Meet the Redshirts: Saint Mary’s Calvin Hermanson

In recent years Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett has recruited a variety of players from the state of Oregon, which have made a large impact on the success of the program. Look no further than freshman redshirt Calvin Hermanson, who will begin his playing career as a Gael this upcoming season.

There are high hopes for the 6-foot-6 athletic small forward who specializes in shooting. Many people expected Hermanson to come in right away and earn minutes as a true freshman last season, but ended up redshirting as many true freshman do under coach Bennett.

At Lake Oswego High School

Hermanson was twice named Gatorade State Player of the Year after averaging 21.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals as a senior at Lake Oswego High School. He was a true team leader as his team had won 27 straight games before falling in the Class 6A State Championship Game.

In a road victory against Longview High School, Hermanson poured in 52 points on 20-27 shooting, breaking his high school single game scoring record, which was previously held by NBA standout Kevin Love.

As a junior in High School, he averaged 23 points and 7.4 boards en route to a state title.

A three-star prospect, the lefty had offers or interest from many schools such as Drake, Oregon State, Stanford, Gonzaga, UC Santa Barbra, Idaho and Oregon, but committed early to the Gaels before his senior season of high school.

Impact at Saint Mary’s

Hermanson is not the typical player for Randy Bennett, who usually plays with a three-guard lineup. This is the first time since Clint Stindl where the Gaels will have an impact player at small forward. This will be beneficial because Hermanson will give Saint Mary’s size with his 6’6’’ frame rather than playing a smaller guard at the three position.

With many experienced players ahead of him this season, don’t expect him to start or ever earn a large amount of minutes every game, but instead get small chunks of playing time here and there.