The San Diego Toreros are projected to finish in a tie for eighth place in the West Coast Conference after posting its first winning season since 2019 last year.
The Toreros ended their 2023-24 season with an 18-15 record, advancing to the conference tournament before Santa Clara eliminated them, 104-79. Last year, the Toreros defeated Arkansas State University, 71-57, and Arizona State, 89-84.
New Faces to Watch
San Diego brought in Earl Watson as the assistant head coach. Watson comes with player and coaching experience to the Toreros after a 13-year NBA career and coaching stints with the Austin Spurs, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns as an assistant coach and as the Suns head coach for the 2016-2017 season.
San Diego brought in local talent in freshman guard Tony Ducket, a McDonald’s All-American nominee, averaging 22 points, five rebounds, three assists and one block per game in high school.
Another local joining the Toreros is graduate student guard Kody Clouet, who spent two seasons playing Division II basketball with Southeastern Oklahoma State, averaging 17.6 points per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. He also shot 43% from the 3-point line and 81% from the free-throw line.
The Toreros also added 6-foot-11 freshman center Kean Webb from St. George, Utah. Webb averaged 18 points, 11 rebounds and three assists per game in his final year at Golden State Prep.
Schedule
San Diego will host nine of its 13 non-conference games at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
The Toreros will open the season against Rider on Wednesday. They will play six straight games at home before their first road game. They play at Arizona State on Dec. 3 and will return to San Diego to take on crosstown rival San Diego State on Dec. 7 at the Viejas Arena.
Long Beach State, who participated in the NCAA Tournament last year, will travel to the Jenny Craig Pavilion and play the Toreros on Dec. 10.
San Diego will conclude its non-conference campaign against Grand Canyon University at the Intuit Dome on Dec. 28.
The Toreros start conference play on Dec. 30, as they take on Pacific. They will have a rematch of last year’s conference tournament quarterfinals against Santa Clara on Jan. 2.
San Diego will play Oregon State on Jan. 4 and Feb. 22 and Washington State on Jan. 16 and Feb. 27. Both programs are affiliates to the WCC.
Gonzaga is the favorite to take the WCC and will play the Toreros on Jan. 8.
