IRVINE, Calif. – Former Associate Head Coach Ali Ton returns to Irvine as the Director of Recruiting for men's basketball.

"We are fortunate to add Ali Ton back to our coaching staff," said head coach Russell Turner. "Ali brings a high level of experience and expertise to our team, and he's passionate about our program because he played a great part in building it. As we move forward, we know we will be challenged to be creative and to innovate and Ali is well-suited to help us. I'm also excited to welcome Ali's wife Elizabeth, his daughter Leyla, and his son Kaya back to the UCI Men's Basketball family."

After leaving UCI, Ton spent three seasons at Fordham University as an Assistant Coach. Recruiting and player development was a focus for Ali, bringing in top international recruits, transfers, and freshmen. In addition, Ton was able to help Fordham finish third in the NCAA in steals per game (9.8) and fourth in total steals (315) during the 2016-17 season.
 
Completing his stint with Fordham, Ton founded Global Edge Basketball in August 2019, where he last served as the Executive Director. Global Edge was designed to aid in player development and personal training for athletes in elementary school up to high school. Another branch of the company focuses on consulting for international and domestic student-athletes who aspire to play at top-tier academic institutions.

During his previous tenure at UC Irvine, Ton assisted in the Anteaters first post-season win in school history in 2013 at the CIT. The Blue and Gold's regular season champion title in 2014 resulted in a bid to the NIT. Turner and Ton saw the first NCAA bid following the first Big West Tournament Championship title in school history in 2015. The Anteaters were regular season Co-Champions in 2016, reached the CIT finals, and recorded the most wins (28) in school history.

As the associate head coach, Ton aided in the recruitment efforts nationally and internationally. Some of the notable Anteaters he recruited were Will Davis II (Big West Tournament MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Conference Team), Jonathan Galloway (Three-time Defensive Player of the Year), Luke Nelson (Big West Freshman of the Year, All-Conference Team), Ioannis Dimakopolous (Greek National Team), Evan Leonard, and Eyassu Worku.
 
In his time as assistant and associate head coach of the Anteaters, Ton's expertise was shown through the development of a Big West Conference MVP (Will Davis II), two Freshman's of the Year (Alex Young, Luke Nelson), two Defensive Players of the Year (Mamadou Ndiaye twice, Will Davis II), and seven All-Conference Players (Daman Starring, Michael Wilder, Chris McNealy, Luke Nelson, Will Davis II, Alex Young, Mamadou Ndiaye).

Prior to his arrival in Irvine in 2010, Ton was an assistant coach at Radford University for three seasons. One of his recruiting highlights at Radford was All-American and two-time Big South Player of the Year, Art Parakhouski from Minsk, Belarus. Radford reached the NCAA Tournament in 2008-09 for the second time in the school's history.
 
"My family and I are excited to come back to the UC Irvine men's basketball program and the UC Irvine community," stated Ton. "Thank you Coach Turner and the entire staff for welcoming me back. I am looking forward to building on the continued success of our basketball program."