Heading into his 10th season with the Saint Mary’s College men’s basketball team in 2020-21, Marcus Schroeder will don the new title of Associate Head Coach as announced today by Head Coach Randy Bennett. 
 
“Marcus is one of the top young assistant coaches in the country,” said Bennett. “He has unbelievable character, work ethic, and loyalty to the program and is a great role model and leader for our student-athletes. This promotion is a testament to the hard work and dedication he’s put into coaching, development, recruitment and everything else that’s needed to be a great coach.”
 
Over the past five seasons, the Gaels have compiled a 136-37 record, good for a 79 percent win percentage, and a conference record of 69-17 (.802). Had the season not been cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, Saint Mary’s would’ve made its third NCAA Tournament appearance in that span with two deep NIT runs to boot. 
 
Following the 2017-18 season, Schroeder was named to The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Under Armour 30-under-30 list, recognizing a group of up and coming young coaches in college basketball.
 
In recent years, the former De La Salle High School standout has been responsible for the team’s offense that has been among the nation’s best. Last year, the Gaels ranked 16th in offensive efficiency and were fourth in 3-point percentage. Since his promotion to assistant coach, the Gaels have never finished a season outside the top-25 in offensive efficiency. 
 
Schroeder graduated from Princeton in 2010 where he started 90 games in four seasons as a point guard, including 28 as a freshman when he led the nation in minutes played (38.8 mpg). In 2011, he joined the Gaels as a graduate assistant and video coordinator and in 2014 was promoted to director of basketball operations. The following year, Schroeder was promoted to assistant coach and just completed his fifth season in that role. 
 
Additionally, Saint Mary’s has produced some of its finest guards in program history under Schroeder’s tutelage. Jordan Ford wrapped up his incredible career this year second in program history in total points and became arguably the best scorer on the West Coast over the past two seasons. Prior to Ford, Emmett Naar (2014-18) set the single-season and all-time career record for assists while manning the point for the Gaels. His fellow guard Joe Rahon (2015-17) was named the West Coast Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in addition to being named First Team All-WCC. Not to be overlooked either, rising redshirt senior Tommy Kuhse has evolved from a walk-on to an integral part of the Gaels’ success and was second in the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio last year.