2025–26 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team

2025–26 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball
ConferenceBig West Conference
Record10–22 (5–15 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Tim Bross
  • Blake Wetherington
  • Reuben Williams
  • Matthew Musselman
Home arenaSRC Arena
(Capacity: 3,168)
2025–26 Big West Conference men's basketball standings
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

The 2025–26 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represented the University of California, Riverside during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by first-year head coach Gus Argenal, played their home games at the SRC Arena in Riverside, California as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 10–22, 5–15 in Big West play to finish in 11th place. They failed to qualify for the Big West tournament.

Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2024–25 season 21–13, 14–6 in Big West play to finish in a tie for third place.[1] As the No. 3 seed in the Big West tournament, they were upset by Cal Poly in the quarterfinals.[2] They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament.[3] There they lost to Santa Clara in the first round.[4]

On March 29, 2025, head coach Mike Magpayo left the team to take the head coaching position at Fordham.[5] On May 1, the school announced that Cal State San Bernardino head coach Gus Argenal would be the team's new head coach.[6]

Preseason

On October 16, 2025, the Big West Conference released their preseason coaches poll. UC Riverside was picked to finish ninth in the conference.[7]

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:[7]

Preseason All-Big West Team

No players were named the Preseason All-Big West Team.[7]

Roster

2025–26 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Tyler Jones 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
—
 So Archbishop Mitty High School Morgan Hill, California
G 1 De'Undrae Perteete Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
—
 So Westmont Antioch, California
G 2 EJ Spillman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 Fr Pacifica Christian High School Long Beach, California
G 7 Parker Strauss 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Northwestern Costa Mesa, California
F 8 BJ Kolly 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Montana State Everett, Washington
F 9 Osiris Grady 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Utah Valley Las Vegas, Nevada
G 10 Marqui Worthy Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg) Jr UMass Anaheim, California
G 12 Andrew Henderson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) GS Cal State San Bernardino Los Angeles, California
G 13 Ben Waller 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
 Fr Lavalla Catholic Traralgon, Australia
F 22 Denzel Hines 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Coastal Carolina Fontana, California
F 23 Dylan Godfrey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Canisius Newport Beach, California
F 32 Amaury McKinney 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
 RS Fr Jesuit High School Sacramento, California
C 34 Daniel Tobiloba 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Jr South Florida Lagos, Nigeria
G 35 Gavin Haase 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
—
 RS Fr Palo Alto High School Palo Alto, California
F 44 Jailen Daniel-Dalton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) GS San Francisco State Henderson, Nevada
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 28, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 3, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		La Sierra W 90–49  1–0
  19 – Henderson   8 – Grady   7 – Godfrey  SRC Arena (556)
Riverside, CA
November 6, 2025*
5:00 pm, SLN 		at North Dakota W 74–70  2–0
  21 – Worthy Jr.   6 – Grady   5 – Worthy Jr.  Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,533)
Grand Forks, ND
November 11, 2025*
6:00 pm, MW Network 		at New Mexico L 68–82  2–1
  27 – Henderson   10 – Hines   3 – Worthy Jr.  The Pit (11,689)
Albuquerque, NM
November 15, 2025*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		North Dakota L 74–76  2–2
  20 – Worthy Jr.   11 – Grady   7 – Worthy Jr.  SRC Arena (375)
Riverside, CA
November 18, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at California Baptist
Acrisure Series 		L 57–80  2–3
  15 – Worthy   6 – Worthy   3 – Worthy  Fowler Events Center (3,766)
Riverside, CA
November 21, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at San Diego
Acrisure Series 		W 85–71  3–3
  19 – Kolly   6 – Tied   3 – Tied  Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,589)
San Diego, CA
November 24, 2025*
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Grambling State
Acrisure Series 		W 83–74  4–3
  34 – Henderson   9 – Tied   3 – Tied  SRC Arena (355)
Riverside, CA
November 29, 2025*
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Utah Tech L 69–77  4–4
  17 – Grady   5 – Tied   3 – Worthy  Burns Arena (1,107)
St. George, UT
December 4, 2025
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UC Irvine L 60–73  4–5
(0–1) 		 26 – Worthy Jr.   8 – Worthy Jr.   2 – Tied  Bren Events Center (1,441)
Irvine, CA
December 6, 2025
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Cal Poly W 88–84  5–5
(1–1) 		 28 – Henderson   9 – Henderson   4 – Worthy  Mott Athletics Center (1,443)
San Luis Obispo, CA
December 13, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at No. 10 BYU L 53–100  5–6
  14 – Henderson   7 – Grady   5 – Perteete Jr.  Marriott Center (17,982)
Provo, UT
December 16, 2025*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Stanton W 95–70  6–6
  26 – Henderson   18 – Grady   4 – Tied  SRC Arena (255)
Riverside, CA
December 20, 2025*
7:00 pm, SLN 		at St. Thomas L 78–92  6–7
  21 – Grady   7 – Tied   5 – Perteete Jr.  Lee & Penny Anderson Arena (1,780)
St. Paul, MN
December 23, 2025*
1:00 pm, BTN 		at UCLA L 65–97  6–8
  20 – Grady   7 – Daniel-Dalton   5 – Grady  Pauley Pavilion (4,475)
Los Angeles, CA
January 1, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Hawai'i L 45–88  6–9
(1–2) 		 14 – Worthy Jr.   8 – Kolly   3 – Kolly  SRC Arena (327)
Riverside, CA
January 8, 2026
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Cal State Bakersfield L 66–67  6–10
(1–3) 		 19 – Worthy Jr.   11 – Kolly   2 – Tied  Icardo Center (259)
Bakersfield, CA
January 10, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UC San Diego L 66–69  6–11
(1–4) 		 27 – Henderson   6 – Grady   4 – Kolly  SRC Arena (388)
Riverside, CA
January 15, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Long Beach State L 73–88  6–12
(1–5) 		 23 – Worthy Jr.   9 – Worthy Jr.   2 – Worthy Jr.  Walter Pyramid (1,213)
Long Beach, CA
January 17, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Cal State Fullerton W 81–72  7–12
(2–5) 		 22 – Worthy Jr.   10 – Kolly   4 – Osiris  SRC Arena (375)
Riverside, CA
January 22, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UC Irvine L 66–80  7–13
(2–6) 		 22 – Worthy Jr.   8 – Kolly   3 – Perteete Jr.  SRC Arena (647)
Riverside, CA
January 24, 2026
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UC Davis L 66–74  7–14
(2–7) 		 18 – Worthy Jr.   9 – Kolly   4 – Henderson  University Credit Union Center (1,502)
Davis, CA
January 29, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Long Beach State W 71–61  8–14
(3–7) 		 19 – Henderson   8 – Grady   5 – Worthy Jr.  SRC Arena (407)
Riverside, CA
January 31, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Cal Poly L 87–94  8–15
(3–8) 		 39 – Henderson   7 – Tied   4 – Worthy Jr.  SRC Arena (276)
Riverside, CA
February 5, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Cal State Fullerton L 72–78  8–16
(3–9) 		 19 – Henderson   9 – Henderson   4 – Worthy Jr.  Titan Gym (483)
Fullerton, CA
February 7, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Cal State Northridge L 74–88  8–17
(3–10) 		 36 – Worthy Jr.   8 – Daniel-Dalton   5 – Perteete Jr.  The Matadome (863)
Northridge, CA
February 12, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UC Santa Barbara L 68–76  8–18
(3–11) 		 22 – Henderson   8 – Daniel-Dalton   4 – Tied  SRC Arena (367)
Riverside, CA
February 14, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UC San Diego L 66–72  8–19
(3–12) 		 21 – Henderson   12 – Kolly   6 – Worthy Jr.  LionTree Arena (1,660)
La Jolla, CA
February 19, 2026
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Cal State Bakersfield W 93–65  9–19
(4–12) 		 26 – Henderson   14 – Kolly   5 – Tied  SRC Arena (462)
Riverside, CA
February 21, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UC Davis L 73–78  9–20
(4–13) 		 22 – Henderson   10 – Grady   4 – Tied  SRC Arena (325)
Riverside, CA
February 26, 2026
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UC Santa Barbara L 59–70  9–21
(4–14) 		 17 – Henderson   8 – Grady   4 – Perteete Jr.  The Thunderdome (2,026)
Santa Barbara, CA
February 28, 2026
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Cal State Northridge W 95–84  10–21
(5–14) 		 38 – Worthy Jr.   10 – Grady   5 – Worthy Jr.  SRC Arena (346)
Riverside, CA
March 5, 2026
8:59 pm, ESPN+ 		at Hawai'i L 74–93  10–22
(5–15) 		 26 – Henderson   5 – Tied   3 – Tied  Stan Sheriff Center (4,880)
Honolulu, HI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific.

Sources:[8][9]

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". The Big West. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  2. ^ "Cal Poly wins again, reaching Big West basketball semifinals for first time since 2014". San Luis Obispo Tribune. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  3. ^ "What to know about the 2025 NIT: Bracket, schedule and how to watch the games". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  4. ^ "Santa Clara makes 16 3-pointers in 101-62 win over UC Riverside in NIT". CBS Sports. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  5. ^ "UC Riverside's Mike Magpayo hired as men's basketball coach at Fordham". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  6. ^ "UCR names Gus Argenal head men's basketball coach". UC Riverside. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "UC Irvine Predicted to Win The Big West in 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". The Big West. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  8. ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". UC Riverside Athletics. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
  9. ^ "UC Riverside Highlanders 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
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