The 2024–25 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

in the

2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 4, 2024. The regular season ended on March 16, 2025, with the 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament that began with the First Four on March 18 and ended with t ...

. They played their home games at the

Bren Events Center The Donald Bren Events Center, commonly known as the Bren Events Center or simply the Bren, is a 5,608-seat indoor arena on the campus of the University of California, Irvine, in Irvine, California, United States. Construction and history It was ...

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

as a member of the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

. The Anteaters were led by 15th-year head coach Russell Turner. This year the

Anteaters Anteaters are the four extant mammal species in the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue"), commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with sloths, they ar ...

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. 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 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, and the furthest they've ever gotten.

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 California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

, 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 Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, while brothers Hayden and Carter Welling transferred to

Utah Valley Utah Valley is a valley in North Central Utah located in Utah County, Utah, Utah County, and is considered part of the Wasatch Front. It contains the cities of Provo, Utah, Provo, Orem, Utah, Orem, and their suburbs, including Alpine, Utah, A ...

Incoming transfers

On July 19, 2024, Irvine announced the addition of Kyle Evans to the roster, a forward from

Aliso Viejo, California Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It had a population of 52,176 as of the 2020 census, up from 47,823 as of the 2010 census. It became Orange County's 34th city ...

, transferring after two seasons with

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. It was founded in 1870 as Colorado Agr ...

. 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 Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

who spent his freshman year at

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. Head coach Russell Turner stated that Che was Irvine's highest-priority guard target on the transfer market.

Recruits

Roster

Schedule and results

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Rankings

Awards and honors

Regular season

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2024-25 UC Irvine Anteaters Men's Basketball Team UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball seasons

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

Uc Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...