# Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball

The Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball team represents Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. They are a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They are led by head coach Bryce Drew and play their home games at Global Credit Union Arena. They made the jump to NCAA Division I and joined the WAC on July 1, 2013.
During their time as a member of the NAIA, they were national champions in 1975, 1978, and 1988. Since joining Division I in 2013–14, the Antelopes have appeared four times in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2025.

## History

Grand Canyon College was founded in 1949. In their first year, they hired Howard Mansfield as coach of the Antelopes basketball team, the first sports team sponsored by the school.
The Antelopes played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) through the 1989–90 season before moving up to NCAA Division II for the 1990–91 season.
In March 2013, former Phoenix Suns shooting guard Dan Majerle became the 13th men's basketball coach. Majerle oversaw GCU's transition into NCAA Division I basketball in the WAC. The Antelopes began playing in Division I for the 2013–14 season, and became a full member eligible for postseason play in the 2017–2018 season.
In March 2020, Majerle was fired after seven seasons as head coach of GCU's men's basketball team. In May 2020, Majerle sued the university for breach of contract, alleging that the university did not give reason to terminate him or make any severance payments. The lawsuit was dismissed the following year with an unclear resolution.
On March 17, 2020, Bryce Drew was named the new GCU men's basketball head coach. Drew was previously the head coach of Valparaiso University. Immediately prior to arriving at GCU, he was head coach of the Vanderbilt University men's basketball team.

## Postseason
### NCAA Division I tournament results

Grand Canyon has appeared in three NCAA Division I tournaments. Their combined record is 1–3.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2021 | #15 | First Round | #2 Iowa | L 74–86 |
| 2023 | #14 | First Round | #3 Gonzaga | L 70–82 |
| 2024 | #12 | First Round Second Round | #5 Saint Mary's #4 Alabama | W 75–66 L 61–72 |

### NCAA Division II tournament results

The Antelopes have appeared in ten NCAA Division II tournaments. Their combined record is 5–10.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1992 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional 3rd-place game | UC Riverside Chico State | L 61–74 W 88–87 |
| 1993 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional 3rd-place game | Cal State Bakersfield Chico State | L 68–98 W 103–98 |
| 1994 | Regional Quarterfinals | San Francisco State | L 79–84 $^{OT}$ |
| 1995 | Regional Quarterfinals | UC Davis | L 88–92 $^{OT}$ |
| 1996 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals | Alaska-Anchorage Cal State Bakersfield | W 105–96 $^{OT}$ L 65–71 |
| 1997 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals | UC Davis Cal State Bakersfield | W 78–66 L 70–80 |
| 1998 | Regional Quarterfinals | Cal State Los Angeles | L 58–53 |
| 2007 | Regional Quarterfinals Regional semifinals | Seattle Pacific Humboldt State | W 87–65 L 81–95 |
| 2012 | Regional Quarterfinals | Western Washington | L 73–79 |
| 2013 | Regional Quarterfinals | Seattle Pacific | L 59–85 |

### NAIA tournament results

The Antelopes have appeared in 10 NAIA tournaments. Their combined record is 18–7 and they are three-time NAIA national champions (1975, 1978, 1988).
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1973 | First round | Winona State | L 64–70 |
| 1974 | First round Second Round | Virginia State Indiana (PA) | W 67–65 L 65–66 |
| 1975 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game | Willamette Illinois Wesleyan Wisconsin-Parkside Alcorn State Midwestern State | W 83–60 W 66–63 W 70–54 W 88–68 W 65–54 |
| 1976 | First round Second Round | Central State (OH) Newberry | W 57–52 L 58–65 |
| 1978 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game | Cumberland Hawaiʻi-Hilo Central State (OH) Texas A&M-Commerce Nebraska-Kearney | W 70–64 W 83–67 W 88–82 $^{5OT}$ W 74–69 W 79–75 |
| 1979 | First round | Marymount (KS) | L 74–79 |
| 1980 | First round | Clarion | L 75–83 |
| 1988 | First round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game | Hastings Fort Hays State College of Idaho Waynesburg Auburn-Montgomery | W 103–75 W 101–95 W 99–96 $^{OT}$ W 108–106 W 88–86 $^{OT}$ |
| 1989 | First round | Western Montana | L 65–79 |
| 1990 | First round Second Round | Briar Cliff South Carolina-Upstate | W 72–66 L 69–75 |

### CIT results

The Antelopes have appeared in three Division I CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–3.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2014 | First Round | Pacific | L 67–69 |
| 2015 | First Round | Northern Arizona | L 70–75 |
| 2016 | First Round Second Round Quarterfinals | South Carolina State Jackson State Coastal Carolina | W 78–74 W 64–54 L 58–60 |

### CBI results

The Antelopes have appeared in the Division I College Basketball Invitational (CBI) two times. Their combined record is 0–2.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2018 | First Round | Mercer | L 73–78 |
| 2019 | First Round | West Virginia | L 63–77 |

## Record year-by-year

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Grand Canyon (Great Northwest Conference) (1949–1994) ||||||
| 1990–1991 | Leighton McCrary | 19–11 | 5–3 | | |
| 1991–1992 | Leighton McCrary | 21–7 | 7–3 | | |
| 1992–1993 | Leighton McCrary | 20–11 | 7–5 | | |
| 1993–1994 | Leighton McCrary | 14–15 | 6–6 | | |
| Grand Canyon (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (1994–2004) ||||||
| 1994–1995 | Leighton McCrary | 17–11 | 8–4 | 2nd of 7 | NCAA first round |
| 1995–1996 | Leighton McCrary | 23–6 | 8–4 | 2nd of 7 | NCAA second round |
| 1996–1997 | Leighton McCrary | 23–6 | 9–3 | 2nd of 7 | NCAA second round |
| 1997–1998 | Leighton McCrary | 17–10 | 6–6 | T–2nd of 7 | NCAA first round |
| 1998–1999 | Leighton McCrary | 16–11 | 12–10 | 6th of 12 | |
| 1999–2000 | Leighton McCrary | 15–14 | 11–11 | T–7th of 12 | |
| 2000–2001 | Leighton McCrary | 9–17 | 9–13 | T–8th of 12 | |
| 2001–2002 | Leighton McCrary | 10–17 | 8–14 | 9th of 12 | |
| 2002–2003 | Leighton McCrary | 9–18 | 7–15 | 9th of 12 | |
| 2003–2004 | Leighton McCrary | 3–24 | 2–20 | 12th of 12 | |
| Grand Canyon (Pacific West Conference) (2004–2013) ||||||
| 2004–2005 | Scott Mossman | 13–16 | | | |
| 2005–2006 | Scott Mossman | 19–8 | | | |
| 2006–2007 | Scott Mossman | 21–8 | 13–2 | 1st of 7 | NCAA second round |
| 2007–2008 | Scott Mossman | 12–15 | 6–12 | T–5th of 7 | |
| 2008–2009 | Dan Nichols | 14–14 | 5–7 | 5th of 7 | |
| 2009–2010 | Russ Pennell | 16–16 | 10–6 | 4th of 9 | |
| 2010–2011 | Russ Pennell | 14–12 | 9–7 | 4th of 9 | |
| 2011–2012 | Russ Pennell | 19–8 | 13–5 | 3rd of 10 | NCAA first round |
| 2012–2013 | Russ Pennell | 23–8 | 14–4 | 3rd of 14 | NCAA first round |
| Grand Canyon (Western Athletic Conference) (2013–present) ||||||
| 2013–2014 | Dan Majerle | 15–15 | 10–6 | 3rd | CIT first round |
| 2014–2015 | Dan Majerle | 17–15 | 8–6 | T–2nd | CIT first round |
| 2015–2016 | Dan Majerle | 27–7 | 11–3 | 2nd | CIT Quarterfinals |
| 2016–2017 | Dan Majerle | 22–9 | 11–3 | T–2nd | |
| 2017–2018 | Dan Majerle | 22–12 | 9–5 | 3rd | CBI First round |
| 2018–2019 | Dan Majerle | 20–14 | 10–6 | 3rd | CBI First round |
| 2019–2020 | Dan Majerle | 13–17 | 8–8 | T–5th | |
| 2020–2021 | Bryce Drew | 17–7 | 9–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2021–2022 | Bryce Drew | 23–8 | 13–5 | T–4th | |
| 2022–2023 | Bryce Drew | 24–12 | 11–7 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 |
| 2023–2024 | Bryce Drew | 30–5 | 17–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 |
| Total: | Total: | 1,194–732 | ?–?? | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||
* Ineligible for NCAA Tournament during transition to Division I from 2013–2017 seasons.

## Antelopes in the NBA

Two former Grand Canyon players have played at least one game in the NBA.
| Name | Draft Year | Draft Team |
| Bayard Forrest | 1976 | Seattle SuperSonics |
| Horacio Llamas | 1996 | Undrafted |