Santa Clara Men’s Basketball 2026 NCAA Tournament Capsule

March 5, 2026 · CSM Staff
 
Santa Clara Broncos
 
West Coast (26-8, 15-3)
 
 
Big Wins: 1/17 St. Mary’s (62-54), 3/9 vs St. Mary’s (76-71)
Bad Losses: 12/13 vs Arizona State (79-82), 12/20 vs Loyola IL (78-80)
Coach: Herb Sendek
 
Probable Starters:
Elijah Mahi, Senior, Forward, 13.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.6 apg
Bukky Oboye, Sophomore, Center, 8.0 ppg, 4.2rpg, 1.2 bpg
Christian Hammond, Sophomore, Guard, 15.8 ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.9 rpg
Jake Ensminger, Junior, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 2.9 apg, 5.5 rpg
Brenton Knapper, Senior, Guard, 7. Ppg, 2.3 apg, 1.8 rpg
 
Key Role Players:
Allen Graves, Freshman, Forward, 11.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.0 spg
Sash Gavalyugov, Freshman, Guard, 8.8 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.7 rpg
KJ Cochran, Freshman, Guard, 4.8 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Thierry Darlan, Junior, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 83.5 (30th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.3 (130, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.0 (72, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.8 (225, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 10.1 (30, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.7 (157, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 74.3 (108, 6)
Rebound Margin: 2.8 (110, 4)
Assists Per Game: 17.1 (32, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.1 (141, 4)
 
Recent Postseason Appearances:
 
2025 NIT First Round win over UC Riverside
2025 NIT Second Round loss to UAB
2023 NIT First Round loss to Sam Houston
2022 NIT First Round loss to Washington State
2013 CBI First Round win over Vermont
2013 CBI Quarterfinal win over Purdue
2013 CBI Semifinal win over Wright State
2013 CBI Final win over George Mason
2011 CIT First Round win over Northern Arizona
2011 CIT Second Round win over Air Force
2011 CIT Quarterfinal win over San Francisco
2011 CIT Semifinal win over Southern Methodist
2011 CIT Final win over Iona
1996 NCAA Round of 64 win over Maryland
1996 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Kansas
1995 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Mississippi State
1993 NCAA Round of 64 win over Arizona
1993 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Temple
 
*all team stats through 3/8