Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong and Athletic Director Don Oberhelman held a press conference on Thursday, April 4, at the Performing Arts Center to introduce Mike DeGeorge, Cal Poly’s new head men’s basketball coach.
Cal Poly announced DeGeorge as the new head coach on March 26. DeGeorge came to Cal Poly after six seasons at Colorado Mesa where he guided his team to five NCAA tournaments and averaged 23 wins per season along with a birth to the Sweet 16 of the Division II NCAA Tournament.
Cal Poly finished its 2023-2024 season with a 4-28 and 0-20 record in the Big West. With three games remaining in the season, the Mustangs parted ways with head coach John Smith on March 1.
“We had an incredible candidate pool and an incredible amount of interest in this opening,” Oberhelman said.“The more we went through the process, the name Mike DeGeorge just stayed at the top of that list and the more he revealed himself to be the best fit for Cal Poly in our athletic department.”
DeGeorge has a track record of turning programs around. He has rebuilt programs at Colorado Mesa and Rhodes College.
“Every program I have taken over was in a situation where you know, there was not a lot of hope,” DeGeorge said. “And you just have to build it day by day.”
Previously at Colorado Mesa, DeGeorge transformed a program that won only 19 games in two seasons prior to his arrival into a team that won a total of 19 games in his first season. This past March, DeGeorge led the Mavericks to a regular-season conference title and a Sweet 16 appearance in the Division II NCAA tournament.
“We have two goals in our basketball program and that is to pursue excellence in all of our commitments and then we also want to build trust in all of our relationships,” DeGeorge said.
Oberhelman highlighted how DeGeorge interacts with his players is “a little bit different” than what he generally sees in the Big West Conference. He also mentioned how DeGeorge’s play style stands out in comparison to other Division I programs around the country.
This past season, Colorado Mesa ranked first in field goal percentage in the nation. However, his team shot the fewest two-point field goals in the country. Additionally, the Mavericks ranked third in three-point percentage and averaged 86 points per game.
As DeGeorge joins the Mustangs and looks ahead, he will focus on creating a “positive environment” for Cal Poly men’s basketball and rebuilding a program as he has done in the past.
“I am just really excited about being able to sell Cal Poly and the wonderful education,” DeGeorge said.“The beautiful campus and the incredible community is just an ideal setting for me to operate in.”