Cal State San Marcos
11/1/2026 1:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Featuring one of the most experienced lineups in the nation, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program begins its 33rd Division I season and 83rd as a four-year program when hosting Division II Cal State San Marcos on Monday, Nov. 2 on ESPN+. Cal Poly’s opening week continues at 2026 Final Four participant and No. 4/5 Arizona on Thursday, Nov. 5 on truTV. Both matchups tip at 7:30 p.m. for Cal Poly, which returns two All-Big West selections, four starters, 12 letterwinners and 13 rostered players from last season’s squad that finished 10th nationally with 10.8 three-pointers per game and recorded the program’s highest conference win total in 13 years. Monday’s matchup with Cal State San Marcos marks the earliest start date in Cal Poly program history with the Mustangs having prevailed in five of their last eight season openers.
CAL POLY VERSUS CAL STATE SAN MARCOS AND NON-DIVISION I OPPONENTS: The Mustangs have never previously faced Cal State San Marcos. Since transitioning to the Division I level prior to the 1994-95 season, Cal Poly is 51-1 against non-Division I programs.
CAL POLY VERSUS ARIZONA: The Mustangs make their fifth all-time visit to Tucson and first since an 82-61 setback on Nov. 11, 2018. The Wildcats have won all four previous matchups dating to the first on Dec. 13, 1949. The Mustangs also opened the 2013-14 season at then-No. 5 Arizona, falling 73-62 in a matchup that featured five future NBA players – including Cal Poly’s David Nwaba.
BACK IN THE GREEN: With Cal Poly returning 13 players from its 2025-26 roster, only Navy (18) – among more than 360 Division I programs – brings back more rostered competitors from a year ago. Among programs who return double-digit numbers from their 2025-26 rosters, only Air Force (98.0 percent) returns more scoring than Cal Poly (83.2). The Mustangs feature just one player who competed in high school last year.
PORTAL DOORS REMAIN CLOSED: During the previous two offseasons under third-year head coach Mike DeGeorge, Cal Poly has lost just one total player to the transfer portal. With Cal Poly one of only five programs to lose a single player to the portal this past offseason, only Navy – with no players lost in two years – has lost less talent than the Mustangs.
UNITED NATIONS: Cal Poly’s 2026-27 roster features players from seven countries (United States, Canada, France, Uruguay, Qatar, Egypt, New Zealand) with the Mustangs remaining the only Division I program to represent all six of the Earth’s habitable regions/continents. Only UT Martin (11), Siena (8), Pepperdine (8) and Utah (8) welcome more international players.
LOOKING AHEAD (9-15): Opening a four-game road stretch Thursday at Arizona, Cal Poly’s upcoming trip extends to Grand Canyon (Wednesday, Nov. 11), defending Big Sky Tournament champion Idaho (Friday, Nov. 13) and Montana State (Sunday, Nov. 15).
