Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
West Coast Baptist
Wildcat basketball regular season begins Monday night
11/2/2025 1:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Weber State hosts West Coast Baptist on Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Dee Events Center.
• Weber State men's basketball begins the 64th season of Division I basketball with the start of the 2025-26 season on Monday, November 3 with a home game against West Coast Baptist College.
• Monday's game will tipoff at 7 p.m. from the Dee Events Center in Ogden. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ and on the ESPN app with Tony Parks and former Weber State player Brett Cox calling the action. The WSU radio broadcast will be on 103.1 FM "The Wave" with Carl Arky and former Wildcat standout and Big Sky MVP David Patten on the call.
• Weber State begins the season with four players that played last year returning and added eight new players, including four transfers. Gone from last season is first-team All-Big Sky member Blaise Threatt, and four other seniors players.
• The Wildcats return four players who played last season: senior Nigel Burris, junior Viljami Vartiainen, and sophomores Declan Cutler and Trevor Hennig. Also returning is David Hansen, who red shirted last season.
• Weber State added eight new scholarship players, including four transfers. The Wildcats added Division I transfers of junior center Malek Gomma from Seattle University and junior guard Jace Whiting from UNLV and Boise State.
WSU also added a Division II transfer guard Tijan Saine Jr., a transfer from Western Washington, and Edwin Suarez Jr., a Junior College All-American transfer from Arizona Western.
Weber State added four high school players in ArDarius Grayson, Anthony Moore, Duce Paschal, and Bourgeois Tshilobo.
• The Wildcats are coached by Eric Duft who returns for his fourth season as head coach and his 20th season overall at Weber State. He spent 16 seasons as an assistant coach under Randy Rahe before becoming the 10th head coach in WSU history in May 2022.
Monday's game will be the 100th game for coach Duft as the head coach. He has been on the coaching staff for over 600 games at Weber State, more than anyone in WSU's history.
• Associate Head Coach Dan Russell returns along with assistant coaches Jorge Ruiz and Luke Spring. WSU added Shaun Vandiver as an assistant coach.
This summer, NBA superstar and Wildcat legend Damian Lillard was officially named the General Manager of the Weber State program.
• WSU played one exhibition game on Wednesday prior to the start of the regular season. Weber State beat Colorado Christian 66-63 at the Dee Events Center. Three Wildcats scored in double figures led by Jace Whiting with 11 points. Malek Gomma had nine points and 14 rebounds.
• West Coast Baptist is located in Lancaster, California. The Eagles compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association.
• This season WSU will play 16 regular season home games, including a home tournament. WSU will have seven non-conference regular season home games, including five Division I non-conference home games, the most in 13 years. After Monday's opener, the 'Cats play at Utah, Utah State, and UC Irvine.
The Wildcats will host the Junction City Jam Tournament from November 19-22 at the Dee Events Center with Campbell and UT Arlington, the first preseason home tournament Weber State has hosted since 1991.
Other non-conference games at home include Kansas City, Oral Roberts, and Utah Tech, with road games at St. Thomas, Kansas City, and Utah Valley.
