In 2025, the Toros men’s basketball team was one point shy of winning the program’s first national championship.
Most of the roster from that incredible season graduated. Despite a slew of new faces, the Toros have a 22-8 record and have secured the fifth seed in NCAA Division II Tournament. The Toros dynamic offense, led by Jalen Brown and Josiah Sanders, currently averages 78.2 points per game, putting them amongst the best in the conference.
It is not just elite scoring that has the team in its current position, but a truly elite culture as well. Assistant coach Isaiah Morris played for CSUDH from 2018 to 2023, before joining the coaching staff. “I played here for Coach [Steve] Becker and [culture is] something we were building back in 2018; and it’s just been growing since then.”
The player who perhaps best embodies this team’s spirit is veteran guard David Cheatom. Cheatom was a member of the Elite Eight All-Tournament team and averaged 17 points per game during last year’s postseason run.
Cheatom’s leadership and experience made him an invaluable member of the team. That experience was on full display when the Toros took on the Otters of CSU Monterey Bay on Feb. 14.
Cheatom posted a game-high 26 points, with the final two points coming in the last seven seconds of the game for a dramatic 89-88 victory. Morris told The Bulletin that part of what makes Cheatom special is his experience in high-pressure moments
“He’s always consistent for us,” Morris said. “Somebody we can rely on every single day, whether that’s practice, shoot around, and…when the game is on the line”.
Cheatom returning to the program has been integral to the team’s success up until this point, but equally as important has been the usage of the transfer portal and the coaching staff’s integration of talented new players.
Junior guard Jalen Brown is a transfer from Regis University and led the team in points per game with 16.3. Brown was also named All-CCAA First Team this year and picked up Newcomer of the Year honors. Brown told The Bulletin that Coach Becker’s approach to his players has been one of the factors that has helped him settle in at CSUDH.
“I think Coach Beck has done a good job instilling confidence in his players,” said Brown, who is a native of Salinas. “We just had a long talk about my play style and how he wanted me to play. So, you know, I just took that…and I just went with it.”
The CCAA currently boasts three teams among the top ten in the NCAA west regional rankings, with the Toros slotting in at No. 4.
Brown, who was named All-RMAC Second Team in 2025, explained the differences between the CCAA and his previous conference. “I think here, the CCAA is a lot of, you know, a lot of length, a lot of athleticism. So, just being here, you gotta be able to finish over bigs, just be aware of, you know, shot blockers coming through your way,” said Brown. “So I think that’s the main difference, just the athleticism.”
Just behind Brown in scoring are two more players in their first season with the program. Sophomore forward Josiah Sanders and Senior guard Dasean Stevens. Sanders was also named to the All-CCAA First Team while Stevens was awarded Second Team honors. Three players, all in their first season with the program, achieving so much individual and collective success is remarkable and a testament to the immense talent each of them possesses. But as the coaches here will tell you, it isn’t talent alone that has gotten them to this point. It’s their character. “Coach Becker does a great job of recruiting good people first and then talented players after that,” said Morris. “I give all the credit to Coach Becker and then these guys’ parents and families who have helped raise them into great young men.”
On Feb. 20, in the final game of the regular season the Toros faced the Coyotes of Cal State San Bernardino in a thrilling back-and-forth contest. The Toros earned a 90-89 victory with the game coming down to the last seconds of overtime. As the regular season concluded, Men’s coach Steve Becker reflected on how his team has grown throughout the season and what to expect heading into the postseason.
“We have one returner from last year’s team that went to the national championship, that really played substantial minutes. So our best basketball was always gonna be ahead of us, and so we’re just trying to get better every day.”
The culture and character of this team is even more important in the postseason. “We take a lot of pride in really the background checks that we do in terms of the character, and asking, you know, all the surrounding community, and all the people that have coached them and been in their lives, what they’re about,” said Becker, now in his 12th season as Men’s head coach. “So the reason being is, when you get to this point, you know, guys are ready to step up. And so for us, we take a lot of pride in recruiting really good people who want to be coached and want to get better.”
As the postseason begins Cal State East Bay has emerged as an early favorite after finishing the regular season a perfect 28-0.
“They’re really well coached,” Becker said. “So, you know, we’ve been chipping away at them, frankly. In our practices. So we talked about getting out of the region, and now the CCAA tournament is gonna be through East Bay. So we’ve been working on attacking their pressure, and some of the things that make them really special.”
The Toros’ postseason journey took an early hit last weekend as they fell 76-75 in overtime to Cal Poly Humboldt in the CCAA Tournament semi-final. The group will now turn its attention to the upcoming NCAA Division II Tournament where they will face Alaska Anchorage on Mar. 13, in Hayward, California. Becker is proud of how far his team has come and is confident about the road ahead. “It’s hard to win that much. And so, I’m really proud and confident in what we have, and I think we’re gonna start to hit our stride here, once we can get the whole team together. So I feel really good about it all.”