# 2024–25 California Golden Bears men's basketball team

The 2024–25 California Golden Bears men's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley, in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by Mark Madsen in his second season as head coach. The Golden Bears played their home games at Haas Pavilion as first-year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

## Previous season

The Golden Bears finished 13–19 overall and 9–11 in conference play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. As the seventh seed in the Pac-12 tournament they lost in the first round to tenth-seed Stanford. They were not invited to a post-season tournament.

## Off-season
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Fardaws Aimaq | 0 | F | 6'11" | 145 | Graduate Student | Vancouver, Canada | Graduated |
| Rodney Brown Jr. | 1 | G | 6'6" | 180 | Freshman | Perris, California | Transferred to Virginia Tech |
| Monty Bowser | 2 | F | 6'7" | 195 | Junior | Oakland, California | Transferred to Northern Arizona |
| Keonte Kennedy | 3 | C | 6'5" | 190 | Graduate Student | Austin, Texas | Graduated |
| Grant Newell | 14 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Sophomore | Chicago, Illinois | Transferred to North Texas |
| Jalen Cone | 15 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Graduate Student | Walkertown, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Jaylon Tyson | 20 | G | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Allen, Texas | Drafted 20th overall in the 2024 NBA draft |
| ND Okafor | 22 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Sophomore | Dundalk, Ireland | Transferred to Washington State |
| Wrenn Robinson | 30 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Junior | Oakland, California | Entered transfer portal |
| Jalen Celestine | 32 | G | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Ajax, Ontario | Transferred to Baylor |
| Devin Askew | 55 | G | 6'3" | 198 | Senior | Sacramento, California | Transferred to Long Beach State |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Joshua Ola-Joseph | 1 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Junior | Brooklyn Park, Minnesota | Minnesota |
| Andrej Stojaković | 2 | G | 6'7" | 205 | Sophomore | Carmichael, California | Stanford |
| DeJuan Campbell | 3 | G | 6'2" | 205 | Junior | Hampton, Virginia | Western Carolina |
| Spencer Mahoney | 7 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Freshman | New York, New York | Washington State |
| Jovan Blacksher Jr. | 10 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Graduate Student | Oakland, California | Grand Canyon |
| Mady Sissoko | 12 | C | 6'9" | 250 | Graduate Student | Bafoulabé, Mali | Michigan State |
| BJ Omot | 20 | F | 6'8" | 185 | Junior | Mankato, Minnesota | North Dakota |
| Christian Tucker | 22 | G | 6'3" | 178 | Senior | Chandler, Arizona | UTSA |
| Gus Larson | 25 | F | 6'10" | 215 | Junior | New Canaan, Connecticut | Penn |
| Rytis Petraitis | 31 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Junior | Arlington, Texas | Air Force |
| Lee Dort | 34 | F | 6'10" | 245 | Junior | McKinney, Texas | Vanderbilt |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kevin Armstrong II F | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Breck School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jaden Goodall F | Anaheim, California | Canyon | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Stephon Marbury II G | Purchase, New York | DME Academy | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Hugh Vandeweghe F | Los Angeles, California | Loyola | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jeremiah Wilkinson G | Powder Springs, Georgia | McEchern | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 30, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 California Commits". Rivals.com. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 4, 2024* 8:30 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 86–73 | 1–0 | 17 – Blacksher Jr. | 6 – Tied | 4 – Blacksher Jr. | Haas Pavilion (3,472) Berkeley, CA |
| November 7, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Cal Poly | W 91–73 | 2–0 | 18 – Blacksher Jr. | 11 – Dort | 3 – Campbell | Haas Pavilion (3,203) Berkeley, CA |
| November 13, 2024* 5:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ | | at Vanderbilt | L 69–85 | 2–1 | 17 – Stojaković | 10 – Dort | 4 – Blacksher Jr. | Memorial Gymnasium (5,945) Nashville, TN |
| November 17, 2024* 6:30 p.m., BTN | | at USC | W 71–66 | 3–1 | 20 – Stojaković | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Galen Center (5,466) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 21, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Air Force Cal Classic | W 78–69 | 4–1 | 23 – Wilkinson | 6 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Haas Pavilion (3,631) Berkeley, CA |
| November 24, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Sacramento State Cal Classic | W 83–77 | 5–1 | 20 – Stojaković | 6 – Tied | 5 – Petraitis | Haas Pavilion (3,662) Berkeley, CA |
| November 27, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Mercyhurst Cal Classic | W 81–55 | 6–1 | 15 – Stojaković | 9 – Sissoko | 3 – Tucker | Haas Pavilion (2,093) Berkeley, CA |
| December 3, 2024* 4:00 p.m., SECN | | at Missouri ACC–SEC Challenge | L 93–98 | 6–2 | 26 – Stojaković | 9 – Sissoko | 8 – Blacksher Jr. | Mizzou Arena (9,791) Columbia, MO |
| December 7, 2024 1:00 p.m., ACCN | | Stanford Rivalry | L 81–89 | 6–3 (0–1) | 25 – Stojaković | 8 – Tied | 2 – Blacksher, Jr. | Haas Pavilion (6,089) Berkeley, CA |
| December 10, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Cornell | L 80–88 | 6–4 | 21 – Ola-Joseph | 8 – Tied | 7 – Blacksher Jr. | Haas Pavilion (3,035) Berkeley, CA |
| December 14, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | Northwestern State | W 84–66 | 7–4 | 31 – Stojaković | 8 – Petraitis | 4 – Stojaković | Haas Pavilion (2,916) Berkeley, CA |
| December 21, 2024* 7:30 p.m., ACCN | | vs. No. 23 San Diego State San Jose Tip-Off | L 50–71 | 7–5 | 13 – Wilkinson | 11 – Sissoko | 2 – Wilkinson | SAP Center San Jose, CA |
| January 1, 2025 11:00 a.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | L 74–86 | 7–6 (0–2) | 24 – Wilkinson | 6 – Wilkinson | 4 – Blacksher Jr. | Petersen Events Center (7,177) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 4, 2025 5:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Clemson | L 68–80 | 7–7 (0–3) | 30 – Stojaković | 5 – Tied | 2 – Petraitis | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,660) Clemson, SC |
| January 8, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Virginia | W 75–61 | 8–7 (1–3) | 23 – Stojaković | 11 – Sissoko | 3 – Tied | Haas Pavilion (3,696) Berkeley, CA |
| January 11, 2025 3:00 p.m., ACCN | | Virginia Tech | L 68–71 | 8–8 (1–4) | 24 – Stojaković | 10 – Petraitis | 5 – Campbell | Haas Pavilion (4,003) Berkeley, CA |
| January 15, 2025 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | at North Carolina | L 53–79 | 8–9 (1–5) | 16 – Sissoko | 8 – Sissoko | 4 – Stojaković | Dean Smith Center (20,031) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 18, 2025 3:00 p.m., ACCN | | at NC State | W 65–62 | 9–9 (2–5) | 14 – Blacksher Jr. | 9 – Petraitis | 3 – Petraitis | Lenovo Center (12,881) Raleigh |
| January 22, 2025 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Florida State | W 77–68 | 10–9 (3–5) | 18 – Wilkinson | 13 – Tied | 4 – Petraitis | Haas Pavilion (3,082) Berkeley, CA |
| January 25, 2025 5:30 p.m., ESPNU | | Miami | W 98–94 $^{OT}$ | 11–9 (4–5) | 30 – Wilkinson | 10 – Sissoko | 4 – Campbell | Haas Pavilion (5,169) Berkeley, CA |
| January 29, 2025 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at SMU | L 65–76 | 11–10 (4–6) | 18 – Petraitis | 10 – Petraitis | 4 – Wilkinson | Moody Coliseum (5,602) Dallas, TX |
| February 1, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Syracuse | L 66–75 | 11–11 (4–7) | 20 – Tied | 8 – Petraitis | 2 – Petraitis | Haas Pavilion (5,203) Berkeley, CA |
| February 5, 2025 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | NC State | W 74–62 | 12–11 (5–7) | 18 – Blackshear Jr. | 13 – Sissoko | 4 – Wilkinson | Haas Pavilion (3,139) Berkeley, CA |
| February 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | Wake Forest | L 66–76 | 12–12 (5–8) | 21 – Wilkinson | 10 – Sissoko | 3 – Tied | Haas Pavilion (4,562) Berkeley, CA |
| February 12, 2025 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 3 Duke | L 57–78 | 12–13 (5–9) | 21 – Wilkinson | 7 – Ola-Joseph | 3 – Tied | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| February 15, 2025 1:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | L 88–90 $^{OT}$ | 12–14 (5–10) | 25 – Wilkinson | 11 – Sissoko | 4 – Tied | McCamish Pavilion (4,648) Atlanta, GA |
| February 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Stanford Rivalry | L 61–66 | 12–15 (5–11) | 19 – Wilkinson | 10 – Tied | 1 – Tied | Maples Pavilion (6,510) Stanford, CA |
| February 26, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | SMU | L 77–81 | 12–16 (5–12) | 20 – Wilkinson | 8 – Sissoko | 3 – Campbell | Haas Pavilion (4,133) Berkeley, CA |
| March 1, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Boston College | W 82–71 | 13–16 (6–12) | 21 – Sissoko | 15 – Sissoko | 4 – Tied | Haas Pavilion (5,020) Berkeley, CA |
| March 5, 2025 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 14 Louisville | L 68–85 | 13–17 (6–13) | 22 – Blacksher Jr. | 13 – Sissoko | 3 – Blacksher Jr. | KFC Yum! Center (14,442) Louisville, KY |
| March 8, 2025 1:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Notre Dame | L 110–112 $^{4OT}$ | 13–18 (6–14) | 36 – Wilkinson | 13 – Sissoko | 5 – Blacksher Jr. | Joyce Center (5,683) South Bend, IN |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2025 1:30 p.m., ACCN | (15) | vs. (10) Virginia Tech First round | W 82–73 $^{2OT}$ | 14–18 | 29 – Stojaković | 10 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Spectrum Center (5,136) Charlotte, NC |
| March 12, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (15) | vs. (7) Stanford Second round, rivalry | L 73–78 | 14–19 | 37 – Stojaković | 10 – Campbell | 4 – Tucker | Spectrum Center (6,620) Charlotte, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||||||