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Omar Samhan played four NCAA seasons at Saint Mary's Gaels from 2006–07 through 2009–10, developing into one of the most decorated big men in program history while helping drive Saint Mary’s rise to national relevance in the late 2000s and 2010 postseason run to the Sweet 16.

In his freshman season with the Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball, Samhan was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshmen team and was a Freshman All-American selection by CollegeInsider.com. He played in all 32 games including seven starts and was the team's third highest scorer and second highest rebounder, averaged 9.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

In his sophomore season, Samhan earned honorable mention All-WCC honours after starting every game and scoring in double figures 18 times. He finished third on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and second in rebounds (7.3 rpg).

By his final two seasons, Samhan had become a first-team All-WCC selection in back-to-back years (2008–09 and 2009–10) and, as a senior in 2009–10, he added WCC Defensive Player of the Year honours while Saint Mary’s finished 28–6 and won the 2010 WCC Tournament Championship. In that senior season he also earned national recognition as an AP honorable mention All-American and was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District team, stacking up postseason awards after producing at a double-double level across the year.

Samhan’s 2009–10 postseason run became one of the defining stretches of his college career, starting with 29 points and 12 rebounds in an 80–71 first-round NCAA Tournament win over Richmond Spiders, then backing it up with 32 points on 13-of-16 shooting in the major upset of Villanova Wildcats to push Saint Mary’s into the Sweet 16. Across those two NCAA Tournament games he scored 61 total points, and the Saint Mary’s record book credits him with the school’s top two NCAA Tournament single-game scoring efforts, along with standout single-game marks including nine blocks against Howard, 99 blocks across the 2009–10 season, and the program career blocks record at 258.

Across his four-year Saint Mary’s career, Samhan finished with 1,848 points, 1,107 rebounds and 257 blocked shots while starting every game in each of his final three seasons, and his name is stamped across the school’s historical lists as the Gaels’ career blocks leader and a central figure in one of the program’s signature NCAA Tournament peaks.