SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento State men's basketball team, under the guidance of first-year head coach Mike Bibby, begins its official preseason practice schedule on Monday, Sept. 22.

Practice will continue approximately five days a week leading up to the team's season opener, a home game vs. Dominican on Nov. 4 at Hornet Pavilion.

2025-26 Team Briefs

• Sacramento State's 66-year run in the Nest will come to an end this season, as the team will move its home games to The WELL on campus. The name of the facility will be Hornet Pavilion. The project has converted a portion of the The WELL, an on-campus fitness facility, into a venue for both the men's and women's basketball teams. Seating capacity will be around 3,200, and the project will be complete in a few weeks. The Hornets had played in the Nest every year since 1955, except four seasons (1996-00) when they spent their first four Big Sky years at downtown Memorial Auditorium.

• The Hornets will play a scrimmage at New Orleans on Saturday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. PT. Billed the 'Southwest Shootout', the Hornets and Privateers will play at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans. The hosts of the event are the Hornets' general manager Shaquille O'Neal and the Privateers' president of basketball operations Percy Miller (Master P). 

• All 14 players on the Hornets' roster are brand new to the program. Sacramento State is one of eight programs in the country with zero returning players from a year ago. One of those teams is Baylor, who the Hornets play on Dec. 2 in Waco, Texas.

• Of the 14 players on the roster, there are 10 Div. I transfers, two high school players, one junior college transfer, and one transfer from a Div. II school. In all, 12 of the team's 14 players are transfers. 

• Sacramento State has two local players on the roster in sophomore Jayden Teat, who transferred from Utah after starring at Capital Christian High School in Sacramento. The other is freshman Mark Lavrenov, who became Rocklin High School's all-time leading scorer with over 2,100 points.

• The entire roster stands between 6-2 and 6-11. The Hornets do not have a ton of size as nine players stand at 6-foot-6 or shorter. The other five break down to three players standing at 6-8, one at 6-9, and one at 6-11. All nine guards stand 6-foot-6 or shorter.

• The entire Sacramento State coaching staff is new to the program, except Zach Chappell who was an assistant coach last season. This year, Chappell is the assistant general manager. Chappell also played for the Hornets from 2020-23.

• Shaquille O'Neal enters his first season as general manager of the Hornet men's basketball team. He joined the program shortly after the appointment of Mike Bibby to head coach. O'Neal played 19 years in the NBA and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. He accepted the position in a volunteer capacity and will focus on recruitment, marketing, and holistic player development - both on and off the court.

• Shaq's son, Shaqir O'Neal, will be a senior on this year's team after transferring from Florida A&M. O'Neal is 6-foot-8, 200 pounds - slightly different than his father's 7-foot-1, 325-pound frame.

• This season marks the Hornets' 30th in the Big Sky Conference (1996-pres.), but will also serve as the team's last. Recently, Sacramento State announced that it will join the Big West Conference as a full member beginning in the 2026-27 academic year. In 2026, the Hornets will join a Big West lineup that includes California Baptist, Cal Poly, Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, CSUN, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and Utah Valley.

• Senior Day will be Monday, March 2, vs. Idaho State. The Hornets have four seniors on the roster - Jeremiah Cherry, Prophet Johnson, Jeremiah Nyarko and Shaqir O'Neal.

• Sacramento State has two players on the roster that have fathers that played in the NBA. That includes Shaqir O'Neal's father, Shaq, who played 19 seasons in the NBA (1992-2011) and is a member of the Hall of Fame. Taj Glover's father, Dion, played in the NBA for six seasons (1999-05). In addition, Isaiah Bronson's father, Lorenzo, was an official in the NBA.

• Last year's Hornet roster featured players from six different countries. This year, of the 14 players on the roster, 13 are from the United States. Only one player is from overseas - Jeremiah Nyarko (Ghana). The 13 Americans represent six different states within the U.S. - California (5), Arizona (3), Georgia (2), Florida (1), Indiana (1) and Ohio (1).

• Head coach Mike Bibby, who spent half of his 14-year NBA career with the Sacramento Kings, returns to the city where he became a fan favorite while helping the Kings to multiple playoff appearances in the early 2000s. A first team all-American, Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and the No. 2 overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft, Bibby helped Arizona to a 1997 NCAA national championship. Recently, Bibby had assistant coaching stops with the Puerto Rican National Team, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies summer league teams, and the NBA G-League Ignite. During his six seasons at Shadow Mountain High School (five as head coach), he coached the team to five state championships, a 157-21 overall record, a 72-game winning streak, and a six-year home winning streak.

• The schedule includes 30 games, comprised of 14 at home and 16 on the road. The regular season begins with a home game vs. Dominican on Nov. 4, and concludes with a home matchup vs. Idaho State on March 2. The Big Sky Tournament is March 7-11 in Boise, Idaho, followed by the first day of the NCAA Tournament on March 17. The Hornets will play the usual 18-game Big Sky Conference portion of the schedule (nine at home, nine on the road) beginning on Jan. 1, as well as 12 non-league games. Sacramento State begins the season with three straight, and four of its first five, at home.

• Last year's team, which was led by interim head coach Michael Czepil, finished 7-25 overall and 3-15 in the Big Sky. All 14 players on that roster either graduated or transferred to a different school. Prior to this season, Sacramento State had never began a season with less than four returners on its roster.

• Sacramento State will have three brand new uniform sets - home white, road black, and neutral green. For the first time in recent memory, the last names of each player will be displayed on the back of every jersey set.

• The Hornets have two players with huge followings on social media, including sophomore Mikey Williams, who has 3.1 million followers on Instagram. Senior Shaqir O'Neal has nearly 800,000 followers.