2024-25 Men's Basketball Season Preview

San Dimas, CA – A new season brings new possibilities for the Men's Basketball team at Life Pacific University. Coach Tim Cook returns for his 9th season with the Warriors, joined by Assistant Coach Brandon Burke. With a new season approaching, Coach Cook feels a shift in the culture of the program as he stated, "Coming into almost a decade here at LPU I finally feel like our culture has definitely been built through accountability, better leadership, and a lot of experience."  

This year, 14 players will be returning which includes Rico Hopping, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Clarkson, Austin Cook, Vince Fier, Albert Matute, Nathan Brummett, Zach Murphy, Nate Cipriano, Lenox Lavallee, Jacob McKinn, Zachary Killman, Thomas Hooks, and Daniel Liese Jr.  Joining them are 6 newcomers, Jordan Dollar, Matthew Rodriguez, Dylan Cabs, DeDrick Martin, Joshua Brown, and Alex Matute.  

Last season, the Warriors ended with a 7-16 overall record and 0-14 record in GSAC play. This season the team hopes to build on what they learned from last season and build forward.  On the expectations for this season, Coach Cook stated, "I have very high expectations of this group this year and we also do as a program. Our goal is to go to the national tournament in Kansas City.  I believe through trials and tribulations, God has blessed us in these circumstances and we're ready to work every day to achieve success in the classroom and on the court." 

This year, the Warriors gear up for a historic season as they get ready to compete in one of the top conferences in California while also taking on multiple NCAA D1 programs such as Grand Canyon University, Loyola Marymount University, Pepperdine University.  They will also be traveling to the University of Hawaii to compete in the Rainbow Classic Tournament, where they will face off against Hawaii, University of Pacific, and San Jose State.  When asked about their strength of schedule, Coach Cook stated, "Our schedule is arguably the toughest in the country at small college level. We are really looking forward to the three-game tournament in the Rainbow Classic at the University of Hawaii.  We have six NCAA D1 games, which is quite a gauntlet and I'm very happy for our young men in the program that get to experience, this journey."   

The Warriors will kick off their season with a home game on October 31, 2024, as they host Bethesda University at 7:30 p.m. at Life Pacific University.