With the new season set to tip off, one of the teams to watch is out on the west coast.
Building a Winner in Riverside
Rick Croy has turned California Baptist basketball into one of the most consistent programs on the West Coast. During their final five seasons in Division II, the Lancers reached the NCAA Tournament each year and made the Elite Eight in 2018.
Since moving to Division I and joining the Western Athletic Conference in 2018–19, Cal Baptist has gone 118-99 overall and 55-61 in league play. Croy’s overall head coaching record now stands at 250-128, with a 138-78 mark in conference games across his career.
Rising in the WAC
The 2024–25 campaign saw Cal Baptist finish 17-15 overall and 9-7 in conference play, their best WAC finish since 2020. That progress has sparked optimism entering 2025–26, with the Lancers picked as preseason favorites to win the league.
Cal Baptist received five of seven first-place votes, edging out defending champion Utah Valley. Graduate guard Dominique Daniels Jr., who averaged 17.4 points per game last year, was named the unanimous WAC Player of the Year and will lead the charge again.
Croy’s West Coast Roots
A San Diego native, the 48-year-old Croy has spent his entire basketball life on the West Coast. After playing at San Francisco State, he began his coaching career at UC Riverside before successful stops at Concordia Irvine and Citrus College, where he won three straight conference titles.
Croy later joined Randy Bennett’s staff at Saint Mary’s from 2010 to 2013 before taking the Cal Baptist job. Since then, he has built the program into a respected and competitive Division I contender.
A Schedule Built for Growth
The Lancers open the 2025–26 season at home on November 3 against South Carolina-Upstate before visiting UC Irvine on November 7. The non-conference schedule ramps up later with a challenging stretch, Oregon State on November 29, Colorado on December 1, followed by road games at BYU and Utah in early December.
Cal Baptist begins WAC play on New Year’s Day against UT Arlington, a matchup that could set the tone for their championship push.
With Rick Croy’s steady leadership and a talented roster headlined by Daniels, the Lancers are ready to prove they’ve fully arrived as one of the WAC’s elite programs.