SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Basketball returns to the Hilltop as the University of San Francisco men's basketball team (0-0) begins the 2025-26 campaign on Monday night, hosting UC Santa Cruz (0-0) for a 7:00 p.m. contest at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
GAME 1 DETAILS:
Opponent: UC Santa Cruz (0-0)
Date: Monday, Nov. 3, 2025
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: San Francisco, Calif. / War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Watch: ESPN+ (Barry Tompkins, Dan Belluomini)
Listen: KNBR 1050 (Pat Olson, Jim Brovelli)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here
 
DONS AT A GLANCE:

• San Francisco looks to build off its recent success after NIT bids in the last two seasons, an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022, and eight consecutive 20-win campaigns (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season) since the 2016-17 season.
• Heading into their fourth season under head coach Chris Gerlufsen, the Dons were picked to finish third in the WCC Preseason Poll on Oct. 23, receiving one first-place vote.
• USF returns seven players from the 2024-25 roster, headlined by Preseason All-WCC Team selection guards Tyrone Riley IV and Ryan Beasley. Riley IV is coming off an All-WCC Freshman Team season, averaging 9.6 points on 50.2 percent shooting, also grabbing a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game in 34 games played, all starts. Beasley finished last season as the fourth-leading scorer for the Dons, averaging 9.0 points per game in his sophomore season. Notably, Beasley started in his last three games of the season, averaging 20.3 points and 4.7 assists on 53.7 percent shooting from the field and 45.0 percent shooting from deep in those three contests, as Beasley moves into a starting role this season.
• Eight newcomers will don the green and gold this season, including guards Vukasin Masic (Portland) and Aidan Braccia (Belmont), and forwards Mookie Cook (Oregon), David Fuchs (Rhode Island), and Guillermo Diaz Graham (Pittsburgh). A former conference foe, Masic brings another offensive threat to USF's arsenal as the Serbian native averaged double-figure scoring in each of the last two seasons with the Pilots.
• Three new Dons will begin their college careers on Monday night in freshmen Legend Smiley (Seattle, Wash.), Weilun Zhao (Varese, Italy/Overtime Elite), and Sean Blakely Drummond (Palo Alto, Calif.).
• With NCAA Tournament hopes going into the season, the Dons sit at No. 60 in the initial Bart Torvik rankings and 84th in the initial KenPom rankings.

SCOUTING THE BANANA SLUGS:

• Members of Division III's Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C), UC Santa Cruz will open its 2025-26 campaign against San Francisco, after finishing last season with a 12-13 record, good for fourth in the conference. As the four-seed in the C2C Championship last season, UCSC fell to then-D-III No. 8 Christopher Newport in the conference tournament semifinals, 84-78, on Feb. 28, 2025.
• The Banana Slugs return two of their top three scorers from last season, including their leading scorer in senior Joseph Espy, who averaged 16.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, shooting 58.0 percent from the field in 25 games, all starts, en route to First Team All-Conference honors.
• Senior guard Andrew Ferrara-Jones was UCSC's third-leading scorer in the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 12.0 points per game and cashing in a team-best 58 made three-pointers, earning Second Team All-Conference honors.
• Head coach Matt Malone enters his fifth season as UC Santa Cruz's head coach, compiling a 38-63 record across his four seasons at the helm of the Banana Slugs. Before coming to UCSC, Malone spent 15 seasons at his alma mater, Tufts University, earning multiple NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen appearances.
• Monday night's contest against the Dons will not count towards UC Santa Cruz's 2025-26 record, with the Banana Slugs' official season opener coming on Friday, Nov. 7, against the University of Redlands in Santa Cruz.

SERIES HISTORY:

• San Francisco will face off against UC Santa Cruz for the first time in program history in Monday night's season opener.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsMBB on Twitter, @USFDonsMBB on Instagram, and @USFDonsMBB on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

SPONSOR US:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of San Francisco Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.