Teams › WCC · Compare Santa Clara with another team
Santa Clara
Santa Clara returns 66% of last season's minutes and rates #46 on offense and #94 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: +2.6 to +17.2.
Why we have them here
Santa Clara's preseason projection of +9.8 (No. 63 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth +4.3, less than the +6.0 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 36 at the end of 2025-26) adds +2.7, more than its neighbours' +1.3; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add +2.2. It returns 66% of last season's minutes, more than teams ranked near it (31%). The projection leans most on Jake Ensminger (+4.5), Sash Gavalyugov (+2.8) and Sidi Gueye (+0.9); the newcomer who matters most is Sidi Gueye, a transfer from Arizona, at +0.9. Its 80% range, +2.6 to +17.2, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 54% · Transfer 20% · Other newcomer 18%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Jake Ensminger | G | 6-9 | 3 | Returning | Santa Clara | 29 | +6.3 | +4.5 |
| 281 | Sash Gavalyugov | G | 6-3 | 2 | Returning | Santa Clara | 26 | +4.4 | +2.8 |
| 743 | Sidi Gueye | F | 6-11 | 1 | Transfer | Arizona | 13 | +3.0 | +0.9 |
| 920 | Thierry Darlan | G | 6-8 | 1 | Returning | Santa Clara | 22 | +1.6 | +0.9 |
| 1070 | Francis Chukwudebelu | C | 6-10 | 1 | Returning | Santa Clara | 14 | +1.4 | +0.5 |
| 1822 | David Castillo | G | 6-1 | 2 | Transfer | Kansas State | 26 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| 1954 | KJ Cochran | G | 6-5 | 1 | Returning | Santa Clara | 17 | -0.3 | -0.1 |
| 1986 | Brad Longcor III | F | 6-4 | 0 | Other newcomer | 8 | -0.5 | -0.1 | |
| 2124 | Chris Tadjo | F | 6-7 | 2 | Other newcomer | 8 | -0.7 | -0.1 | |
| 2183 | Noah Badibanga | F | 6-8 | 0 | Other newcomer | 8 | -0.8 | -0.1 | |
| 2193 | Eli Jolin | G | 6-4 | 0 | Other newcomer | 8 | -0.8 | -0.2 | |
| 3053 | Alex Ensor | C | 6-11 | 0 | Other newcomer | 5 | -2.0 | -0.3 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Nov 02 | vs |  Towson #193 | +13.4 | 86% | |
| Wed Nov 04 | vs |  Milwaukee #242 | +15.6 | 90% | |
| Sat Nov 07 | vs |  Sacramento State #199 | +14.9 | 88% | |
| Wed Nov 11 | at |  North Texas #135 | +0.2 | 51% | |
| Sat Nov 14 | vs |  New Mexico #50 | +4.6 | 64% | |
| Thu Nov 19 | vs |  VCU #44 | +3.9 | 62% | |
| Mon Nov 23 | N |  Illinois State #108 | +4.0 | 63% | |
| Tue Nov 24 | N |  Nevada #66 | +0.3 | 51% | |
| Sat Nov 28 | vs |  Utah Tech #275 | +16.8 | 91% | |
| Wed Dec 02 | vs |  Fresno State #221 | +14.8 | 88% | |
| Sat Dec 05 | at |  Grand Canyon #59 | -6.5 | 30% | |
| Sat Dec 12 | at |  Murray State #117 | -0.7 | 48% | |
| Mon Dec 14 | N |  McNeese #80 | +1.4 | 54% | |
| Mon Dec 21 | at |  Boise State #87 | -4.8 | 35% | |
| Wed Dec 23 | at |  Oregon State #93 | -4.6 | 36% | |
| Sat Jan 02 | at |  Pacific #175 | conf | +5.4 | 67% |
| Thu Jan 07 | vs |  San Francisco #189 | conf | +10.4 | 80% |
| Wed Jan 13 | at |  San Diego #263 | conf | +8.3 | 75% |
| Sat Jan 16 | at |  Loyola Marymount #170 | conf | +4.3 | 64% |
| Wed Jan 20 | vs |  Pepperdine #249 | conf | +12.7 | 85% |
| Sat Jan 23 | vs | Pacific #175 | conf | +9.8 | 79% |
| Wed Jan 27 | at |  Portland #339 | conf | +11.2 | 82% |
| Sat Jan 30 | at |  Saint Mary's #60 | conf | -3.6 | 39% |
| Wed Feb 03 | vs |  Seattle U #111 | conf | +7.3 | 72% |
| Sat Feb 06 | vs | San Diego #263 | conf | +13.4 | 86% |
| Wed Feb 10 | vs |  Denver #240 | conf | +12.4 | 84% |
| Sat Feb 13 | at | Pepperdine #249 | conf | +7.8 | 73% |
| Tue Feb 16 | at | Seattle U #111 | conf | +1.3 | 54% |
| Sat Feb 20 | vs | Loyola Marymount #170 | conf | +10.1 | 79% |
| Wed Feb 24 | at | San Francisco #189 | conf | +5.3 | 66% |
| Sat Feb 27 | vs | Saint Mary's #60 | conf | +2.6 | 58% |
Projected margin is from Santa Clara's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.