The 2024–25 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters were led by 15th-year head coach Russell Turner.
This year the Anteaters matched their best start since the 1980–81 season, as both teams won nine straight to open the season. This year, the Anteaters also have won the most games on the road in team history during the regular season (14), and led the nation with that number.
This year marks the first time in program history where the Anteaters have been ranked number one in the Mid-Major College Basketball Insider Poll. Additionally, UC Irvine received votes in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll for multiple weeks. The team ranked twenty-fourth in the first NCAA NET Rankings of the 2024–25 season, the highest ranking in program history. Despite their 28 regular season wins, they were not invited to the NCAA tournament, and thus received a #1 seed in the NIT tournament. Only two teams have ever finished the regular season with 28 wins and been excluded from March Madness, the other team being Indiana State. Ironically, both teams finished runner-up in the NIT. This is the third consecutive year UC Irvine has been invited to the tournament. This is the first time UC Irvine has won a National Invitation Tournament game since 1986, and the furthest they've ever gotten, finishing runner-up to Chattanooga.
Previous season
The 2023–24 Anteaters team finished 24–10, including a 17–3 conference record. They were ousted in the Big West Tournament by Long Beach State, losing 79-83.
Offseason Departures Six players from the 2023–24 roster departed Irvine, including three graduates and three transfers. Derin Saran transferred to Stanford, while brothers Hayden and Carter Welling transferred to Utah Valley.
DeparturesNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometown Reason for departure 0 G 6'6" 200 Graduate Irvine, CA Graduated 1 G 6'4" 190 Freshman Istanbul, Turkey Transferred to Stanford 3 G 6'0" 180 Fifth-year Tacoma, WA Graduated 13 F 6'9" 205 Sophomore Draper, UT Transferred to Utah Valley 22 F 6'10" 225 Freshman Draper, UT Transferred to Utah Valley 31 F 6'11" 240 Fifth-year Westminster, CA Graduated
Incoming transfers On July 19, 2024, Irvine announced the addition of Kyle Evans to the roster, a forward from Aliso Viejo, California, transferring after two seasons with Colorado State. Irvine had previously recruited Evans out of high school. On July 24, the team announced the addition of Myles Che, a guard from Los Angeles who spent his freshman year at Chattanooga. Head coach Russell Turner stated that Che was Irvine's highest-priority guard target on the transfer market.
Incoming transfersNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School 14 F 6'10" 215 Junior Aliso Viejo, CA Colorado State 77 G 6'2" 190 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA Chattanooga
Recruits
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=""| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season
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Source
Rankings
Awards and honors Regular season Weekly honors Honors Player Position Date awarded Ref. Big West Player of the Week Bent Leuchten C January 13, 2025
Postseason All five of Irvine's regular starters received varying conference honors, with Bent Leuchten earning a first-team selection at center and Jurian Dixon being named the freshman of the year after redshirting in his first season with the Anteaters.
Postseason honors Honors Honoree Big West Freshman of the Year Jurian Dixon All-Big West First Team Bent Leuchten All-Big West Second Team Devin Tillis All-Big West Honorable Mention Myles Che Justin Hohn
References