Cal Poly announced the team will hire Mike DeGeorge as their new head men’s basketball coach out of Colorado Mesa University.
DeGeorge will replace former head coach John Smith after he spent five years with the Mustangs and finished last season with a 4-28 record and a 0-20 Big West conference record.
“My wife Christi and I have been blown away by Cal Poly and the Central Coast, but the people are what convinced us this is an ideal professional fit for me and a personal fit for our family,” DeGeorge said in Cal Poly Athletics’ news release.
DeGeorge led the Mavericks to a 29-5 overall record with a 21-1 conference record this past season, along with their fifth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament.
In his six seasons at Colorado Mesa, DeGeorge has led the Mavericks to a 141-43 cumulative record with five consecutive 20-win seasons.
DeGeorge has a history of turning around programs, doing so after his hiring after the Mavericks came off of back-to-back losing seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
He also was the head coach for Division III Rhodes College for eight seasons after the Lynx were coming off of 10 straight losing seasons.
DeGeorge helped them advance to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in 24 years and improved the team by 11 wins in just his second year.
DeGeorge was also the head coach for Eureka College and Cornell College where he guided both of those teams to much improved success.
DeGeorge will be formally introduced in a press conference in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center on Thursday, April 4 at 10 a.m.