2025-26
Big West champions and fourth straight postseason berth
UCI went 23-12, finished 15-5 in league play and returned to the NIT.
Regular-season championsMen's Basketball
Russell Turner
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- UCIMBB@uci.edu
- Phone:
- (949) 824 - 3234
UC Irvine Men's Basketball
Russell Turner
The winningest head coach in UC Irvine history completed his 16th season in 2025-26 with another Big West regular-season championship and the program's fourth consecutive postseason appearance.
16 seasons of sustained success
A standard built to last
Russell Turner, the winningest coach in UC Irvine history, completed his 16th season as head coach in 2025-26. He has guided the Anteaters to a 344-199 record, averaging 21.5 victories per season.
Turner has led UCI to 10 postseason appearances: the 2013 CIT, 2014 NIT, 2015 NCAA Tournament, 2016 CIT, 2017 NIT, 2019 NCAA Tournament, and four consecutive NIT berths from 2023 through 2026. He is the only coach in program history to reach both 200 and 300 victories.
His teams have won eight Big West regular-season championships, including three in the last four seasons, and two Big West Tournament championships. Turner is a four-time Big West Coach of the Year.
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On the national stage, Turner was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award in 2017 and 2020, and for the Hugh Durham Award in 2019, 2020 and 2024. Bracketbusters.com also named him one of its Top 10 Big West Coaches of the Century.
Before arriving at UC Irvine, Turner spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors after collegiate coaching stops at Stanford and Wake Forest. He participated in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program in Turkey, China and Lithuania.
Turner served on Mike Montgomery's Stanford staff from 2000-04. The Cardinal went 105-24, won Pac-10 titles in 2001 and 2004, reached four NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the 2001 West Regional final. He previously worked under Dave Odom at Wake Forest from 1994-2000, when the Demon Deacons won 161 games and reached three NCAA Tournaments.
A two-time All-American at Hampden-Sydney College, Turner set the school career scoring record with 2,272 points. He graduated magna cum laude in 1992 with degrees in English and economics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was inducted into the Hampden-Sydney Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002 and the inaugural Old Dominion Athletic Conference Hall of Fame class in 2025.
A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Turner and his wife, Elizabeth, have two children, Devlin and Darius.
The Turner era
By the Numbers
344
Career victories: most in UC Irvine history and third-most in Big West history.
21.5
Average victories per season in 16 seasons at UC Irvine.
.634
Career winning percentage as UC Irvine head coach.
13
Consecutive winning seasons.
11
20-win seasons.
10
Postseason appearances.
8
Big West regular-season championships. 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2026
4
Big West Coach of the Year awards. 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020
2
Big West Tournament championships. 2015, 2019
2
NCAA Tournament appearances. 2015, 2019
1
NCAA Tournament victory: UC Irvine's first in program history. 2019
51
All-Big West selections coached, including 17 first-teamers.
32
Program-record victories in 2024-25, culminating in an NIT championship game appearance.
Defining seasons
Milestones across the Turner era
2024-25
Program-record 32 wins and NIT runner-up
The Anteaters played into April for the first time and won a nation-leading 14 road games.
NIT runner-up2023-24
Back-to-back Big West regular-season titles
UCI went 17-3 in conference play, earned an at-large NIT berth and finished 13-0 at home.
Regular-season champions2022-23
Returned to the top of the Big West
Turner earned his 250th career win and UCI won at No. 21 Oregon.
Regular-season champions2019-20
First back-to-back outright titles in program history
UCI entered the canceled Big West Tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Regular-season champions2018-19
First NCAA Tournament victory
A 31-6 season included a 17-game winning streak and a 70-64 win over No. 4 seed Kansas State.
Regular-season champions Tournament champions NCAA second round2016-17
Another regular-season championship
UCI went 12-4 in Big West play and returned to the NIT.
Regular-season champions2015-16
29 wins and a CIT championship appearance
The Anteaters shared the Big West regular-season title and set then-program records for victories, nonconference wins and road wins.
Regular-season co-champions CIT runner-up2014-15
First NCAA Division I Tournament berth
UCI won its first Big West Tournament championship and pushed Louisville to a 57-55 finish.
Tournament champions NCAA first round2013-14
First regular-season title in 12 years
Turner was named Big West Coach of the Year and NABC District 9 Coach of the Year.
Regular-season championsYear-by-year results
Turner at UC Irvine
Blue: regular-season championship Gold: tournament championship
| Season | Overall | Big West | Regular-season finish | Big West Tournament | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 23-12 (.657) | 15-5 (.750) | 1st · Champions | Championship game | NIT first round |
| 2024-25 | 32-7 (.821) | 17-3 (.850) | 2nd | Championship game | NIT runner-up |
| 2023-24 | 24-10 (.706) | 17-3 (.850) | 1st · Champions | Semifinals | NIT first round |
| 2022-23 | 23-12 (.657) | 15-5 (.750) | T-1st · Co-champions | Semifinals | NIT first round |
| 2021-22 | 15-10 (.600) | 9-5 (.643) | 4th | Quarterfinals | — |
| 2020-21 | 18-9 (.667) | 10-4 (.714) | 2nd | Championship game | — |
| 2019-20 | 21-11 (.656) | 13-3 (.813) | 1st · Champions | Canceled | Canceled |
| 2018-19 | 31-6 (.838) | 15-1 (.938) | 1st · Champions | Champions | NCAA second round |
| 2017-18 | 18-17 (.514) | 11-5 (.688) | 3rd | Championship game | — |
| 2016-17 | 21-15 (.583) | 12-4 (.750) | 1st · Champions | Championship game | NIT first round |
| 2015-16 | 29-10 (.744) | 13-3 (.813) | T-1st · Co-champions | Semifinals | CIT runner-up |
| 2014-15 | 21-13 (.618) | 11-5 (.688) | 3rd | Champions | NCAA first round |
| 2013-14 | 23-12 (.657) | 13-3 (.813) | 1st · Champions | Semifinals | NIT first round |
| 2012-13 | 21-16 (.568) | 11-7 (.611) | 4th | Championship game | CIT second round |
| 2011-12 | 12-20 (.375) | 6-10 (.375) | 7th | Semifinals | — |
| 2010-11 | 13-19 (.406) | 6-10 (.375) | 8th | Quarterfinals | — |
| 16 seasons | 344-199 (.634) | 194-76 (.719) | 8 regular-season titles | 2 tournament titles | 10 berths · 2 NCAAs |
The 2019-20 Big West Tournament and postseason were canceled. Percentages are rounded to three decimal places.
Saturday, August 01
Friday, July 31
Wednesday, July 22
Friday, March 27
