There may be some bigger names competing across town, but there’s another basketball-playing college that reps the city of Los Angeles, too.

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Cal State Los Angeles’ basketball programs have fascinating histories, from the time the men jumped up to NCAA Division I and played in “March Madness” to when the women were coached by potentially the greatest women’s player ever, and both squads are starting to come around and have year-in and year-out success, too.

The Golden Eagles are starting to become a force on the hardwood on both the men’s and women’s sides. As some of the game’s greatest players have been involved with the programs in the heart of the City of Angels, there are a lot of important people trying to help Cal State LA hoops succeed for years to come.

Here’s all you need to know about the Golden Eagles’ hoops teams ahead of the 2024-25 season:

What Are The Histories Of The Cal State Los Angeles Men’s And Women’s Basketball Programs?

The Cal State LA men’s basketball program has played (per its media guide) since 1948-49, with the Golden Eagles’ most notable coach being Hall of Famer Bill Sharman — who later went on to win an NBA championship coaching the Los Angeles Lakers — as he led the program for two seasons from 1962-64. Mostly a mid-tier CCAA program throughout its history, Cal State LA’s men’s squad had a stint from 1969-74 in which it was a D-I program (even making the 1974 D-I NCAA Tournament, where it lost in the first round) but has otherwise been D-II.

The Golden Eagles women’s team has been around since 1969-70, and they’ve also had an iconic player-coach them. Cheryl Miller, who is widely considered to be one of the greatest women’s basketball players of all time and arguably the best-ever pre-WNBA, coached Cal State LA from 2016-19 after previous stints at her alma mater, USC, and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. The women joined the CCAA later than the men in 1981-82, but they’ve remained there ever since.

What Conference Does Cal State Los Angeles’ Basketball Teams Play In?

Both of Cal State LA’s basketball teams play in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, of which the Golden Eagles are the league’s longest-serving member (based on total years) as they first joined in 1950, left the conference in 1969 and then returned five years later in 1974, where they’ve remained ever since. 

Only Cal Poly Pomona (which has been in the CCAA since 1967) has stayed more years concurrently in the conference than Cal State LA, and the Golden Eagles have won a total of 34 CCAA titles across all sports in their history to rank third all-time behind the Broncos and Chico State.

Are There Notable Cal State Los Angeles Basketball Alumni?

This question’s answer could depend on your definition of “notable,” but among a distinguished school alumni list that includes one of the greatest tennis players of all time in Billie Jean King and multiple Olympians, there are some notable hoopers who have suited up for the Golden Eagles, too. 

Raymond Lewis, who was a first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1973, never played in the NBA due to a contract dispute but made a name for himself as a legendary streetball player in California before he died in 2001, while Ron Knight spent two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers in the early 1970s. 

The ex-Golden Eagle that more in the general public will recognize, however, is LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of NBA guards Lonzo and LaMelo Ball who infamously claimed on national television that he could defeat Michael Jordan one-on-one and that Lonzo (while in college at UCLA) was at that point already a better player than two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry. 

And in case you’re wondering, LaVar was a solid player for Cal State LA, being a first-team all-conference selection in 1990.

Who Are The Coaches Of Cal State Los Angeles’ Men’s And Women’s Basketball Programs?

The Golden Eagle men are coached by Jim Saia — a former assistant at UCLA, USC and with the Los Angeles Sparks who enters his ninth season at Cal State LA in 2024-25 — while the women are coached by former longtime high school coach Torino Johnson, who returns for his sixth season in charge of the program and eighth overall after spending two years as an assistant. 

Additionally, one of Saia’s assistants is none other than Michael Cooper, a five-time NBA champion, former NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Hall of Famer with the Los Angeles Lakers who has coached at the college, NBA and WNBA levels across his three-decade coaching career.

How Many National Championships Have Cal State Los Angeles’ Men’s And Women’s Basketball Teams Won?

Cal State LA has never won a national championship in men’s or women’s basketball. The men have made the NCAA Division II Tournament six times in their history (plus the team’s lone D-I appearance), while the women have qualified four times.

Did Cal State Los Angeles’ Men’s And Women’s Basketball Teams Make The NCAA Tournament Last Season?

Yes, Cal State Los Angeles’ basketball teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

The men in particular had a banner year, going 24-8 to establish a new single-season school record for wins as they additionally won the CCAA Tournament for the first time and secured a No. 1 seed (plus hosting rights) in the NCAA West Regional. Though the Golden Eagles’ hopes for a deep postseason run were dashed due to a narrow defeat in the first round of the NCAA tourney by Azusa Pacific, they were ranked No. 17 in the final National Basketball Coaches Association D-II poll of the season and overall vastly outperformed expectations after being picked to finish eighth in the league in preseason.

On the women’s side, they also made some history as they qualified for the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time ever, finishing with a 17-13 record and sneaking into the West Region tourney as the No. 8 seed and an at-large selection. They lost by six points to No. 1-seeded Azusa Pacific in the first round of the NCAA tourney, but the women’s team’s 37 wins over its past two seasons of play is its most since 2012-14 as they were led by one of the greatest players in program history, three-time First Team All-CCAA selection Nicole Flennaugh, who finished her career as the all-time leader in 3-pointers in CCAA history. 

Where Can I Watch Cal State Los Angeles Basketball?

Cal State Los Angeles basketball, as a member of the CCAA, will have many of its games this season streamed live and exclusively on FloHoops. The streaming platform and conference signed an exclusive media rights deal in the offseason as D-II’s most successful conference has joined the rapidly expanding FloSports college portfolio.

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