Basketball

It’s surely been a busy past month for Cal Poly Humboldt on the recruiting trail as the men’s basketball team aims to solidify it’s roster for the upcoming season. With the recent announcement of two verbal commitments and four former players having found new schools, the outlook for next year’s team is starting to gain clarity.

On July 17, Sage Wayans became the first recruit for new head coach Chris Tifft to announce his commitment to the ‘Jacks. The 6-foot-6 forward had played for South Pasadena before joining Los Angeles Premier Prep for this past season. Wayans averaged 13.6 points per game this past season.

Just two days later, Wayans’ teammate Rob Diaz Jr. also announced his commitment to Humboldt. The 6-foot-2 guard was the top scorer for LA Premier, averaging 27.6 points per game over the past season. Diaz starred for JSerra Catholic prior to joining LA Premier, making headlines for his 37-point performance in the 2022 CIF Division I state playoffs that propelled his team to an opening-round victory over Fairfax.

Although LA Premier and the players confirmed the commitments on social media, Cal Poly Humboldt has not yet confirmed the addition of any new players for next season.

The two additions provide a solid foundation for Tifft as he looked to rapidly put together his team with quality talent ahead of his first season as head coach. There is also still a possibility of bringing back a few players from last year’s team, but at least half of those players with remaining eligibility have already transferred to new schools.

The latest player to find a new destination is standout forward Josh Berenbaum, who will be joining UNC Pembroke next season. The 6-foot-8 forward from Florida started 23 of his 28 games for the Lumberjacks last season.

The official departure of Berenbaum adds to three previously reported transfers from key players on last year’s team. All-Conference guard Malek Davis will join Henderson State in Arkansas next season. Brandon Porter and Bryce Mitchell will be back in Arcata at some point next year, but competing in different uniforms. Porter joined conference rival Cal Poly Pomona while Mitchell joined reigning conference champ Cal State San Bernadino.

Jaden Edwards, who left the team midway through last season, is currently playing for the Brampton Honey Badgers, a professional team that is part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League. Edwards technically had a year of eligibility remaining, but instead elected to go pro.

That leaves Rylan O’Brien, Shemar O’Roy-Ford, Cam Timmons and Kareem Clark. Timmons and O’Brien were confirmed to have entered the transfer portal by basketball recruiting website verbalcommits.com, but seemingly have not yet settled on a new school. Timmons graduated in the spring, making a potential return to Humboldt seem unlikely. But nothing can be ruled out for any of those four given Humboldt’s need for players, particularly those who already have college experience.

Classes for the fall semester begin on Aug. 21, meaning the soft deadline to finalize the roster is just over two weeks away.

Jake Matson can be reached at 707-441-0526.

Sign up for email newsletters