2025–26 California Golden Bears men's basketball team

2025–26 California Golden Bears men's basketball
2025–26 California Golden Bears men's basketball
NIT, Second Round
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	22–12 (9–9 ACC)
Head coach	Mark Madsen (3rd season);
Associate head coach	Adam Mazarei
Assistant coaches	Jarred Jackson; Ken Moses; Matt Scherbenske; Isaiah Wilkins;
Home arena	Haas Pavilion ; (Capacity: 11,858)
	Seasons ← 2024–25 2026–27 →

The 2025–26 California Golden Bears men's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley, in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Bears were led by Mark Madsen in his third season as head coach, and played their home games at Haas Pavilion as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference

Record22–12 (9–9 ACC)

Headcoach

Mark Madsen (3rd season)

Associate headcoachAdam Mazarei

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2025–26 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Duke †	17	–	1	.944	35	–	3	.921
No. 17 Virginia	15	–	3	.833	30	–	6	.833
No. 24 Miami (FL)	13	–	5	.722	26	–	9	.743
North Carolina	12	–	6	.667	24	–	9	.727
Clemson	12	–	6	.667	24	–	11	.686
No. 23 Louisville	11	–	7	.611	24	–	11	.686
NC State	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
Florida State	10	–	8	.556	18	–	15	.545
California	9	–	9	.500	22	–	12	.647
Stanford	9	–	9	.500	20	–	13	.606
SMU	8	–	10	.444	20	–	14	.588
Virginia Tech	8	–	10	.444	19	–	13	.594
Wake Forest	7	–	11	.389	18	–	17	.514
Syracuse	6	–	12	.333	15	–	17	.469
Pittsburgh	5	–	13	.278	13	–	20	.394
Notre Dame	4	–	14	.222	13	–	18	.419
Boston College	4	–	14	.222	11	–	20	.355
Georgia Tech	2	–	16	.111	11	–	20	.355

† 2026 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

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The Golden Bears started the season with three straight wins before the streak was broken at Kansas State in a 96–99 loss. The team defeated Presbyterian and Sacramento State in the Empire Classic campus games. They traveled to the Chase Center to complete the Empire Classic with a win over eighteenth-ranked UCLA. They did not participate in the ACC–SEC Challenge and won the remainder of their non-conference games. They faced only one other Power-4 team over their final six non-conference games, Utah, who they defeated 79–72. Cal faced a significatnly harder schedule to being their ACC slate, facing three ranked teams in their first five games. The Golden Bears went 1–4 over this stretch and lost to sixth-ranked Duke, sixteenth-ranked Louisville, and twenty-third ranked Virginia. Their lone victory was a one-point defeat of Notre Dame. The team flipped the script and went 4–1 over their next five games, with victories over fourteenth-ranked North Carolina, and a rivalry victory over Stanford. Their only loss was a two-point defeat at Florida State. The Golden Bears went 3–2 in their next five games, losing to twentieth-ranked Clemson and Syracuse in double overtime. They defeated Stanford in a rivalry re-match over this stretch. They finished the season on a 1–2 streak, losing to Pittsburgh and Wake Forest but defeating Georgia Tech.

The Golden Bears finished the season 22–12 and 9–9 in ACC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. As the ninth seed in the 2026 ACC tournament they lost to Florida State 89–95 in the First Round. They were exempt qualifiers in the NIT and were the second-seed in the Albuquerque Regional. They defeated UIC in the First Round before being upset by unseeded Saint Joseph's in the Second Round to end their season.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Jeremiah Wilkinson	0	G	6'1"	175	Freshman	Powder Springs, Georgia	Transferred to Georgia^[1]
Joshua Ola-Joseph	1	G	6'7"	215	Junior	Brooklyn Park, Minnesota	Transferred to Loyola-Chicago^[2]
Andrej Stojaković	2	G	6'7"	205	Sophomore	Carmichael, California	Transferred to Illinois^[3]
Spencer Mahoney	7	F	6'9"	230	Freshman	New York, New York	Transferred to Temple^[4]
Jovan Blacksher Jr.	10	G	5'11"	165	Graduate Student	Los Angeles, California	Graduated
Mady Sissoko	12	C	6'9"	250	Graduate Student	Bafoulabé, Mali	Graduated, signed with Pallacanestro Trieste
Devin Curtis	13	F	6'11"	210	Sophomore	Northridge, California	Transferred to Southern Indiana^[5]
Jack McCloskey	14	G	6'4"	180	Sophomore	Santa Ana, California	—
Kevin Armstrong II	15	G	6'6"	210	Freshman	Minneapolis, Minnesota	—
Jaden Goodall	17	F	6'6"	175	Freshman	Anaheim, California	Transferred to San Jose State^[6]
BJ Omot	20	F	6'8"	185	Junior	Mankato, Minnesota	Transferred to Minnesota^[7]
Christian Tucker	22	G	6'3"	178	Senior	Chandler, Arizona	Entered transfer portal^[8]
Matt Desler	23	G	6'1"	180	Senior	Oakland, California	Graduated
Jayden Karapetian	32	G	6'2"	170	Sophomore	Woodland Hills, California	—
Vladimir Pavlovic	33	G	6'3"	190	Sophomore	Herceg Novi, Montenegro	Transferred to Mercyhurst^[9]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
John Camden	2	F	6'8"	220	Graduate Student	Downingtown, Pennsylvania	Delaware^[10]
Dai Dai Ames	7	G	6'2"	180	Junior	Chicago, Illinois	Virginia^[11]
Milos Ilic	8	C	6'10"	240	Graduate Student	Gornji Milanovac, Serbia	Loyola (MD)^[12]
Justin Pippen	10	G	6'3"	190	Sophomore	Los Angeles, California	Michigan^[13]
Dhiaukuei Manyiel Dut	12	F	7'0"	210	Sophomore	Rumbek, South Sudan	Georgia State^[14]
Mantas Kocanas	17	C	6'11"	240	Sophomore	Karčiupis, Lithuania	Florida Atlantic^[15]
Nolan Dorsey	21	G	6'5"	210	Graduate Student	Knightdale, North Carolina	Campbell^[16]
Chris Bell	22	F	6'7"	195	Senior	Concord, California	Syracuse^[17]
Sammie Yeanay	23	F	6'8"	240	Sophomore	Gainesville, Florida	Grand Canyon^[18]

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Luke Butler G	Austin, Texas	Westlake High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
Luke Butler G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Semetri Carr G	Mill Valley, California	Redwood High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 14, 2024
Semetri Carr G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (82)
Jorell Clark G	Palo Alto, California	Palo Alto High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
Jorell Clark G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (NR)
Jovani Ruff G	Long Beach, California	Long Beach Poly	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jun 5, 2024
Jovani Ruff G	Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (81)
Overall recruit ranking: Scout: 54 Rivals: 87 ESPN: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "California Golden Bears". Rivals. Retrieved October 24, 2025. "California Golden Bears". ESPN. Retrieved October 24, 2025. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved October 24, 2025.

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Cal State Bakersfield	W 87–60	1–0	22 – Camden	9 – Dort	7 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (3,143) Berkeley, CA
November 6, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Wright State	W 77–67	2–0	23 – Ames	9 – Tied	4 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (2,172) Berkeley, CA
November 10, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Cal State Fullerton	W 93–65	3–0	24 – Ames	9 – Pippen	6 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (2,377) Berkeley, CA
November 13, 2025* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Kansas State	L 96–99	3–1	27 – Bell	6 – Carr	7 – Ames	Bramlage Coliseum (7,521) Manhattan, KS
November 18, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Presbyterian Empire Classic campus game	W 67–57	4–1	20 – Camden	8 – Dort	6 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (1,894) Berkeley, CA
November 21, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Sacramento State Empire Classic campus game	W 91–67	5–1	21 – Bell	9 – Ilic	5 – Tied	Haas Pavilion (4,295) Berkeley, CA
November 25, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN		vs. No. 18 UCLA Empire Classic	W 80–72	6–1	22 – Bell	7 – Petraitis	4 – Tied	Chase Center (7,293) San Francisco, CA
December 2, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Utah	W 79–72	7–1	25 – Ames	11 – Dort	3 – Dort	Haas Pavilion (2,783) Berkeley, CA
December 6, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Pacific	W 67–61	8–1	16 – Pippen	7 – Tied	3 – Carr	Haas Pavilion (2,688) Berkeley, CA
December 9, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Dominican (CA)	W 93–71	9–1	24 – Pippen	8 – Camden	5 – Ames	Haas Pavilion (1,844) Berkeley, CA
December 13, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Northwestern State	W 79–70	10–1	25 – Camden	13 – Dort	7 – Carr	Haas Pavilion (2,738) Berkeley, CA
December 19, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Morgan State	W 97–50	11–1	28 – Bell	8 – Camden	9 – Carr	Haas Pavilion (1,894) Berkeley, CA
December 21, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		Columbia	W 74–56	12–1	21 – Ames	14 – Dort	5 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (3,283) Berkeley, CA
ACC Regular Season
December 30, 2025 6:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 16 Louisville	L 70–90	12–2 (0–1)	20 – Bell	9 – Dort	5 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (6,012) Berkeley, CA
January 2, 2026 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		Notre Dame	W 72–71	13–2 (1–1)	23 – Ames	11 – Dort	3 – Tied	Haas Pavilion (5,158) Berkeley, CA
January 7, 2026 6:00 p.m., ACCN		at No. 23 Virginia	L 60–84	13–3 (1–2)	18 – Ames	8 – Carr	3 – Pippen	John Paul Jones Arena (11,533) Charlottesville, VA
January 10, 2026 1:00 p.m., ACCN		at Virginia Tech	L 75–78	13–4 (1–3)	21 – Ames	7 – Dort	4 – Ilic	Cassell Coliseum (5,323) Blacksburg, VA
January 14, 2026 8:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 6 Duke	L 56–71	13–5 (1–4)	14 – Dort	9 – Dort	3 – Tied	Haas Pavilion (11,201) Berkeley, CA
January 17, 2026 1:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 14 North Carolina	W 84–78	14–5 (2–4)	20 – Camden	12 – Dort	5 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (8,077) Berkeley, CA
January 24, 2026 5:00 p.m., ACCN		at Stanford Rivalry	W 78–66	15–5 (3–4)	25 – Camden	10 – Camden	6 – Pippen	Maples Pavilion (7,291) Stanford, CA
January 28, 2026 4:00 p.m., ACCN		at Florida State	L 61–63	15–6 (3–5)	19 – Pippen	11 – Ilic	3 – Pippen	Donald L. Tucker Center (4,867) Tallahassee, FL
January 31, 2026 1:00 p.m., ACCN		at Miami	W 86–85	16–6 (4–5)	26 – Camden	4 – Pippen	8 – Pippen	Watsco Center (6,513) Coral Gables, FL
February 4, 2026 5:00 p.m., ACCN		Georgia Tech	W 90–85	17–6 (5–5)	29 – Ames	9 – Ilic	6 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (6,018) Berkeley, CA
February 7, 2026 5:00 p.m., ACCN		No. 20 Clemson	L 55–77	17–7 (5–6)	19 – Pippen	5 – Tied	2 – Tied	Haas Pavilion (5,629) Berkeley, CA
February 11, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Syracuse	L 100–107 ^2OT	17–8 (5–7)	23 – Ames	14 – Ilic	7 – Pippen	JMA Wireless Dome (19,053) Syracuse, NY
February 14, 2026 9:00 a.m., ACCN		at Boston College	W 86–75	18–8 (6–7)	22 – Bell	9 – Camden	4 – Tied	Conte Forum (3,485) Chestnut Hill, MA
February 21, 2026 3:00 p.m., ACCN		Stanford Rivalry	W 72–66	19–8 (7–7)	20 – Bell	8 – Camden	4 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (9,020) Berkeley, CA
February 25, 2026 7:00 p.m., ACCN		SMU	W 73–69	20–8 (8–7)	24 – Pippen	10 – Dort	5 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (4,411) Berkeley, CA
February 28, 2026 1:00 p.m., ACCN		Pittsburgh	L 56–72	20–9 (8–8)	11 – Ames	9 – Ilic	4 – Tied	Haas Pavilion (5,061) Berkeley, CA
March 4, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Georgia Tech	W 76–65	21–9 (9–8)	18 – Ames	10 – Camden	8 – Pippen	McCamish Pavilion (4,124) Atlanta, GA
March 7, 2026 1:00 p.m., ACCN		at Wake Forest	L 73–80	21–10 (9–9)	31 – Ames	7 – Dort	3 – Pippen	LJVM Coliseum (8,514) Winston-Salem, NC
ACC tournament
March 11, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN2	(9)	vs. (8) Florida State Second Round	L 89–95	21–11	27 – Ames	18 – Dort	6 – Pippen	Spectrum Center (9,620) Charlotte, NC
NIT
March 18, 2026* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2	(2 AL)	UIC First Round	W 91–73	22–11	31 – Bell	7 – Ilić	7 – Carr	Haas Pavilion (1,258) Berkeley, CA
March 22, 2026* 6:00 p.m., ESPNU	(2 AL)	Saint Joseph's Second Round	L 75–76	22–12	23 – Bell	8 – Dort	6 – Pippen	Haas Pavilion (1,657) Berkeley, CA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. AL=Alberquerque. All times are in Pacific Time.

2025–26 California Golden Bears men's basketball team

Previous season

Off-season

Departures

Incoming transfers

2025 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

References

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