2025–26 Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball team

2025–26 Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball
2025–26 Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	14–19 (10–10 Big West)
Head coach	Mike DeGeorge (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Kyle Bossier; Jesse Pruitt; Sam Walters; BJ Andrews; Ron DuBois;
Home arena	Mott Athletics Center; (Capacity: 3,032)
	Seasons ← 2024–25 2026–27 →

The 2025–26 Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball team represented California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mustangs, led by second-year head coach Mike DeGeorge, played their home games at the Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo, California as members of the Big West Conference.

2025–26 Big West Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
UC Irvine	15	–	5	.750	23	–	12	.657
Hawai'i †	14	–	6	.700	24	–	9	.727
Cal State Fullerton	12	–	8	.600	18	–	16	.529
Cal State Northridge	12	–	8	.600	20	–	14	.588
UC San Diego	12	–	8	.600	23	–	11	.676
UC Davis	11	–	9	.550	19	–	14	.576
UC Santa Barbara	11	–	9	.550	18	–	14	.563
Cal Poly	10	–	10	.500	14	–	19	.424
Long Beach State	6	–	14	.300	10	–	22	.313
UC Riverside	5	–	15	.250	10	–	22	.313
Cal State Bakersfield	2	–	18	.100	8	–	24	.250

† 2026 Big West tournament winner

Previous season

The Mustangs finished the 2024–25 season 16–19, 8–12 in Big West play to finish in a tie for seventh place.^[1] They defeated UC Davis^[2] and UC Riverside^[3] before losing to UC Irvine in the semifinals of the Big West tournament.^[4]

Preseason

On October 16, 2025, the Big West Conference released their preseason coaches poll. Cal Poly was picked to finish seventh in the conference.^[5]

Preseason rankings

Big West Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points
1	UC Irvine	98 (8)
2	UC Santa Barbara	93 (3)
3	Hawai'i	76
4	UC San Diego	69
5	Cal State Northridge	63
6	UC Davis	58
7	Cal Poly	54
8	Long Beach State	31
9	UC Riverside	26
10	Cal State Bakersfield	20
11	Cal State Fullerton	17
(#) first-place votes

Source:^[5]

Preseason All-Big West Team

No players were named the Preseason All-Big West Team.^[5]

Roster

2025–26 Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	00	Jason Scott	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Legacy the School of Sport Sciences	Houston, Texas
G	1	Jess Esso Essis	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	ESSM Le Portel	Le Mans, France
F	2	Braden Freeman	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Moline High School	Moline, Illinois
G	3	Jake Davis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jr	West Valley College	Walnut Creek, California
G	4	Kieran Elliott	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	West Texas A&M	Lubbock, Texas
G	5	Guzman Vasilic	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Southeastern Oklahoma	Montevideo, Uruguay
F	7	Ali Assran	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	NBA Academy Africa	Cairo, Egypt
PG	8	Jackson Mosley	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Saint Francis High School	La Cañada, California
G	9	Peter Bandelj	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Royal Crown Academy	Ljubljana, Slovenia
G/F	10	Hamad Mousa	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Dayton	Doha, Qatar
F	11	Austin Goode	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Bella Vista Prep	Brampton, Ontario
F	13	Troy Plumtree	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Wellington College	Wellington, New Zealand
G	14	Cayden Ward	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	St. Mary's High School	Stockton, California
PF	15	Aaron Price Jr.	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Liberty High School	Las Vegas, Nevada
G	21	Luka Tarlac	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Utah	Belgrade, Serbia
F	22	Eric Brown	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Mitty High School	Los Gatos, California

Head coach

Mike DeGeorge (Monmouth (IL))

Assistant coach(es)

Kyle Bossier (LSU)
Jesse Pruitt (UC Davis)
Sam Walters (Colorado Mesa)
BJ Andrews (Clarion)
Ron DuBois (Arizona State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 27, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 24, 2025* 11:00 am		Cal State East Bay	W 97–86	–	25 – Mousa	5 – Mousa	8 – Bandelj	Mott Athletics Center (1,222) San Luis Obispo, CA
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 6:30 pm, B1G+		at USC	L 64–94	0–1	13 – Assran	8 – Assran	6 – Bandelj	Galen Center (3,902) Los Angeles, CA
November 5, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Pacific Lutheran	W 101–79	1–1	26 – Ward	12 – Mousa	6 – Davis	Mott Athletics Center (709) San Luis Obispo, CA
November 8, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Seattle	W 73–71	2–1	18 – Mousa	8 – Mousa	4 – Vasilic	Redhawk Center (999) Seattle, WA
November 12, 2025* 6:00 pm, MW Network		at Colorado State	L 79–93	2–2	18 – Mousa	7 – Bandelj	3 – Mousa	Moby Arena (5,908) Fort Collins, CO
November 14, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Montana	L 82–90	2–3	21 – Bandelj	12 – Assran	3 – Elliott	Dahlberg Arena (2,827) Missoula, MT
November 20, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Utah	W 92–85	3–3	28 – Ward	8 – Tied	5 – Bandelj	Jon M. Huntsman Center (6,163) Salt Lake City, UT
November 24, 2025* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Arizona Northern Arizona MTE	L 87–93	3–4	20 – Bandelj	8 – Tied	6 – Davis	Rolle Activity Center (344) Flagstaff, AZ
November 25, 2025* 5:00 p.m.		vs. Southeast Missouri State Northern Arizona MTE	L 68–84	3–5	15 – Ward	7 – Bandelj	2 – Bandelj	Rolle Activity Center (86) Flagstaff, AZ
November 29, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Redlands	W 87–81	4–5	21 – Bandelj	9 – Bandelj	9 – Bandelj	Mott Athletics Center (1,497) San Luis Obispo, CA
December 4, 2025 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Fullerton	W 94–91	5–5 (1–0)	37 – Bandelj	7 – Mousa	6 – Tarlac	Titan Gym (919) Fullerton, CA
December 6, 2025 4:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Riverside	L 84–88	5–6 (1–1)	31 – Mousa	9 – Mousa	4 – Mousa	Mott Athletics Center (1,443) San Luis Obispo, CA
December 16, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Montana State	L 80–83	5–7	25 – Ward	8 – Ward	4 – Bandelj	Mott Athletics Center (1,234) San Luis Obispo, CA
December 19, 2025* 7:00 pm, B1G+		at UCLA	L 87–108	5–8	21 – Ward	7 – Ward	4 – Tarlac	Pauley Pavilion (4,123) Los Angeles, CA
December 21, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Idaho	L 80–83 ^OT	5–9	33 – Mousa	10 – Tied	2 – Bandelj	Mott Athletics Center (2,157) San Luis Obispo, CA
January 1, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UC San Diego	W 67–65	6–9 (2–1)	26 – Mousa	11 – Ward	3 – Davis	Mott Athletics Center (1,521) San Luis Obispo, CA
January 3, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Long Beach State	L 66–74	6–10 (2–2)	19 – Mousa	8 – Mousa	4 – Ward	Walter Pyramid (1,182) Long Beach, CA
January 8, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Northridge	L 90–95	6–11 (2–3)	34 – Mousa	7 – Mousa	4 – Davis	Premier America Credit Union Arena (625) Northridge, CA
January 10, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Davis	W 84–78	7–11 (3–3)	24 – Mousa	10 – Mousa	4 – Bandelj	Mott Athletics Center (2,483) San Luis Obispo, CA
January 15, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Hawai'i	L 66–86	7–12 (3–4)	17 – Mousa	9 – Ward	2 – Tied	Mott Athletics Center (2,612) San Luis Obispo, CA
January 22, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Santa Barbara Rivalry	L 67–107	7–13 (3–5)	11 – Davis	5 – Davis	4 – Tarlac	The Thunderdome (3,821) Santa Barbara, CA
January 24, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Fullerton	L 78–93	7–14 (3–6)	20 – Ward	9 – Mousa	5 – Mousa	Mott Athletics Center (2,318) San Luis Obispo, CA
January 29, 2026 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Cal State Bakersfield	W 104–79	8–14 (4–6)	31 – Plumtree	6 – Tied	7 – Bandelj	Icardo Center (535) Bakersfield, CA
January 31, 2026 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Riverside	W 94–87	9–14 (5–6)	26 – Mousa	6 – Mousa	6 – Bandelj	SRC Arena (276) Riverside, CA
February 5, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Northridge	L 96–97	9–15 (5–7)	32 – Hughes II	12 – O'Garro	12 – Davis	Mott Athletics Center (1,729) San Luis Obispo, CA
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Davis	L 58–67	9–16 (5–8)	12 – Tied	8 – Esso Essis	3 – Bandelj	University Credit Union Center (1,521) Davis, CA
February 12, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Irvine	W 79–73	10–16 (6–8)	18 – Vasilic	10 – Tied	4 – Tied	Mott Athletics Center (1,823) San Luis Obispo, CA
February 14, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		UC Santa Barbara Rivalry	W 89–79	11–16 (7–8)	18 – Bandelj	8 – Ward	2 – Tied	Mott Athletics Center (2,870) San Luis Obispo, CA
February 19, 2026 8:59 pm, ESPN+		at Hawai'i	W 86–75	12–16 (8–8)	24 – Mousa	9 – Mousa	4 – Bandelj	Stan Sheriff Center (4,547) Honolulu, HI
February 26, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Long Beach State	W 102–92	13–16 (9–8)	29 – Mousa	9 – Ward	5 – Ward	Mott Athletics Center (1,692) San Luis Obispo, CA
February 28, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC San Diego	L 64–80	13–17 (9–9)	19 – Mousa	10 – Ward	3 – Tied	LionTree Arena (3,331) La Jolla, CA
March 5, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UC Irvine	L 85–107	13–18 (9–10)	16 – Ward	8 – Mousa	3 – Tied	Bren Events Center (2,355) Irvine, CA
March 7, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Cal State Bakersfield	W 108–76	14–18 (10–10)	23 – Mousa	9 – Ward	8 – Bandelj	Mott Athletics Center (2,318) San Luis Obispo, CA
Big West tournament
March 11, 2026 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(8)	vs. (5) UC San Diego First round	L 69–72	14–19	21 – Mousa	9 – Ward	4 – Ward	Lee's Family Forum (1,035) Henderson, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific.

Sources:^[6]^[7]

References

↑ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". The Big West. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
↑ "Koonce scores 18, Cal Poly knocks off UC Davis 86-76 in Big West Conference Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
↑ "Cal Poly wins again, reaching Big West basketball semifinals for first time since 2014". San Luis Obispo Tribune. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
↑ "UCI MBB shoots 50% from deep, eliminates Cal Poly". The New University. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
1 2 3 "UC Irvine Predicted to Win The Big West in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". The Big West. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
↑ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Cal Poly. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
↑ "Cal Poly Mustangs 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". The Big West. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[2] "Koonce scores 18, Cal Poly knocks off UC Davis 86-76 in Big West Conference Tournament". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[3] "Cal Poly wins again, reaching Big West basketball semifinals for first time since 2014". San Luis Obispo Tribune. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[4] "UCI MBB shoots 50% from deep, eliminates Cal Poly". The New University. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[poll-5] 1 2 3 "UC Irvine Predicted to Win The Big West in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". The Big West. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[6] "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Cal Poly. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

[7] "Cal Poly Mustangs 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 27, 2025.

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