# 2021–22 Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball team represented Santa Clara University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos were led by sixth-year head coach Herb Sendek and played their home games at the Leavey Center as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 10–5 in WCC play to finish in third place. They defeated Portland in the third round of the WCC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Saint Mary's. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, where they lost in the first round to Washington State.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Broncos finished the 2020–21 season 12–8, 4–5 in WCC play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Portland and Pacific in the WCC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Pepperdine.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| D. J. Mitchell | 0 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | Fresno, CA | Graduated |
| Christian Carlyle | 1 | G | 6'5" | 210 | Senior | Jacksonville, FL | Graduated |
| Trent Hudgens Jr. | 2 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Freshman | Phoenix, AZ | Transferred to Northern Colorado |
| Joe Foley | 3 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Sophomore | Atherton, CA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Juan Ducasse | 15 | F | 6'9" | 210 | RS Sophomore | Montevideo, Uruguay | Signed to play professionally in Argentina with Hispano Americano |
| Justin Traina | 21 | G | 6'3" | 170 | RS Sophomore | Patterson, CA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Ezekiel Richards | 23 | C | 6'10" | 240 | RS Sophomore | Oak Park, CA | Transferred to Northern Arizona |
| Vittorio Reynoso-Avila | 25 | F | 6'5" | 200 | Senior | La Mirada, CA | Graduated |
| Guglielmo Caruso | 30 | F | 6'11" | 210 | Junior | Naples, Italy | Signed to play professionally in Italy with Pallacanestro Varese |
| Austin Sacks | 33 | F | 6'6" | 195 | Freshman | Encino, CA | Walk-on; transferred to Balyor |
| Connor Strambi | 35 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Freshman | San Mateo, CA | Walk-on; transferred to Skyline College |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| P. J. Pipes | 2 | G | 6'2" | 190 | RS Senior | Woodridge, IL | Green Bay |
| Parker Braun | 23 | F | 6'8" | 217 | RS Junior | Overland Park, KS | Missouri |
| Danilo Djuricic | 30 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Senior | Brampton, ON | Harvard |

## Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Camaron Tongue #48 PF | Weston, MA | The Rivers School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 3, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Carlos Stewart #51 SG | Baton Rouge, LA | The Dunham School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 21, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Brenton Knapper PG | Ontario, ON | Colony High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Nov 23, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Max Besselink PF | Finland | International School of Helsinki | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jun 1, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Jacob Holt PF | Delta, BC | Vancouver College | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 193 lb (88 kg) | Jun 24, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: nr Rivals: nr ESPN: nr ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Santa Clara 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2021 Santa Clara Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2022

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jake Ensminger PG | Ulm, Germany | Orange Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jul 11, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: nr Rivals: nr ESPN: nr |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Santa Clara 2022 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2022 Santa Clara Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Cal State Fullerton | W 84–77 | 1–0 | 29 – Vrankic | 8 – Vrankic | 5 – Tie | Leavey Center (1,031) Santa Clara, CA |
| November 12, 2021* 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Stanford | W 88–72 | 2–0 | 24 – Pipes | 13 – Justice | 8 – Vrankic | Leavey Center (2,181) Santa Clara, CA |
| November 16, 2021* 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Nevada | W 96–74 | 3–0 | 19 – Braun | 8 – Tie | 5 – Tie | Leavey Center (1,002) Santa Clara, CA |
| November 19, 2021* 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Cal Poly SoCal Challenge campus game | W 87–57 | 4–0 | 26 – J. Williams | 7 – J. Williams | 5 – Pipes | Leavey Center (1,088) Santa Clara, CA |
| November 22, 2021* 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. TCU SoCal Challenge Surf Division semifinals | W 85–66 | 5–0 | 22 – J. Williams | 10 – Justice | 5 – Tied | The Pavilion at JSerra San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| November 24, 2021* 10:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Fresno State SoCal Challenge Surf Division championship | L 52–59 | 5–1 | 12 – Justice | 10 – Braun | 3 – Tied | The Pavilion at JSerra (1,700) San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| November 27, 2021* 4:30 p.m., WCC Network | | UC Irvine | L 64–69 | 5–2 | 20 – Justice | 7 – Justice | 5 – Pipes | Leavey Center (834) Santa Clara, CA |
| November 30, 2021* 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Hawaiʻi | W 70–58 | 6–2 | 30 – J. Williams | 10 – Justice | 4 – J. Williams | Leavey Center (1,093) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 4, 2021* 2:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Louisiana Tech | L 75–78 | 6–3 | 28 – J. Williams | 12 – Braun | 5 – Braun | Leavey Center (821) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 7, 2021* 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Mount St. Mary's | W 88–77 | 7–3 | 22 – J. Williams | 10 – Justice | 6 – J. Williams | Leavey Center (962) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 11, 2021* 6:00 p.m., P12N | | at California | L 60–72 | 7–4 | 13 – Justice | 9 – Justice | 4 – Pipes | Haas Pavilion (4,606) Berkeley, CA |
| December 14, 2021* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Boise State | L 60–72 | 7–5 | 12 – Tied | 6 – Braun | 5 – Pipes | ExtraMile Arena (6,187) Boise, ID |
| December 17, 2021* 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Florida A&M | W 80–66 | 8–5 | 25 – J. Williams | 6 – Braun | 5 – Tied | Leavey Center (675) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 19, 2021* 2:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Montana | W 79–64 | 9–5 | 23 – Justice | 11 – Justice | 5 – Stewart | Leavey Center (835) Santa Clara, CA |
| December 21, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | | at San Jose State | W 79–57 | 10–5 | 20 – J. Williams | 13 – Justice | 6 – Vrankic | Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,761) San Jose, CA |
| WCC regular season |||||||||
| January 12, 2022 , WCC Network | | at Pacific Rescheduled from Dec. 30 | W 84–70 | 11–5 (1–0) | 22 – J. Williams | 9 – Vrankic | 5 – J. Williams | Alex G. Spanos Center (948) Stockton, CA |
| January 15, 2022 1:00 p.m., NBCSBA | | No. 2 Gonzaga | L 83–115 | 11–6 (1–1) | 17 – J. Williams | 7 – Holt | 4 – J. Williams | Leavey Center (1,100) Santa Clara, CA |
| January 20, 2022 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Saint Mary's | L 65–73 | 11–7 (1–2) | 18 – Williams | 9 – Braun | 4 – Williams | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,056) Moraga, CA |
| January 24, 2022 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | San Diego Rescheduled from Jan. 1 | W 78–74 $^{OT}$ | 12–7 (2–2) | 22 – Vrankic | 8 – Justice | 4 – Vrankic | Leavey Center (1,100) Santa Clara, CA |
| January 27, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | BYU | W 77–76 | 13–7 (3–2) | 26 – Williams | 10 – Braun | 4 – Vrankic | Leavey Center (1,100) Santa Clara, CA |
| January 29, 2022 4:00 p.m., Stadium | | at San Francisco | L 85–88 | 13–8 (3–3) | 23 – Williams | 7 – Bediako | 5 – Justice | War Memorial Gymnasium (3,010) San Francisco, CA |
| January 31, 2022 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Pacific | W 81–59 | 14–8 (4–3) | 20 – Vrankic | 10 – Justice | 5 – Williams | Leavey Center (680) Santa Clara, CA |
| February 3, 2022 6:00 p.m., Stadium | | Loyola Marymount | W 79–60 | 15–8 (5–3) | 13 – Justice | 10 – Justice | 4 – Vrankic | Leavey Center (716) Santa Clara, CA |
| February 5, 2022 4:00 p.m., NBCSBA | | at San Diego | W 79–66 | 16–8 (6–3) | 19 – Williams | 11 – Justice | 4 – Justice | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,221) San Diego, CA |
| February 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | No. 22 Saint Mary's Rescheduled from Jan. 6 | W 77–72 | 17–8 (7–3) | 21 – Pipes | 8 – Vrankic | 10 – Williams | Leavey Center (1,714) Santa Clara, CA |
| February 12, 2022 3:00 p.m., Stadium | | San Francisco | L 58–74 | 17–9 (7–4) | 16 – J. Williams | 6 – Vrankic | 3 – J. Williams | Leavey Center (2,011) Santa Clara, CA |
| February 14, 2022 6:00 p.m., WCC Network | | at Portland Rescheduled from Jan. 8 | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Chiles Center Portland, OR |
| February 17, 2022 8:00 p.m., NBCSCA | | at Loyola Marymount | W 84–80 | 18–9 (8–4) | 19 – Pipes | 8 – Bediako | 5 – Williams | Gersten Pavilion (591) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 19, 2022 6:00 p.m., NBCSBA | | at No. 1 Gonzaga | L 69–81 | 18–10 (8–5) | 27 – Pipes | 10 – Bediako | 6 – Williams | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | at Pepperdine | W 89–73 | 19–10 (9–5) | 25 – Williams | 8 – Tied | 6 – Williams | Firestone Fieldhouse (825) Malibu, CA |
| February 26, 2022 2:00 p.m., WCC Network | | Portland | W 102–89 | 20–10 (10–5) | 30 – Vrankic | 7 – Bediako | 9 – Williams | Leavey Center (2,113) Santa Clara, CA |
| WCC tournament |||||||||
| March 5, 2022 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (6) Portland Third Round | W 91–67 | 21–10 | 24 – J. Williams | 7 – Tied | 6 – J. Williams | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 7, 2022 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (2) No. 17 Saint Mary's Semifinals | L 72–75 | 21–11 | 21 – Vrankic | 12 – Bediako | 6 – Williams | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 15, 2022* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at (4) Washington State First Round – SMU Bracket | L 50–63 | 21–12 | 19 – Williams | 15 – Williams | 4 – Williams | Beasley Coliseum (1,389) Pullman, WA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||
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