University of the Pacific's men’s basketball program is set for a bold debut this season. With sleek new Adidas uniforms, 14 new players, and an entirely new coaching staff, the team is ready to bring energy and ambition to the court.

At the helm of the program is first year head coach Dave Smart. Widely regarded as the most successful Canadian college basketball coach of all time, Smart arrived at Pacific after serving as assistant coach at Texas Tech last season. He previously amassed 656 victories as the head coach at Carleton University over 18 seasons.

Smart assembled an entirely new squad; of the 14 newcomers, eight are international student-athletes and seven are Division I transfers coming from SMU, Texas Tech, Florida International, Minnesota, Nevada, Boise State and DePaul. Four of the international players are Canadian.

“We’ll see in the next two weeks exactly where we’re at, but I like how the community has gotten behind us and the support we’ve been getting,” Smart said. “Our President, Christopher Callahan, has been unbelievable. He’s a huge supporter of basketball and has made the sport a major priority for the university.

“Adam Tschuor has also been incredible as our director of athletics. We have to do our part now by having a work ethic and toughness level that allows us to compete every day no matter who we’re playing.”

Pacific is one of nine teams in the nation with at least 14 newcomers along with California, Coastal Carolina, DePaul, Fresno State, IU Indy, Louisville, Missouri State and UT Martin.

One of the newcomers is senior Elias Ralph ’25 who played for Tigers assistant coach Craig Beaucamp last year at the University of Victoria in Canada. Ralph averaged 15.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and shot .405 (60-148) from three-point range.

“Being from Canada, I’d obviously heard a lot about Coach Smart and how they won so many national championships,” Ralph said. “I believe he will help me push myself and reach my full potential.”

Ralph, a 6-foot-7 forward, is one of six forwards added to the Tigers' roster this season, bringing increased size, depth and athleticism to the team. One of which is 7-foot sophomore Jazz Gardner ’27 who played his freshman season at Nevada.

“I was able to experience a high level of play at Nevada as we played in March Madness last year, and I want absorb as much as I can here [under Coach Smart] and be a sponge on the team. I’m grateful to Coach Smart for giving me the opportunity to play at Pacific and I want to make the best out of it,” Gardner said.

Smart said his goal was to create a culture at Pacific similar to Carleton where he coached the program to 13 national championships.

“We want to do a lot of the things here at Pacific the way that we did at Carleton, but it takes time. The culture, work ethic, toughness, the ‘how hard you play,’ not just every game, but also every day at practice—it takes time to develop,” Smart said.

“We want to build a culture where no one wants to play against us. Eventually, that can turn into wins and losses, but in the short term it’s about others not wanting to play against this team because of how hard we play.”

Pacific will tip-off the season Monday at 7 p.m. against Jessup at the Alex G. Spanos Center. View the full men's basketball schedule.

Ahead of the game, fans can enjoy a buffet tailgate for $10 inside the Janssen-Lagorio Gymnasium starting at 6 p.m. The DeRosa University Center Marketplace will be closed during the event.