Santa Clara Returns
Santa Clara is headed to March Madness for the first time in 30 years — their program last made the Big Dance in 1996, making this an emotional return that could be a bracket dark-horse story SF Chronicle.
Santa Clara fell 79–68 to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament final espn.com. Despite that loss, local outlets and bracketologists projected the Broncos to land an at-large spot in the field of 68. mercurynews.com The Broncos closed the year 26–8 overall and 15–3 in WCC play, per season records and team statistics. sports-reference.com Head coach Herb Sendek is in his 10th season at Santa Clara and signed an extension through the 2029–30 season in July 2025. santaclarabroncos.com Sophomore guard Christian Hammond averaged 15.8 points per game this season, according to his player profile. espn.com He scored 24 points against Gonzaga in the WCC final. espn.com Sash Gavalyugov’s late three sent Santa Clara past Saint Mary’s into the WCC final, a semifinal win bracketologists said significantly boosted the Broncos’ NCAA résumé. si.com Santa Clara ranked among the nation’s more efficient offenses — an offensive rating of 118.9 (roughly 34th nationally) and an SRS of 16.08 were recorded in season metrics. sports-reference.com The program planned a Selection Sunday watch party at Leavey Center for the NCAA bracket reveal on March 15, and the committee’s bracket announcement was scheduled for 6 p.m. ET. santaclarabroncos.com
