2025–26 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team

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The 2025–26 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by ninth-year head coach Joe Pasternack, played their home games at The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, California as members of the Big West Conference.

ConferenceBig West Conference
Record18–14 (11–9 Big West)
Headcoach
Assistant coaches
  • Brandon Cyrus
  • Brian Eskildsen
  • Derek Glasser
  • Brandon Rosenthal
Quick facts UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball, Resorts World Las Vegas Classic champions ...
2025–26 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball
Resorts World Las Vegas Classic champions
ConferenceBig West Conference
Record18–14 (11–9 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Brandon Cyrus
  • Brian Eskildsen
  • Derek Glasser
  • Brandon Rosenthal
Home arenaThe Thunderdome
(Capacity: 5,000)
Seasons
← 2024–25
2026–27 →
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More information Conf., Overall ...
2025–26 Big West Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
UC Irvine15–5 .75023–12  .657
Hawai'i †14–6 .70024–9  .727
Cal State Fullerton12–8 .60018–16  .529
Cal State Northridge12–8 .60020–14  .588
UC San Diego12–8 .60023–11  .676
UC Davis11–9 .55019–14  .576
UC Santa Barbara11–9 .55018–14  .563
Cal Poly10–10 .50014–19  .424
Long Beach State6–14 .30010–22  .313
UC Riverside5–15 .25010–22  .313
Cal State Bakersfield2–18 .1008–24  .250
† 2026 Big West tournament winner
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Previous season

The Gauchos finished the 2024–25 season 21–13, 11–9 in Big West play, to finish in fifth place.[1] They defeated Cal State Bakersfield[2] and Cal State Northridge,[3] before falling to top-seeded and eventual tournament champions UC San Diego in the semifinals of the Big West tournament.[4]

Preseason

On October 16, 2025, the Big West Conference released their preseason coaches poll. UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish second in the conference, while also receiving three first-place votes.[5]

Preseason rankings

More information Place, Team ...
Big West Preseason Poll
Place Team Points
1UC Irvine98 (8)
2UC Santa Barbara93 (3)
3Hawai'i76
4UC San Diego69
5Cal State Northridge63
6UC Davis58
7Cal Poly54
8Long Beach State31
9UC Riverside26
10Cal State Bakersfield20
11Cal State Fullerton17
(#) first-place votes
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Source:[5]

Preseason All-Big West Team

More information Player, Year ...
Preseason All-Big West Team
Player Year Position
Jason Fontenet II Junior Guard
Aidan Mahaney Senior
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Source:[5]

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2025–26 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 00 Koat Keat Tong 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS JrCrean Lutheran High School Bentiu, South Sudan
G 1 Miro Little 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrUtah Tampere, Finland
G 2 Luke Zuffelato 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrSanta Barbara High School Santa Barbara, California
G 3 CJ Shaw 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrMojave High School Las Vegas, Nevada
G 4 Marvin McGhee IV 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrCal State Bakersfield Atlanta, Georgia
F 6 Kyle Haughy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS JrSanta Barbara City College San Ramon, California
F 7 Colin Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS JrVanderbilt Dallas, Texas
G 10 Jason Fontenet II 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrBella Vista Prep Phoenix, Arizona
C 12 Evans Kipruto 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)240 lb (109 kg) GSBarton Community College Nairobi, Kenya
G 18 Isaac Shingange 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS JrCity College of San Francisco Johannesburg, South Africa
G 20 Aidan Mahaney 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrUConn Lafayette, California
F 21 John Simcoe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrSandra Day O'Connor High School Phoenix, Arizona
F 23 Michael Simcoe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrSandra Day O'Connor High School Phoenix, Arizona
G 24 Zion Sensley 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoArchbishop Riordan High School San Carlos, California
F 34 Hosana Kitenge 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)235 lb (107 kg) GSLouisiana Crawley, England
F 35 Bryce Bedgood 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS FrValencia High School Valencia, California
G 44 Zachiah Clark 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS FrDNA Prep Academy Los Angeles, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 28, 2025

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Schedule and results

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 San Francisco State W 98–67  1–0
  23 – Sensley  14 – Sensley  3 – Tied  The Thunderdome (2,992)
Santa Barbara, CA
November 8, 2025*
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 San Jose State W 85–74  2–0
  24 – Smith  8 – Little  6 – Tied  The Thunderdome (3,024)
Santa Barbara, CA
November 11, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Sacramento State W 92–87  3–0
  17 – 3 tied  7 – 3 tied  8 – Little  Hornets Nest (2,734)
Sacramento, CA
November 17, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Loyola Marymount L 74–78 OT 3–1
  19 – Little  8 – Tied  4 – Mahaney  The Thunderdome (2,402)
Santa Barbara, CA
November 22, 2025*
2:00 pm, MW Network		 at Nevada L 64–77  3–2
  13 – Little  6 – Little  4 – Tied  Lawlor Events Center (7,340)
Reno, NV
November 24, 2025*
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Nobel W 84–49  4–2
  23 – Shaw  12 – Sensley  5 – Simcoe  The Thunderdome (1,311)
Santa Barbara, CA
November 28, 2025*
1:30 pm, FloCollege		 vs. Lehigh
Resorts World Las Vegas Classic semifinals		 W 72–70  5–2
  20 – Little  8 – Tied  2 – Little  Resorts World Events Center 
Winchester, NV
November 29, 2025*
1:30 pm, FloCollege		 vs. Seattle
Resorts World Las Vegas Classic championship		 W 74–71  6–2
  20 – Sensley  6 – Tied  6 – Little  Resorts World Events Center 
Winchester, NV
December 4, 2025
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Long Beach State W 84–77 OT 7–2
(1–0)		  26 – Mahaney  6 – Tied  3 – Mahaney  The Thunderdome (2,072)
Santa Barbara, CA
December 6, 2025
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Cal State Bakersfield W 109–84  8–2
(2–0)		  30 – Mahaney  14 – Sensley  6 – McGhee IV  The Thunderdome (1,739)
Santa Barbara, CA
December 13, 2025*
11:00 am, ESPN+		 vs. Utah Valley
Salt Lake Slam		 L 53–68  8–3
  10 – Smith  10 – Sensley  4 – Shaw  Delta Center (1,987)
Salt Lake City, UT
December 17, 2025*
4:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Green Bay L 64–67  8–4
  18 – Mahaney  10 – McGhee IV  4 – Mahaney  Kress Events Center (1,510)
Green Bay, WI
December 22, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+		 Portland W 79–61  9–4
  15 – Mahaney  8 – Kipruto  11 – Shaw  The Thunderdome (3,022)
Santa Barbara, CA
January 1, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Cal State Fullerton L 84–95  9–5
(2–1)		  23 – Mahaney  11 – Sensley  6 – Kitenge  Titan Gym (493)
Fullerton, CA
January 3, 2026
1:00 pm, ESPN+/SSN		 at Cal State Northridge L 65–74  9–6
(2–2)		  20 – Shaw  7 – Sensley  3 – McGhee IV  Premier America Credit Union Arena (689)
Northridge, CA
January 8, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 UC Davis L 86–93  9–7
(2–3)		  20 – Little  7 – Smith  5 – Little  The Thunderdome (2,091)
Santa Barbara, CA
January 15, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+		 at Cal State Bakersfield W 75–69  10–7
(3–3)		  16 – Smith  8 – Sensley  4 – Little  Icardo Center (284)
Bakersfield, CA
January 17, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Hawai'i W 77–62  11–7
(4–3)		  17 – Mahaney  5 – Tied  4 – Mahaney  The Thunderdome (2,589)
Santa Barbara, CA
January 22, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Cal Poly
Rivalry		 W 107–67  12–7
(5–3)		  20 – Sensley  7 – Sensley  11 – Little  The Thunderdome (3,821)
Santa Barbara, CA
January 24, 2026
4:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Long Beach State W 74–71  13–7
(6–3)		  21 – Mahaney  8 – Little  6 – Little  Walter Pyramid (2,351)
Long Beach, CA
January 29, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at UC San Diego W 62–48  14–7
(7–3)		  15 – Little  8 – Little  3 – Mahaney  LionTree Arena (3,704)
La Jolla, CA
January 31, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Cal State Fullerton W 83–69  15–7
(8–3)		  17 – Shaw  10 – Sensley  6 – Little  The Thunderdome (2,584)
Santa Barbara, CA
February 5, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 at UC Davis L 75–85  15–8
(8–4)		  18 – Shaw  9 – Tied  5 – Mahaney  University Credit Union Center (1,811)
Davis, CA
February 7, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPNU		 UC Irvine W 84–79  16–8
(9–4)		  21 – Mahaney  13 – Sensley  3 – Tied  The Thunderdome (3,908)
Santa Barbara, CA
February 12, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at UC Riverside W 76–68  17–8
(10–4)		  20 – Mahaney  8 – Sensley  5 – Shaw  SRC Arena (367)
Riverside, CA
February 14, 2026
4:00 pm, ESPN+/SSN		 at Cal Poly
Rivalry		 L 79–89  17–9
(10–5)		  21 – Sensley  9 – Sensley  3 – Tied  Mott Athletics Center (2,870)
San Luis Obispo, CA
February 19, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 Cal State Northridge L 83–85 OT 17–10
(10–6)		  22 – Shaw  11 – Tied  5 – Shaw  The Thunderdome (2,313)
Santa Barbara, CA
February 21, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPNU		 at Hawai'i L 75–78 OT 17–11
(10–7)		  19 – Smith  11 – McGhee IV  5 – Mahaney  Stan Sheriff Center (9,246)
Honolulu, HI
February 26, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 UC Riverside W 70–59  18–11
(11–7)		  21 – Mahaney  12 – Sensley  3 – Tied  The Thunderdome (2,026)
Santa Barbara, CA
February 28, 2026
7:30 pm, ESPN2		 at UC Irvine L 60–64  18–12
(11–8)		  16 – Smith  8 – Kitenge  5 – Shaw  Bren Events Center (4,377)
Irvine, CA
March 7, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+		 UC San Diego L 63–64  18–13
(11–9)		  13 – Tied  8 – Little  7 – Little  The Thunderdome (3,899)
Santa Barbara, CA
Big West tournament
March 11, 2026
8:30 pm, ESPN+		 (7) vs. (6) UC Davis
First round		 L 73–79  18–14
  20 – Shaw  7 – Little  3 – Little  Lee's Family Forum (1,035)
Henderson, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific.
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Sources:[6][7]

References

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