SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The Cal State San Marcos men's basketball team will begin 2024-25 competition with a pair of exhibitions at UC Riverside on Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. before heading to San Diego State on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
 
LAST SEASON

• In head coach Nick Booker's first season at the helm of the program, CSUSM tied for eighth in CCAA play with a 9-13 record while going 10-18 overall.
• The Cougars defeated two ranked programs in then-No. 10 Chico State and then-No. 22 and eventual NCAA Division II semifinalist Cal State San Bernardino.
• CSUSM ended the season ranking 25th nationally in turnover margin (2.9) while forcing the 39th-most turnovers in Division II (14.89).
• In the CCAA, the Cougars ranked second in assist/turnover ratio (1.15), assists per game (13.9) and 3-pointers per game (8.8).
• Outgoing senior Edwyn Collins earned All-CCAA first-team honors after leading the CCAA with 17.7 points per game and coming down with a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game.

 
2024-25 OUTLOOK

• CSUSM will have a new look this season as 13 of its 16 student-athletes are newcomers to the program.
• Six of CSUSM's 13 newcomers are freshmen while the other seven are four-year/community college transfers.
• The Cougars return three student-athletes from last year's roster in senior Uriah Foster, sophomore Max Tengan and redshirt junior Donovan Watkins.
• Tengan is CSUSM's leading scorer among returners at 9.0 points per game while dishing out 2.2 assists per game and shooting 35.8% from beyond the arc.

FIRST EXHIBITION AT UC RIVERSIDE

• This will be the first-ever meeting between the Cougars and Highlanders in an exhibition or regular-season play.
• UCR is coming off a 16-18 season in 2023-24 that saw them tie for fifth in Big West action with a 10-10 record.
• This season, the Highlanders were picked to finish fourth in the Big West Preseason Poll.
• Reigning Big West Freshman of the Year Barrington Hargress earned All-Big West accolades after leading the Highlanders with 12.6 points per game and a conference-leading 3.14 assist/turnover ratio.
• This will be UCR's lone exhibition of the season before officially beginning the season at Oregon on Nov. 4.

FINAL EXHIBITION AT SAN DIEGO STATE

• For the second consecutive year and seventh time overall, CSUSM and San Diego State will meet in an exhibition.
• This will be the Aztecs' first and only exhibition game of 2024-25.
• SDSU is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance after finishing 26-11 overall and fifth in the Mountain West with an 11-7 record.
• The Aztecs were picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Preseason Poll.
• Senior Reese Waters was named to the Preseason All-Mountain West Team, returning as the leading scorer (9.6 points per game) and rebounder (3.7 rebounds per game).
• SDSU will officially begin its season at home against UC San Diego on Nov. 6.

THE BOOKER FILE

• Nick Booker enters his second season at the helm of CSUSM men's basketball after he became the Cougars' third head coach in program history on June 5, 2023.
• In his first season in 2023-24, Booker's Cougars tied for eighth in the CCAA standings and earned statement wins over No. 10 Chico State and No. 22 and eventual semifinalist Cal State San Bernardino.
• Booker came to CSUSM from UC San Diego where he was the Tritons' assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for three seasons beginning in June 2020.
• Prior to UCSD, Booker was the associate head coach at Eastern Washington from April 2017 through May 2020 and was named the top assistant coach in the Big Sky Conference by Stadium.
• While at Eastern Washington, Booker helped the Eagles win 59 games overall and a Big Sky Conference Championship in 2019-20 while helping develop two Big Sky Players of the Year.
• Before Eastern Washington, Booker was the director of basketball operations at Davidson College in 2016-17 after a five-year stint as an assistant coach at UC Irvine from April 2011 to March 2016, where he was also the director of basketball operations for one season prior.
• Booker's first coaching gig as an assistant came at Miramar Community College in 2006-07, and he later became the assistant coach and interim head coach at Saddleback Community College from July 2007 through August 2010.
• Booker earned his bachelor's in history at Davidson College in 2004and earned his master's in physical education from Azusa Pacific in 2010.
• At Davidson, Booker was a starter for the 2002 Southern Conference Championship team that faced Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament and contributed to back-to-back regular-season conference championships in 2001 and 2002.
• Booker has a career record of 10-18 (.357).