CSUN Opens 68th Season of Men's Basketball This Week

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Men's Basketball officially opens its 68th season on Monday when the Matadors take on Nobel University in the 2025-26 opener. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Opening week continues with a road trip to Northern Iowa on Thursday at 5 p.m. PT. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.

FOR STARTERS
Under the guidance of now third-year head coach Andy Newman, CSUN is looking to build on its most successful season in over a decade on the basketball court. In 2024-25, the Matadors tied a school record with 22 wins and set a new program-benchmark with 14 Big West wins to finish tied for third in the league standings. CSUN also went on to tie program records in road wins (10) and consecutive victories (7) while appearing in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time in school history. Over the past two seasons, the Matadors have gone 41-26 overall and 23-17 in Big West play, posting back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2007-09 while registering their most overall wins in a two-year stretch since 1999-01.

NEW YEAR, NEW FACES
Over the offseason, the Matadors have replaced four starters, their top four scorers and eight overall letterwinners from their 22-win team. Returning just six letterwinners, CSUN has brought aboard 10 total newcomers to the roster with five Division I transfers and two junior college players on the active roster.

In the backcourt, Josiah Davis brings a 6-3 frame to the point guard position as he is coming off averaging 9.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season for Niagara University. A 6-4 guard, Larry Hughes II joins the Matadors from Saint Louis University where he spent the past three seasons and played in 65 total games, averaging 5.1 points and shooting 36.3 percent from 3-point range in limited minutes. Joshua O'Garro, a Texas State transfer, enters his sixth year in college as he averaged a career-high 9.6 points and 7.0 rebounds a year ago. A 6-10 center, Aleks Szymczyk supplies CSUN with size and outside shooting after stops at UNC Charlotte and Florida. Redshirt freshman James Evans Jr., a 6-6 wing, rounds out the D-1 transfers, joining the Matadors from the University of New Mexico where he did not play last season.

Both junior college recruits, Davius Loury and Jai Chisolm brings to CSUN versatility and winning pedigree from their previous schools. Loury, a 6-7 forward, averaged 12.0 points and 5.8 rebounds with John A. Logan College in Illinois while Chisolm, a 6-3 guard, was a Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 17.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals with USC Salkehatchie in South Carolina.

Freshmen forward Max Rehl (Notre Dame Prep-Ariz.) and freshman guard Omer Dahan (SoCal Academy) round out the new CSUN faces this season.

MATADOR VETS
The Matadors welcome back six total returners from last season, highlighted by the return of third-year Matadors, Mahmoud Fofana and Jordan Brinson. Fofana is coming off a career year at the Division I level, averaging 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting an impressive 58.1 percent from the floor in 33 games. With his return to CSUN, Fofana is now playing his fourth consecutive season under head coach Andy Newman, which includes a year spent with Cal State San Bernardino in 2022-23. Brinson enters his seventh year collegiately as he looks to give CSUN depth at the point guard position. Last season, Brinson averaged 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in his return to the court after recovering from a season-ending injury the year prior.

Senior forward Grady Lewis is also among the returning group, entering his second year with CSUN. Lewis started 13 of 33, averaging 6.2 points and 3.8 rebounds for CSUN in just over 13 minutes per game. Other returners on the active roster include senior guard Robert Thibiant (10 games played last season) and junior guard Joseph Barrio (two games played last season) along with redshirt freshman and guard Greg Gazarian.

PRESEASON HONORS
Sixth-year senior forward Mahmoud Fofana was one-of-six placed on the Preseason All-Big West Coaches' Team. A San José native, Fofana played at three different positions for CSUN last season as one of the team's top defenders. Posting eight points and five rebounds per game, Fofana also averaged 1.2 steals per game and 1.0 assists per game. He also improved his production to 8.2 points, and 5.8 rebounds per game in Big West action.

In the Preseason Big West Coaches' Poll, CSUN took fifth place with 63 points. UC Irvine was predicted to win the Big West this season, earning eight first-place votes followed by UC Santa Barbara in second place with three first-place votes. Just ahead of CSUN was Hawai'i in third and UC San Diego, the conference's defending champ, in fourth place. The Matadors defied last season's preseason expectations of finishing in sixth place to finish tied for third place with a program-record 14 Big West wins.

CSUN OWNS THE BOARDS
For the second consecutive season, CSUN was the top rebounding team in the Big West in 2024-25, posting 40.1 rebounds per game. That average would finish 12th-best in the nation, improving on the 15th place ranking from the year prior. The Matadors were also the conference leader in rebounding margin, registering a school-record average of +8.4. CSUN's rebound margin finished as ninth-best in all of Division I basketball. Additionally, CSUN went on to share the league lead in offensive rebounds per game (12.8) and place second in defensive rebounds per game (27.2) and rank third in opponent rebounds per game (31.7). Outside of rebounds, CSUN was tops in the Big West in assists per game (16.3) and field goal percentage (46.8).

ON THE CALL
For the 13th consecutive season, CSUN welcomes back the broadcasting duo of Ghizal Hasan and Alan Zinsmeister to call Matador men's basketball games in 2025-26. All 15 CSUN home games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Hasan and Zinsmeister calling the action while every road game will have a free audio broadcast available to listen at GoMatadors.com/Radio or on the Varsity app.

SCOUTING NOBEL
Nobel University, playing out of the National Christian College Athletic Association, enters its second season of men's basketball in 2025-26. The Knights are 1-1 on the young season notching a win over Cal Miramar 95-62 before falling to Benedictine Mesa 93-68 this past Saturday. Last season, Nobel went 2-22 overall on the season. As a team, Nobel averaged 59.0 points per game and pulled down 36.9 rebounds and recorded 5.1 steals per game. A senior, Jovan Young is one of the top returners from last season, averaging 9.5 points and 2.3 assists per game.

Series History: CSUN played Nobel in its home opener a season ago with the Matadors coming out on top 98-50. Monday will be the second meeting ever between the two teams.

SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA
The Panthers is coming off a 20-13 season where they finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference and played in the National Invitation Tournament. UNI was picked to finish second in the MVC this season. In 2024-25, the Panthers were first in the MVC and 15th in the nation in field goal percentage (48.7) as well as second in the conference in points per game allowed (67.4). A Preseason All-MVC selection, Trey Campbell is the team's returning scorer from last season. Campbell registered 11.3 points per game to go with 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists for UNI in 2024-25.

Series History: CSUN and Northern Iowa will play for the first time in men's basketball.

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CSUN Opens 68th Season of Men's Basketball This Week

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Players Mentioned

Joseph Barrio

Jordan Brinson

Jai Chisolm

Omer Dahan

Josiah Davis

James Evans Jr.

Mahmoud Fofana

Greg Gazarian

Larry Hughes II

Grady Lewis

Davius Loury

Joshua O'Garro

Max Rehl

Aleks Szymczyk

Robert Thibiant