The 2025–26 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the 2025–26 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 16th-year head coach Russell Turner. After losing to Hawai'i in the Big West championship, the Anteaters were not chosen for the NCAA tournament. Since the Anteaters won the Big West regular season, they were offered an automatic bid and four seed in the NIT. This was the fourth year in a row the Anteaters participated in the NIT, and second year in a row with the opportunity to host at least one game. Their season ended with their loss to UNLV in the first round, and officially failed to improve upon last year's record.
Previous season
The 2024–25 Anteaters team finished 32–7, including a 17–3 conference record. They were ousted in the Big West tournament final by UC San Diego, losing 61–75. They finished as runner-up in the NIT tournament, losing 84–85 in overtime to Chattanooga.
Offseason Preseason Polls The Big West Media Poll was released on October 13, 2025. This is the inaugural media poll for the Big West Conference, conducted by the UCSD Guardian. It was sent out to student journalists and radio broadcasters from other member schools across the conference. The Big West Coaches' Poll was released on October 16, 2025. This is the second consecutive year UC Irvine is predicted to win the Big West Conference. +Big West Preseason Media Poll Place Team Points 1 UC Irvine 103 (6) 2 98 (3) 3 93 (2) 4 60 5 59 6 51 7 50 8 34 9 Cal State Bakersfield 26 10 25 11 6 +Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll Place Team Points 1 UC Irvine 98 (8) 2 93 (3) 3 76 4 69 5 63 6 58 7 54 8 31 9 26 10 Cal State Bakersfield 20 11 17
Departures Five players from the 2024–25 roster departed Irvine, including three graduates and two transfers. Devin Tillis transferred to Virginia, while Myles Che transferred to UNLV.
DeparturesNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometown Reason for departure 2 G 6'2" 190 Graduate Sioux Falls, SD Graduated 10 G 6'4" 225 Graduate Long Beach, CA Graduated 11 F 6'7" 225 Redshirt Senior Los Angeles, CA Transferred to Virginia<ref name="Virginia"https://www.si.com/college/virginia/basketball/devin-tillis-makes-his-jump-back-to-group-of-five-hoops-with-uva-01k60f6q1ba9 15 C 7'1" 260 Senior Karlsfeld, Germany Graduated 77 G 6'3" 190 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA Transferred to UNLV<ref name="UNLV"https://unlvrebels.com/news/2025/4/25/myles-che-to-join-mens-basketball-program.aspx
Incoming transfers On May 21, 2025, UC Irvine announced the addition of Derin Saran to the roster, a guard from Istanbul, Turkey, transferring back to UC Irvine after one season with Stanford.https://ucirvinesports.com/news/2025/5/21/mens-basketball-derin-saran-returns-to-uc-irvine-for-2025-26-season.aspx#:~:text=%2D%2D%20UC%20Irvine%20men's%20basketball,to%20rehab%20from%20an%20injury. On July 1, 2025, Irvine announced the addition of Harrison Carrington to the roster, a forward from Menlo Park, California, transferring after three seasons with Colorado.
Incoming transfersNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School 2 F 6'7" 207 Redshirt Junior Menlo Park, CA Colorado 13 G 6'5" 190 Redshirt Sophomore Istanbul, Turkey Stanford
Recruits
Roster
Schedule and results
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!colspan=12 style=""| Regular season
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Source
Awards and honors Regular season Weekly honors Honors Player Position Date awarded Ref. Lute Olson National Player of the Week Kyle Evans F February 2, 2026
References