California men’s basketball is officially back on Monday, and the Bears are wasting no time making it a full night at Haas Pavilion.
Cal opens its 2026-27 season against Adams State at 5 p.m. on Nov. 2 in the first meeting between the programs. That game will roll right into the Cal women’s home opener against Washington State, giving fans a doubleheader on the floor.
Two days later, the Bears are right back in their own building for another first-time matchup, this one against Radford at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The opener comes with a little extra for the crowd: the first 3,000 fans on Monday will get a Rally Towel.
Both games will be streamed on ACCNX. Roxy Bernstein and Ben Braun will handle the call for Monday’s opener, while Bernstein and Mike Montgomery will be on the Wednesday broadcast.
Fans can also follow along on the Cal Bears Sports Network with Justin Allegri and Theo Robertson on 810 AM and The Varsity App. Monday’s game is listed on SiriusXM 993 and Wednesday’s on SiriusXM 266, with both also available on the SiriusXM app.
Live stats will be posted at cal.statbroadcast.com.
After those two home dates, Cal heads to the Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic for a 5:30 p.m. meeting with Houston on Nov. 8 at the Tahoe Blue Events Center in Lake Tahoe, Nev.
This is Mark Madsen’s fourth season leading the program, and the Bears enter their third year in the ACC after previously being in the Pac-12. The roster has changed quite a bit: nine newcomers join the mix, including five transfers and four true freshmen, while nine players are back from last season and eight have departed or graduated.
There’s also plenty of international flavor. Eight players have international ties, including three Lithuanians. Lee Dort, competing for Haiti, was the top rebounder at the FIBA Americup Caribbean Pre-Qualifiers and averaged a double-double at the event.
The staff has some new faces, too. Richard Midgley was hired as deputy general manager in May 2026.
Midgley played at Cal from 2002-06, scored 1,000 points as a Bear and later worked as a scout for the Brooklyn Nets under GM and Cal alum Sean Marks. Former New Orleans Pelicans assistant Casey Hill joined the staff in August 2026, and he won the 2015 D-League Championship as head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Last season gave Cal some real momentum. The Bears won 22 games, their most in a season since 2016, and picked up their first postseason victory since 2014.
They scored 90 or more points eight times, finished ninth in the ACC, reached the second round of the NIT and beat two AP-ranked teams - UCLA and UNC - in the same season for the first time since 2016. Five Cal players also ranked among the top 100 nationally in statistical categories.
The program’s history remains a heavy part of the pitch as the new season starts. Cal’s all-time record stands at 1677-1345, the Bears have won one NCAA title, reached three Final Fours and made 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, with the last coming in 2016. They also own one NIT championship and 15 conference regular-season titles.
Television exposure will be constant again this year. Cal is set for 22 televised games in its third season in the ACC, with all 18 conference games on TV along with four nonconference matchups.
The Bears are scheduled to appear on ACC Network, ESPN2, ESPNU and The CW. Ten nonconference games will stream on ACCNX, and the road game at Utah will be on Peacock.
Madsen remains in a unique coaching club, too. He is one of two current NCAA Division I head coaches who won an NBA title as a player, and he is the only one of the two with two rings.
Both came with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2001 and 2002. The other coach on that list is Hofstra’s Speedy Claxton, who won his title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003.
Cal is also pushing its “California Through and Through” identity as part of the program’s message, tying the team’s image to the state, the campus and the community around it. The school also notes that four independent rankings placed UC Berkeley first, calling it the No. 1 public institution.
Tickets for the 2026-27 season are available through CalBears.com/Tickets, by calling 800-GO-BEARS (462-3277) or by emailing goldstandard@berkeley.edu. Fans can also support the program through the Cal Men’s Basketball Excellence Initiative.
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