. Saint Louis has revamped their roster with the addition of head coach Josh Schertz. Schertz is coming off an outstanding year at the helm of Indiana State. He will be bringing with him the duo of Isaiah Swope and Robbie Avila. The pair combined for 33.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game.
They will also take on a pair of ex-Pac-12 teams. Arizona State struggled last year going 14-18 on the season. Yet, they have reloaded with a handful of highly touted recruits including five-star center Jayden Quaintance who currently sits as the ninth overall prospect in the class of 2024.
The second opponent that the Santa Clara Broncos will face is the University of Washington. With new head coach Danny Sprinkle, the Huskies will look to build upon last year’s 60th overall KenPom finish. The biggest addition will be reigning Mountain West Player of the Year Great Osobor. Osobor followed Sprinkle from Utah State where he averaged 17.7 points and nine rebounds a game. Tyler Harris will also be a factor as he transferred from the University of Portland and will look to build upon his WCC Freshman Team nomination and 12.1 points per game average.
The Conference
As was the case with the University of San Francisco Dons, the schedule boils down to how well the Santa Clara Broncos do against the top dogs in the WCC. Santa Clara was 0-3 against the Gaels of Saint Mary’s last year. The Broncos were mostly ineffective against their East Bay rivals with two of the matchups not being particularly competitive.
The highlight of the year did come with a last second buzzer-beater against long time rival Gonzaga. Adama Bal hit a late floater to secure the one point victory that snapped a 26-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, the second match-up was not nearly as competitive with the Zags winning with ease.
The Last Word
For the first time in a long time, the West Coast Conference is going to have multiple teams fighting near the top. The Santa Clara Broncos are returning a strong core while also injecting just enough new blood to shake things up. While their non-conference portion of the schedule isn’t the most daunting, they will still face some solid tests. As always, they will be forced to test their mettle against longtime rivals once conference play begins. Still, with the Gaels facing some uncertainty, there is a potential vacancy at the top of the standings.
