By After winning the Big West Tournament in 2024, Long Beach State men’s basketball endured a program-record 15-game losing streak in 2025, marking its worst season in 17 years under first-year head coach Chris Acker.
With a conference record of 3-17 and a 7-25 overall record, this was the team’s fewest wins in a season since 2007-08, former head coach Dan Monson’s first year at the helm of LBSU.
From a talent perspective, The Beach did not have the personnel to compete with the Big West’s class and were often outmatched.
However, they repeatedly found themselves in close games but came up short and failed to make the necessary adjustments to come out with wins.
Whether it’s the lack of continuity or the lack of late-game adjustments that translated into a 1-8 record in one-possession games and 0-4 in overtime games, The Beach struggled immensely from start to finish with an early-season eight-game losing streak before their record-breaking 15-game skid.
As it was heavily documented, this team had little to no resemblance to The Beach from the year prior, which made the trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Just three of the 15 members from that roster returned to play this past season, along with an entirely new coaching staff.
The three returning players combined to average 4.3 points per game in 2023-24.
However, select players from the roster fostered significant potential and proved they could contribute to The Beach beyond the rebuilding transitional season.
Once a top prospect coming out of high school, senior guard Devin Askew led the charge offensively, averaging 18.9 points per game.
Askew was briefly a part of The Beach’s outlook for the 2025-26 season after it was announced he would be returning.
“[Askew] is coming back to our program next year, so that’s exciting for our program,” Acker said postgame on March 6.
It’s since been reported that Askew, along with freshman guard Kam Martin and junior guard TJ Wainwright, will be testing the waters of the transfer portal, something The Beach has fallen victim to more often than they have been beneficiaries of.
Junior guard TJ Wainright is one of the key players not returning for The Beach next season, as he has entered his name in the transfer portal. He averaged 13.4 points per game this season. Photo credit: Mark Siquig
This sparks the latest question mark standing in LBSU’s way of returning even to the conference tournament in 2026: Will a whole new roster be issued, and can this coaching staff adapt to a new cast once again to avoid another disastrous season?
In recent years, the transfer portal has been detrimental to maintaining mid-major rosters in college basketball, with little protection from players being poached from smaller schools to larger institutions with greater NIL packages.
The departing backcourt carried the load offensively throughout the season, leaving The Beach with a glaring hole and points to make up for.
There is still optimism for players, including sophomore forward Derrick Michael Xzavierro, who had a stellar season in his first full year.
“It seemed like certain players like Xzavierro were doing everything they could to keep things positive despite the rough circumstances,” 22 West play-by-play announcer Bruce Kuntz said.
Xzavierro averaged career highs in points (5.2) and rebounds (6.8) in the sometimes inconsistent minutes he received.
His presence on the interior of the glass and versatility as a defender often gave LBSU a spark both as a starter and reserve.
With the uncertainty surrounding the roster going into next year, look for Xzavierro’s usage to go up with a full year under his belt.
“The rotations were certainly different as the season went on, as it seemed like they prioritized scoring,” Kuntz said. “You would hope the first year of Acker’s tenure and all the adjustments will help provide some clarity for what they target in recruiting for next season.”
