Cal Poly to ‘part ways’ with men’s basketball head coach after 5 seasons

After five seasons, Cal Poly has decided “to part ways” with head men’s basketball coach John Smith, according to a university news release Friday.

The program announced the news following a 83-75 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Thursday.

Smith will continue to lead the team in the final three games of the regular season, with the final home game on Saturday against CSU Bakersfield.

The Mustangs record stands at 4-25 on the season and 0-17 in conference play. The last win for the team came on Dec. 21 against Omaha in the final non-conference game of the season.

Last season, the Mustangs finished Big West play 1-19, but broke a 19-game losing streak in a first round win in the Big West Tournament against Long Beach State.

However, the team saw many departures following the end of last season.

Long-time players, Alimamy Koroma, Brantly Stevenson and Camren Pierce all entered the transfer portal while Trevon Taylor, Nick Fleming and Chance Hunter all departed due to graduation.

The team brought in nine new players via the transfer portal and the high school level but haven’t found much success this season.

Senior Kobe Sanders has had a standout season for the Mustangs, scoring double-digits in every contest he’s played in and has four 30-point games on the season.

In his last two matchups, the 6-foot-8 guard scored 35 and 31 points, respectively.

Sanders was a part of Smith’s first recruiting class at Cal Poly and remains as the only member.

“Thanks to John for his leadership and commitment to our university,” Cal Poly Director of Athletics Don Oberhelman said in the release. “We wish him the very best with what is next for him and his family.”

The Mustangs play Saturday at home versus CSU Bakersfield at 7 p.m. The season will come to a close with matchups against UC Irvine and UC San Diego next week on March 7 and March 9.