St. Mary’s Aidan Mahaney (20) drives past Santa Clara’s Brandin Podziemski (22) during the first half of their game at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Brandin Podziemski didn’t come out of nowhere to become the first Santa Clara men’s basketball player in nearly 15 years to win a share of the West Coast Conference Player of the Year award. It only seemed that way.
But Podziemski, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard from tiny Greenfield, Wis., certainly stunned many this season on his way to being named the Co-Player of the Year with