By Ron Smith
November 8, 2026
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Looking to build on its success last season, Westmont Men's Basketball is striving to take things further this year after being the first team out of the NCAA Division II West Regional last year.
 
"We're singularly focused on not putting ourselves in that position again," said the Warriors' head coach Justin Leslie who is entering his 20th season as a head coach and his second at Westmont. "Our expectation is to compete with the best in the region and at the top of the conference. We have an opportunity to be relevant and this team wants to seize that opportunity and be a factor in the postseason."
 
The Warriors posted a record of 18-12 overall last season, going 14-8 in PacWest play to finish as the conference runner-up. In the PacWest Tournament, Westmont earned a spot in the championship game with an 82-73 win over Concordia, before falling to Point Loma in the title game 94-69.
 
Reflecting on this year's squad, Leslie announced, "This team competes. In practice, I have to protect them from themselves with how much I allow them to play. That is going to have to be a part of who we are to be successful. We are absolutely a very, very talented team, but we are not going to be the most talented team on the floor every night. So, being a team that competes is going to have to be a core component."
 
The ability to compete, however, is only one of the necessary ingredients to produce a top-level team.
 
"We have to be more than five guys who are good enough to start," posited Leslie. "Our ninth and 10th players must be better than the ninth and 10th players of our opponents.
 
"Also, a team that competes for championships has to be willing to sacrifice. There is an element of being a part of something bigger than yourself that we just have to embrace and that means sacrifice. Winners know why they win, but losers don't know why they lose. Part of that is knowing that winning requires sacrifice.
 
"Everybody wants to win, of course, but the reality is most people want to win on their own terms. It's human nature. When we look back in 20 years about what this team accomplished, I don't think five minutes in a game here or there is going to be what is remembered.
 
"What we can accomplish together – that will go on for a long time in the lives and the development of these young men.
 
"Our seniors understand the importance of sacrifice and they are really doing a great job of modeling that and keeping a very mature approach to what it is going to take."
 
In order for the value of sacrifice for the greater good to thrive on a team, the members of the team must share a bond that evokes the willingness to set aside personal goals in order to play for the good of the whole and of each other. Coach Leslie believes the cultivating of that connection begins in the recruiting process.
 
"Our coaching staff tries to do a good job of getting to know recruits," explained Leslie. "Also, we heavily involve the current players in the recruiting process. The players are going to tell it like it is. Before recruits ever commit, they have a really good idea of who we are and who the school is, and of the community element of Westmont.
 
"I think that allows for a very quick assimilation. When you arrive, you go to the DC and break bread together with your teammates. You hang out in the locker room or in the gym pre- and post-practice. There is a connection and it is built on authenticity and time together.
 
"This group has invested that time in the relational aspect and that allows for the values of competing and sacrifice. When you respect everyone and value the group, you are not going to give less than your best when you compete."
 
Leslie also pointed to the time this team has traveled together as building their connection and camaraderie. In addition to the significant amount of travel last year, the team travelled to Taiwan over the summer to compete in the Bliacup – an international university tournament, which they won.
 
THE ROSTER
 
Westmont returns 13 players from a year ago, including four starters. That solid foundation is supplemented with five newcomers: two transfers and three freshmen.
 
Among those returning to the guard position are seniors Trey Thompson, Braeden Bigott, and Logan Huston.
 
"All veterans of college basketball," noted Leslie of the trio. "They have a very serious approach to how they contribute to the team. All of them can play on and off the ball. They are connectors of their teammates on the floor.
 
"They make it easier for their teammates by just being who they are as both basketball players and leaders. The three of them are the glue that holds the group together. They are the vocal leaders, they work very well together, and our team follows their lead."
 
Bigott, a senior, tallied 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last season. He played in all 30 games and made 23 starts. Thompson averaged 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and a team-high 4.5 assists in 28 games with 24 starts. Huston averaged 8.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
 
Also returning as guards are juniors JV Brown and Chase Collins, along with sophomore Devon Smith. They are expected to make significant contributions.
 
"They are big, physical guards that bring a different element to the game," pointed out Leslie. "We expect JV to make an impact as a rebounder, a defender and someone who can really attack the rim. Chase has become more than just a shooter. He is getting a lot better as a more versatile defender and as someone who can play off the ball. Devon is a dynamic playmaker. We will lean on him heavily to put pressure on the rim. His ability to do so is unique. He had a fantastic off season and he is absolutely a difference maker for us at the point of attack."
 
Brown and Collins each averaged 6.4 points last season with Brown adding 3.4 rebounds per game and Collins 2.2. Smith contributed another 5.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
 
Expected to dominate the front court is senior Aiden Mandel who was named to the All-PacWest Second Team last year. Mandel averaged 12.9 points, a team-high 8.0 rebounds and tallied team-high steals (41) and blocks (52). The latter of those stats missed the school record by just two.
 
"This offseason, we were bringing in recruits that are able to complement Aiden," pointed out Leslie. "Maximizing his unique game was important to us. He had a great offseason prior to last year and we saw what he was able to do as an all-conference performer. I would say that his offseason this year was even better.
 
"He is stronger. He can do more with the basketball as a decision maker. Defensively, we are going to be able to use him in more places than we did last year. With his instincts and his athleticism, I think he could be the best defender in the conference. He is going to drive things for us from a defensive perspective."
 
Joining Mandel in the frontcourt is sophomore Michael Olaly.
 
"I think Michael is ready to make a jump in his second year," predicted Leslie. "He is stronger and his feel for the game has improved."
 
Two transfers will also add to the Warriors strength in the paint: Senior Joe Ofori who comes to the Warriors from Biola, and junior Pasha Shamurani who was at Pepperdine.
 
"We had recruited Joe earlier and knew he would be a good fit for us," remarked Leslie. "He is a versatile player who can shoot the basketball and has strength and explosiveness on both ends of the floor.
 
"Pasha is a 6-7 skilled player who fits what we look for in our bigger wings and forwards. He can shoot the ball, but can also rebound and guard multiple positions.
 
"Both of them will take some time to get familiar with how we do things, but they're on schedule and doing quite well. Their best basketball, I think, is going to be judged in January."
 
Leslie is hoping to add depth to his squad from a group of returners and newcomers.
 
"We have some veteran returners that saw limited action last year, but we are looking to see if they can take a step forward and provide the depth that we need. Tyson Monck is a do-it-all Swiss army knife. He can play the guard spot and he can slide down and play bigger when he needs to. He can shoot it as well as play around the basket.
 
"Alex Williams and Slayde Lowe had injury issues last year that kept them from being able to consistently find floor time. However, Alex and Tyson are big strong men that could potentially make our front  court much more stout if we are able to consistently get them on the court this year.
 
"Slayde is a program veteran and he has become a leader in his own way. He is the ultimate servant leader. He doesn't say a lot, but guys are listening to him now. He's been very helpful on the bench, in the locker room and in ways that only a four-year player in the program can be.
 
"Parker Distelberg is a freshman who is going to be a very good basketball player for Westmont. He's fearless enough and rebounds well enough to play in the front court, but he is skilled enough and athletic enough so that he can match up with guards as well. We just have to keep sprinkling him in there, get his feet wet, and allow him opportunities to learn."
 
"Taj Jackson, Kaden Thielman and Lincoln Grogan are skilled guards who can shoot. They are good basketball players who are learning in our program."
 
THE SCHEDULE
 
"The challenge of scheduling is always walking the line between two priorities - preparing your team for conference play and scheduling your way into the NCAA Tournament," explained Leslie. "So, you have to play a cross section of CCAA and GNAC schools."
 
After playing most of its non-conference season on the road, the Warriors will play a significant number of games at home before the PacWest season begins, including hosting two tournaments.
 
Westmont has already played a pre-season exhibition schedule that included defeating NCAA Division I Cal Poly San Luis Obispo by a score of 105-93.
 
The regular season gets underway on Monday, November 9 when the Warriors host Cal State Los Angeles at Murchison Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.
 
The following weekend, Westmont will travel to Lacey, Washington to take on Montana State Billings on Friday, November 14 and Saint Martin's (Wash.) on Saturday, November 15.
 
Then on November 20 and 21, the Warriors will welcome GNAC opponents Western Oregon and Simon Fraser (B.C.), along with Azusa Pacific, to Murchison Gymnasium. Westmont will take on Simon Fraser on Friday and Western Oregon on Saturday.
 
The evening before Thanksgiving, Westmont will host its first CCAA opponent, welcoming Stanislaus State to campus for a 5:00 p.m. game. On Saturday following Turkey Day, the Warriors travel to Carson for a date with the Toros of Cal State Dominguez Hills.
 
Conference play begins on Thursday, December 3 in San Rafael as the Warriors begin the season with three road games against Dominican, Jessup (December 5) and Point Loma (December 9). On Saturday, December 12, Westmont will host Concordia in the final PacWest game of 2026.
 
Just after finals, December 18-19, Westmont will host the 46th Tom Byron Classic featuring Alaska Anchorage, Alaska Fairbanks and Biola.
 
After the Christmas break, the schedule returns in earnest with Westmont hosting seven of the eight games it has scheduled in January.  Conversely, the Warriors will only be at home for two of its seven games in February.
 
The PacWest Tournament will be held in La Mirada at Biola on March 4-6.