2025–26 UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball team
| 2025–26 UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball | |
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| Conference | Big West Conference |
| Record | 0-0 (0-0 Big West) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | LionTree Arena |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal Poly | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawai'i | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Davis | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Santa Barbara | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | – | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 Big West tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball team will represent University of California, San Diego in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tritons will be led by 1st-year head coach Clint Allard and will play their home games at LionTree Arena in La Jolla, California as members of the Big West Conference. This will be the program’s second season eligible for NCAA postseason play after completing its four-year transition to Division I in the 2024–25 season.
Previous season
The Tritons were in their first year of NCAA Division I postseason eligibility.[1] They finished the 2024–25 season 30–5, 18–2 in Big West play to win the regular season championship. They defeated UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament[2] and won over UC Irvine to win the Big West championship and clinch the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.[3] It marked UC San Diego's first NCAA D1 Tournament appearance. They were seeded as the No.12 seed in the South region,[4] where they fell short to No.5 seed Michigan 65-68 in the first round.[5]
The Big West named Eric Olen as the conference’s coach of the year for the second time in a row. Senior Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was selected on the All-Big West First Team alongside senior Tyler McGhie. Tait-Jones was also named Big West Player of the Year. Senior Hayden Gray was named Best Defensive Player as well as part of the All-Big West Second Team. Junior Chris Howell was named Best Hustle Player and redshirt junior Justin Rochelin was named Best Sixth Player.[6]
Offseason
Coaching Changes
Following the 2024-25 season, head coach Eric Olen left the Tritons to take the head coaching position at New Mexico.[7] Olen was part of the Tritons coaching staff since the 2004-05 season after graduating from Spring Hill College, and after spending 9 seasons as an assistant coach, got promoted to the head coaching position in the 2013-14 season.[8] Throughout his 12 seasons serving as head coach, Olen compiled a record of 240-119, with a 148-60 record in conference play, and has lead the team to three CCAA regular season titles, four CCAA tournament titles with four NCAA DII tournament appearances.[9] He has also guided the Tritons transitioning to NCAA DI[10] and led the team to gaining their first ever NCAA D1 tournament appearance in their first year of postseason eligibility, seizing both the regular season and conference tournament titles. Olen has been named Big West Coach of the Year twice and NABC Pacific District Coach of the Year once.[8] The coaching change announcement was made on March 30, 2025.
The same day, associate head coach Clint Allard was promoted as the Tritons new head coach.[11][12] Allard played at UC San Diego from 2004-08 as a four-year starter and three-time team captain. Throughout UC San Diego's Division II era, Allard ranks first in steals made with a total of 130, and ranks in the top ten for points, field goals made, three pointers made, three-pointer field goal percentage, rebounds and assists.[13] After graduation, Allard has spent the last 11 seasons as associate head coach under Olen, where he became the main architect for the team's defense.[14] Notably, the Tritons led the nation in turnover margin (+7.2) and steals (345), and has the lowest turnovers per game (8.7) last season.[13]
On April 4, it was announced that assistant coaches Tom Tankelewicz, Sam Stapleton and Mikey Howell would follow Olen to New Mexico as part of his new coaching staff.[15]
In early June, UC San Diego officially announced the addition of its coaching staff with the hiring of four new assistant coaches: Skye Ettin, Rich Shayewitz, Daniel Eberhardt and Denzel Brito. Ettin most recently worked as an assistant coach for UC Santa Barbara after six years as part of the Princeton coaching staff and helped the Tigers with a Sweet Sixteen appearance. Shayewitz joined from Sonoma State where he was head coach, while Eberhardt, most recently working at Loyola Marymount also brings head coaching experience from Holy Names. Brito came to UC San Diego from George Washington with overseas playing experience.[16]
Departures
A total of ten players from the 2024-25 roster left UC San Diego, including four graduates and six outgoing transfers. Chris Howell and Milos Vicentic followed Olen to New Mexico,[17] while Justin Rochelin left to join the Pacific Tigers.[18] Starting forward Nordin Kapic transferred to South Carolina,[19] Camden McCormick went to Tampa and Quin Patterson transferred to Idaho State.[20] Hayden Gray and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones signed deals to participate in the 2025 NBA Summer League, joining the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors respectively.[21]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden McCormick | 0 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | San Diego, CA | Transferred to Tampa |
| Hayden Gray | 3 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | San Diego, CA | Graduated |
| Justin Rochelin | 5 | G | 6'5" | 205 | RS Junior | Encino, CA | Transferred to Pacific[18] |
| Chris Howell | 8 | G | 6'6" | 195 | Junior | San Diego, CA | Transferred to New Mexico[17] |
| Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones | 12 | G/F | 6'6" | 200 | Senior | Wellington, New Zealand | Graduated |
| Tyler McGhie | 12 | G/F | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | Denton, TX | Graduated |
| Quin Patterson | 15 | G/F | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | Snoqualmie, WA | Transferred to Idaho State[20] |
| Nordin Kapic | 24 | F | 6'8" | 245 | Junior | Vienna, Austria | Transferred to South Carolina[19] |
| Milos Vicentic | 31 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Graduate Student | Belgrade, Serbia | Transferred to New Mexico[17] |
| Maximo Milovich | 33 | F | 6'8" | 213 | Graduate Student | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Graduated |
Incoming Transfers
UC San Diego added eight transfers to its lineup: Tyson Dunn from Buffalo, Emmmanuel Propere II from Missouri-St. Louis, Bol Dengdit from Portland, Leo Beath from Lynn, Tom Beattie from Hawai'i, Alex Chaikin from Lafayette, Trap Johnson from Montana State and Dimitrije Vukicevic from Washington State.[22]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Dunn | 3 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Graduate Student | Newmarket, ON | Buffalo |
| Emmanuel Prospere II | 5 | G/F | 6'5" | 212 | Graduate Student | Miami, FL | Missouri-St. Louis |
| Bol Dengdit | 7 | F | 6'11" | 210 | RS Junior | Melbourne, Australia | Portland |
| Leo Beath | 8 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Junior | Malibu, CA | Lynn |
| Tom Beattie | 9 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Junior | Auckland, New Zealand | Hawai'i |
| Alex Chaikin | 10 | G | 6'5" | 175 | Sophomore | Williamsburg, VA | Lafayette |
| Trap Johnson | 23 | G | 6'6" | 200 | RS Freshman | Belton, TX | Montana State |
| Dimitrije Vukicevic | 33 | C | 7'0" | N/A | RS Freshman | Belgrade, Serbia | Washington State |
Recruits
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson Mayes G |
Los Angeles, CA | Redondo Union HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 13, 2025 | |
Recruit ratings: 247Sports: 
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| Jaden Vance F |
Pheonix, AZ | Arizona Compass Prep | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Apr 28, 2025 | |
| Recruit ratings: 247Sports:
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| Overall recruit ranking: | ||||||
Sources: | ||||||
Roster
| 2025–26 UC San Diego Tritons men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 24, 2025* 1:30 pm, ESPNU |
vs. Temple ESPN Events Invitational |
State Farm Field House Kissimmee, FL | |||||||||
| November 25, 2025* TBA |
vs. TBD ESPN Events Invitational |
State Farm Field House Kissimmee, FL | |||||||||
| November 26, 2025* TBA |
vs. TBD ESPN Events Invitational |
State Farm Field House Kissimmee, FL | |||||||||
| December 6, 2025 TBA, ESPN+ |
at Long Beach State | Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA | |||||||||
| December 13, 2025* 8:30 pm |
vs. Tulane Jack Jones Classic |
Lee's Family Forum Henderson, NV | |||||||||
| January 1, 2026 TBA, ESPN+ |
at Cal Poly | Mott Athletics Center San Luis Obispo, CA | |||||||||
| January 3, 2026 TBA, ESPN+ |
Hawai'i | Liontree Arena La Jolla, CA | |||||||||
| January 8, 2026 TBA, ESPN+ |
Cal State Fullerton | Liontree Arena La Jolla, CA | |||||||||
| January 10, 2026 TBA, ESPN+ |
at UC Riverside | SRC Arena Riverside, CA | |||||||||
| January 15, 2026 TBA, ESPN+ |
Cal State Northridge | Liontree Arena La Jolla, CA | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 TBA, ESPN+ |
at Cal State Bakersfield | Icardo Center Bakersfield, CA | |||||||||
Sources:[23]
References
- ^ "Men's Basketball Season Tickets on Sale Tuesday!". UC San Diego. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
- ^ "No. 1 Seed UC San Diego Advances to Final Game in First-Ever Big West Championship". The Big West. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "Tritons Down Irvine to Win First Big West Championship". UC San Diego. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
- ^ "12 Seed Tritons Draw Fifth Seed Michigan in NCAA First Round". UC San Diego. Retrieved March 16, 2025.
- ^ "UC San Diego's Magical Season Ends in NCAA Tournament First Round". The Big West. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball All-Big West Teams and Award Winners Revealed". The Big West. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "Eric Olen Named Head Coach of Lobo Men's Basketball" (Press release). New Mexico Lobos. March 30, 2025. Retrieved March 30, 2025.
- ^ a b "2024-25 UC San Diego Men's Basketball Roster". UC san Diego. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 New Mexico Men's Basketball Roster". New Mexico Lobos. July 24, 2025.
- ^ "UC San Diego makes it official: It's joining Div. I, Big West". San Diego Union-Tribune. November 27, 2017.
- ^ "Clint Allard '08 Named Men's Basketball Head Coach". UC San Diego. March 30, 2025.
- ^ "New Mexico hires away UCSD basketball coach Eric Olen". San Diego Union-Tribune. March 30, 2025.
- ^ a b "2025-26 UC San Diego Men's Basketball Roster". UC San Diego. July 24, 2025.
- ^ "Building on Positive Momentum". UC San Diego. April 16, 2025.
- ^ "Tankelewicz, Stapleton and Howell Named to Lobo Basketball Staff". New Mexico Lobos. April 4, 2025.
- ^ "Allard Solidifies First Coaching Staff". UC San Diego. June 4, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Chris Howell and Milos Vicentic Sign with Lobo Basketball". New Mexico Lobos. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
- ^ a b "Big West Sixth Player of the Year Justin Rochelin Signs with Pacific". Pacific Tigers. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
- ^ a b "Paris Announces Addition of Six Transfers". South Carolina Gamecocks. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ a b "Men's Basketball Brings 6 New Faces Onboard for 2025-26". Idaho State Bengals. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
- ^ "Pair of Tritons Head to Vegas for NBA Summer League". UC San Diego. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
- ^ "Tritons 2025-26 Roster Announced". UC San Diego. Retrieved July 21, 2025.
- ^ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". UC San Diego. Retrieved July 21, 2025.