St. Mary’s forward Paulius Murauskas plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony reported. His planned departure comes after Gaels coach Randy Bennett left to take over at Arizona State.

Murauskas was an All-West Coast Conference selection this past season as St. Mary’s made it to back the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as one of the top players in the conference.

Murauskas started his college career at Arizona before arriving at St. Mary’s in 2024-25. As a sophomore last season, he averaged 12.1 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Gaels as he immediately stepped into a starting role.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and X account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

A native of Kaunas, Lithuania, Paulius Murauskas appeared in 2023 games as a true freshman at Arizona in 2023-24. Across 5.1 minutes per game, he averaged 2.7 points and 1.2 rebounds before making his way to St. Mary’s. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

St. Mary’s went 27-6 this past season and tied with Gonzaga for first place in the WCC. The Gaels then fell to Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament, and Arizona State announced this week its hiring of Bennett as head coach to replace Bobby Hurley.

Bennett built St. Mary’s in to a perennial NCAA Tournament team across his 25 seasons with the program. The Gaels went 9-20 during his debut campaign in 2001-22 and went on to make 12 March Madness appearances under his watch. Prior to Bennett’s arrival, St. Mary’s had only made three trips to the Big Dance in program history.

St. Mary’s also won four West Coast Conference tournaments under Bennett, including the 2024 title. The Gaels have also won four straight conference regular season championships and Bennett became a seven-time WCC Coach of the Year.

All told, across his 25 seasons as Gaels head coach, Randy Bennett amassed a 589-228 overall record and went 304-99 in West Coast Conference play. He also had a 7-12 record in NCAA Tournament games.

By taking over at Arizona State, Bennett will return to his roots in Arizona. A Mesa native, he also started his playing career at Mesa Community College before two seasons at UC San Diego. He then began his coaching career at San Diego in 1985-86 as a volunteer assistant before two years at Idaho as a graduate assistant from 1986-88.