Ricky Fletcher’s decision to come to Cal came together quickly once he hit the portal.

“Once I hit the portal, I just had a good relationship with Coach Hutchings, Coach Brown and Coach Tosh, and just knowing the pedigree of Cal defensive backs, it was a no-brainer.”

Asked if that tradition is a lot to live up to, Fletcher didn’t blink.

“We will be that good. Yes sir.”

Coming from Mississippi, Berkeley has been a different world, and he’s embraced it.

“It’s been very different because I’m a Mississippi boy. The life down here is very much faster, but I love it.”

He’s made good use of his time off the field too.

“I’ve been doing a lot of eating. There’s a lot of good food spots down here. More variety than at home.”

And one spot in particular has already become a regular stop.

“As far as food I didn’t think was going to be as good, y’all have some good soul food down here. Y’s Choice. That’s my favorite spot.”

On the field, Fletcher knows exactly what he is.

“I’m a press man corner. I bring a lot of physicality and I play with an edge.”

You never really know when change is going to knock on your door. Even with the transfer portal currently closed for football and basketball alike, its always ajar in the media space. That time has come for yours truly.

Today marks my final day after four plus phenomenal years at Write For California. I don’t have enough words in this newsletter to describe the best of times that I’ve had here, including any number of shenanigans on Golden Bear road trips. I cannot recommend WFC enough for writers looking to flex their skills and do what it takes to not only comprehensively cover a team but also a university that many hold dear to them.

What was once a naive 20 year old aimlessly rolling up his sleeves before the 2022 Cal Football season is now someone seasoned thanks to the mentorship of this very site. I can only hope that I represented WFC well and most importantly kept you all up to speed on the people that matter so much to a passionate fanbase throughout my tenure here.

There truly is no me without all of you guys so I sincerely want to say thank you for giving me a voice in my first beat reporting foray to document on Cal Athletics and riding through the good, bad or ugly. All the people whom I’ve met before home games or on the road have added to my fulfillment in doing this and look forward to continue being around the Cal fanbase in the years to come.

Come next week, I’ll have a career announcement on social media about my next steps in the sports media space. My hope is that, much like the good people that make great content here, that I’ll be able to earn your support as well.

Welcome to the DBD, a Write for California community board where one can talk about anything – Cal-related or off-topic. Comment threads are sorted by topic. Anything is fine, so long as you're generally civil

Welcome to the DBD, a Write for California community board where one can talk about anything – Cal-related or off-topic. Comment threads are sorted by topic. Anything is fine, so long as you're generally civil

Welcome to the DBD, a Write for California community board where one can talk about anything – Cal-related or off-topic. Comment threads are sorted by topic. Anything is fine, so long as you're generally civil

Midgley was a 4-year contributor for Coach Ben Braun from 2003-2006. He averaged just over 10 points a game and helped lead Cal to NCAA berths in 2003 and 2006. After graduating, Midgley played professionally in England before returning to the United States for a career in Finance. He transitioned to scouting roles, scouting domestically for the Atlanta Hawks from 2016-2018. Since 2019, he has worked with the New Jersey Nets with a focus on international scouting.

A GM’s role is to handle the business side of the roster and program, letting the coaches focus on skills development and game strategy(you know, coaching). The football program has had Ron Rivera and Marshall Cherrington this season, the women’s basketball program added GM Meghin Williams last spring, and now the men’s program has Richard Midgley. It is still unclear on Midgley’s full scope of duties, on if he will be paired with someone on the financial side and he will focus on recruiting, or if he will be tasked with fulfilling both roles. Whatever the case, Madsen now has institutional support on roles he himself has been fulfilling outside of the gym.

Welcome back to Berkeley, Richard!

Daniel Harris came a long way from Georgia to get to Berkeley, and the decision came down to trust in the people running the program.

“I came here because it’s different, it’s very far, and I mess with Tosh and the coaching staff and how they run things here. It was a little different because I’m coming from the east coast, but I’ve been picking up things step by step and just going about everything. It’s been good though.”

As a cornerback, Harris sees himself as a versatile piece.

“I feel like I bring everything as a corner. I bring man tangibles, zone tangibles. I can bring anything you want, it don’t really matter. I can play inside, star, any way you want, I can do it.”

He expected a bigger culture shock coming from Georgia, and was pleasantly surprised.

“I would say it’s more physical at Georgia, but I thought it was going to be a way bigger difference. It’s still physical here. It’s not too different because Tosh came from Oregon and Oregon was doing the same stuff we were doing at Georgia.”

Asked to name a comp for his game, Harris had a specific answer.

“I’ll probably say Tariq Woolen. We got the same body frame. We do the same things. We play zone. We’re tall, long, fast. Real fast.”

His time at Georgia sharpened him in ways he’s carrying forward.

“I’ll probably say the physical part of it, being more physical than the person you’re going against, and learning the defense. I learned a lot of stuff at Georgia.”

Going up against Cal’s loaded receiver transfers in practice has been exactly what he came for.

“It’s been competitive. We just go at it every day. I love going against those guys. It’s competitive, and I love competing. It ain’t nothing to it for real.”

Tosh Lupoi’s defensive background was a selling point, and the pitch about what’s being built here landed.

“He’s a defensive coordinator turned head coach, and I already put him in a favorable position because he’s on the defensive side of the ball and I play defense. I just put two and two together. He was basically telling me who I was coming in with and saying he’s trying to flip the whole program around, and I was with it. I’m trying to do the same thing.”

Harris also sees this year’s secondary as something special.

“Over the past few years the secondary has been good, but I feel like this year this is probably the best secondary that’s come through here. I ain’t gonna lie. I mess with this secondary. We got a nice secondary.”

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As mentioned, Virginia entered the weekend nationally ranked at No. 23 and are eyeing an invite to the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament, no matter what the result of the ACC tournament or conclusion of the regular season brings them. Last season, the Cavaliers were led by 5x ACC Coach of the Year Brian O’Connor, who high-tailed out of Charlottesville for Mississippi State after not making the College World Series for the first time since 2019. O’Connor finished 917-388-2 at Virginia with a national championship under his belt in 2015, and was replaced by former Duke HC Chris Pollard, who had been with the Blue Devils since 2013, where he had won two ACC Championships.

Once ranked as high as No. 9 in week six, Virginia has been on a downward spiral as of late, having lost two of their last four ACC series, with one of those losses being a sweep at the hands of Pitt. Cal, on the other hand, has been on an upward trajectory compared to last season but remains far out of the hunt for an invite to the postseason unless an ACC championship comes to fruition. At 8-16 at the bottom of the standings, a run seems far from likely.

The series between Cal and Virginia was one that the Bears could have… SHOULD have flown home with a sweep. Baseball games are stressful and unpredictable by nature, but the Bears strung together two explosive wins against what looked like a deflated Wahoos team, while their pitching, specifically the exceptional pitching from ACC player of the week Gavin Eddy, who did not even get a win, appeared composed and collected while facing off against a top offense in the NCAA that averages over 1.71 home runs per game.

Game 1, Friday 5/8/2026: California 7 – Virginia 4

The California Golden Bears got off to a hot start in Charlottesville, VA, as the Cavaliers’ Henry Zatkowski surrendered a one-out home run to Freshman breakout star Jett Kenady (his ninth of the season) to give the Bears a quick 1-0 lead, while Oliver de la Torre retired the first three UVA batters of the game. The Bears then put up a four-spot on the Hoos in the top of the 2^nd, as Campbell reached on a walk, Kodama was hit by a pitch, and Snyder singled to third to load the bases for Hideki Prather. Hideki Prather launched his 12^th home run of the season, a 404 ft grand slam to deep center field off Zatkowski, and California was quickly up 5-0 over the nationally ranked Virginia squad.

De la Torre then worked himself into a deep hole in the bottom half of the inning, giving up a leadoff single to Sam Harris, then a base hit to Jake Weatherspoon, and walking Zach Johnson to load the bases for Kyle Johnson. Johnson then took a page straight out of Prather’s book – and hit a grand slam to deep left field, putting Virginia right back into this game down by only one early on.

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Zatkowski and de la Torre then both settled into this game and did not allow a run or extra base hit through the 6^th – and after getting Kodama to strike out to lead off the top half of the 7^th inning, Pollard brought in Lucas Hartman to pitch, who then surrendered a walk to Snyder and a one-out double to Kenady to put runners in scoring position for the Bears. Lawson Olmstead then walked to load the bases, and Daniel Murillo followed with a base hit to right to bring home two runs and make it a 7-4 ball game for California.

Cole Clark would replace de la Torre in the bottom half of the inning and would give up a lone single with two outs in the inning before retiring the next seven in a row to pick up a three-inning save and shut the door on Friday night’s game over Virginia. Cade Campbell went 2-3 on offense while Jett Kenady had two extra-base hits against the Cavaliers’ pitching. De la Torre went at least 6.0 IP for the fifth consecutive start and improved his season ERA to 3.75. Game 1: California. WP: Oliver de la Torre (5-5, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). LP: Henry Zatkowski (6-1, 6.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, BB, 9 K).

Game 2, Saturday 5/9/2026: California 1 – Virginia 2

If there was ever a game that I wanted Cal to win more than anything, there would be a lot of games in a lot of different heartbreaking moments across multiple sports that eat up too much of my headspace. Added to that list of a lot of games was Saturday’s matchup between Cal and Virginia, which saw a spectacular pitching duel between UVA’s John Paone and Cal’s Gavin Eddy, where, truly, both pitchers deserved more support from their offenses.

In a game limited in production in the batter’s box, Cal got on the board first in the top of the 2^nd with a Carl Schmidt solo-shot to right field for his ninth of the season to make it 1-0. Gavin Eddy would open this game for California by striking out the side, striking out two of three in the 2^nd, not allowing an extra base hit, striking out two in the 5^th, three in the 6^th, and then finally surrendering his first run of the game in the 7^th due to a passed ball from Prather on a dropped third strike, which allowed Kyle Johnson to score from third after he advanced there on a one-out double from Antonio Perrotta.

Cal then stranded two runners on base in the top of the 8^th before Cade Colombara would replace Eddy in the 8^th, and after getting a quick out to start the inning, Colombara walked Harrison Didawick, Sam Harris reached on an error, and then Jake Weatherspoon brought Didawick home on a fielder’s choice to give UVA a 2-1 lead on an unearned run.

Tyler Kapa would pitch for the Hoos in the 9^th against the Bears, and after giving up a leadoff single and two-out walk, he got Brady Errecart to ground out to third to end the game with Virginia picking up just three hits in this game. Gavin Eddy pitched 7.0 innings and struck out a career-high 14 batters while only walking two on a total of 97 pitches. Eddy earned ACC pitcher of the week honors, but earned a no-decision in this contest, as the Bears fell 1-2 to Virginia. Game 2: Virginia. WP: Tyler Kapa (2-2, 1.1 IP, 2 H, BB, K) LP: Cade Colombara (0-2, 1.0 IP, R, BB, K)

Game 3, Sunday 5/10/2026: California 8 – Virginia 7

Down late in this Sunday morning game, the California Golden Bears came back to win and secure their first series win over a ranked opponent this season. Behind an arsenal of seven pitchers and explosive hits that included three home runs – one being another grand slam, California put up a crooked number in the top half of the 7^th that put the Bears far enough ahead that any hint of a comeback from the Omahoos was simply not enough.

Getting the start for California was Ethan Foley, who has seen more action out of the bullpen late in games as of recently, as he faced off against Virginia’s Kyle Johnson, who followed his coach from Duke to Virginia and maintains a flex role as a left-handed starter and outfielder.

For the first time in this series, the Cavaliers got on the board first, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third against Foley as Joe Tiroly hit a two-out home run to left to make it 1-0, with Harrison Didawick following with a base hit while Sam Harris followed with a two-run shot that went 435 ft to deep left center field, giving Virginia an immediate 3-0 lead over the Bears. Cal would not respond any time soon, and Virginia would add one more run in the bottom half of the 3^rd, as AJ Garcia led off the inning with a home run of his own to give the Cavs a 4-0 lead.

The Bears finally got some momentum going in the top half of the 5^th, as Carl Schmidt doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Olmstead then walked before Errecart and Kodama surrendered two quick outs to Johnson, but Gannon Snyder then came to the plate and launched a three-run home run just over the wall in left field for his first of the season, and the Bears were immediately back in this game, down just one run. Though Virginia did respond quickly with another home run from Joe Tiroly to make it a two-run game, Cal responded right back with a solo shot from Daniel Murillo in the 6^th to keep the back-and-forth going and keep the Bears in this game.

Lucas Hartman relieved Johnson in the 7^th and surrendered two one-out singles to Errecart and Kodama before hitting Prather with an inside fastball to load the bases for Kenady. Jett Kenady then crushed a 1-0 high fastball to deep left-center field for a 430-ft grand slam, giving the California Golden Bears an 8-5 lead on the 10^th home run of his freshman season in Berkeley.

The Cavaliers would plate across two more runs in the bottom half of the inning on the THIRD home run of the game from Joe Tiroly, this time a two-run home run to left. Still, even with Tiroly’s offensive masterpiece, the Bears clawed back at this game and series to win and take down a top-25 team in the nation, and ultimately knock them out of the national rankings (outside of the coaches poll). The Bears win their first series against a ranked opponent this year and end their travels for the regular season. Game 3: California. WP: Cole Clark (3-3, .1 IP) LP: Lucas Hartman (9-2, 0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, K)

The 27-24 (10-17 ACC) California Golden Bears will wrap up the regular season with the rivalry series against Stanford at home this weekend, with game one on Thursday at 7:05 PM, game two on Friday at 6:05 PM, and game three on Saturday at 3:05 PM at Evans Diamond – all games will be streamed on ACCNX/ESPN+.

For Cal Football General Manager Ron Rivera, it hasn’t always been sunshines and roses in acknowledging what he’s done throughout his football career. From becoming an All-American as a Golden Bear, to a Super Bowl champion in a NFL career that included a run where he played through a fracture in his leg and now as a coach/front office figure, there’s a lot that has crossed Rivera’s path.

But its taken several people to remind him of the pathway that earned him a spot in the inaugural Hispanic Football Hall of Fame class. Rivera exclusively sat down with Write For California to discuss how this went from a situation not on the radar, to one full of “why me?” questions and how it eventually ended up in a series of moments that allowed him to appreciate what his football life has amounted to.

Building the Hispanic Hall

With the presence of the Black College Football Hall of Fame and Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, there was a noticeable lack of celebration for Hispanics who have impacted the game.

Those same people who endorsed and got the aforementioned Hall of Fame’s in motion, Kevin Kaplan and Troy White sat down with former NFL OT Anthony Munoz and Rivera to try and jumpstart a chapter of Hispanic impact.

After successful attempts to find funding and then getting validation from the NFL, it was time to get the ball rolling.

From a thought to reality

As due diligence was done, Rivera was approached about being on the founding board of the Hispanic Football Hall of Fame. He had a very matter of fact response when initially probed:

It took Rivera some time to come to terms with the impact he could have on a community in trying to build this up. That realization came in the form of a memory adjacent to the Cal Football program. Rivera was supposed to be the Head Coach for Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in the Polynesian Bowl, but had to step away due to interviews elsewhere.

Despite that, once he was told about the circumstances surrounding that game and what something like that could be for Hispanics, he returned to the idea that being on the board is something that can pay off.

To get to the finish line, another Golden Bear would help usher in this new environment together.

David Ortega Sr.

Getting the band back together in Sin City

Board of Directors member Sandy Nunez had to almost plead with Rivera to understand why he was in the inaugural class, with repeated points that it was more than just what you did as a player.

On the other side, Rivera noted the class and wondered if he belonged alongside people not only that were peers, but some whom he looked up to himself.

• WR Tom Fears

• QB/HC Tom Flores

• LB Ted Hendricks

• OT Anthony Muñoz

• QB Jim Plunkett

• RB Steve Van Buren

Nunez reiterated to the Cal great that “its about your whole contribution, there’s not a limit.” At that point, Rivera relented. As texts and calls came from roughly 35-40 people, across former coaches, teammates and players, the reality set in that this was more than a casual accolade.

Fast forward to May 5th, it was time for the induction ceremony. In front of 300 people, including football icons, what was once just a concept became a physical reality. And that’s when it hit Rivera mentally and emotionally despite being involved in the preparation process and on stage itself.

In front of his family who came from as far as Charlotte and Miami out west, his wife’s Stephanie and her family who were local to the area and Head Coach Tosh Lupoi, a full circle moment was experienced among those closest to Rivera. One that finally drove home the ethos of it all for the football stalwart.

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New Cal running back Ashten Emory kept things upbeat and brief, arriving with an appreciation for his new surroundings and a clear sense of what he offers the program.

“Just blessed to be with the rest of the guys. I’m glad to be a part of a great program. I’m just glad to be here.”

On what he brings to the field, Emory didn’t take himself too seriously.

“I believe I provide a great sense of humor, some energy. I’m ready to lay my helmet down, bring that roughness to the running backs room. That’s what I bring.”

His early impressions of running backs coach Keith Bhonapha have been strong.

“He’s amazing. Real smart, amazing coach. He teaches me something every day. Every day there’s something new as a running back and I take it all in. I love the energy, the consistency. No days off for him. You hear him on the boards every day. I love it, it’s awesome.”

Tristan Jernigan arrived at Cal drawn by a combination of coaching, academics and opportunity, and has wasted no time settling in.

“I’m glad to be here. Great area, great people, great coach. Tosh is changing the program, changing everything about us. I’m looking forward to seeing how this season is about to go.”

The way Tosh Lupoi runs things resonated with Jernigan personally.

“Very strict, straightforward and very disciplined. I’m very disciplined myself, so I take pride in that. Tosh is one of those, and that’s one of the reasons why I came here.”

Cal’s academics have made an impression too, with Jernigan recently earning recognition for it.

“Cal has given me a great opportunity. I was fortunate to get scholar-athlete transfer of the week. It’s a great area, great academic people, they help you with everything. That’s the way I want it.”

For fans who haven’t seen him play, Jernigan offered a quick self-assessment.

“I’m very energetic, very physical, talented with speed. I can do about anything. I got a lot of stuff to work on because I’m young, but that just comes with the game. I’m looking forward to putting my talents on showcase this year.”

He came to Cal from College Station alongside fellow linebacker Solomon Williams, and the two have leaned on their shared experience.

“We were fortunate to come from a very good school. We came here and used what we learned from there, and on top of the stuff that Tosh is teaching coming from Oregon, where they had a great team last year, we’re just building on that and becoming better.”

On where he is in his development, Jernigan was direct about his mindset.

“My time is now. I’m looking forward to having success because I’ve been working so hard these past few years to be on the come up, and I feel like now is that time.”

The linebacker room’s camaraderie has been genuine, built across different backgrounds and zip codes.

“We’re all from different places. AJ is from Vegas, I’m from Mississippi, a lot of people from Cali. Coach BG, he always brings bagels in on a Saturday morning. I never had a bagel till I came to California, so that was crazy.”

Jernigan described his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi with affection.

“Besides Elvis, kind of like me. Very energetic, great people, great hospitality, great food. Very soulful. Everybody treats you well. It’s a great place to be.”

Being across the country hasn’t brought any homesickness though.

“Not at all. I come from a family where traveling was very big. Going from place to place never really phased me. Plus my family always comes to travel with me.”

As for the bagel education, Jernigan has gotten some guidance from a teammate.

“No Williams told me about a spot on Telegraph. Boichik Bagels. I just started eating them so I just get the plain toasted with cream cheese. It’s pretty good.”

He’s also found a taste of home in Oakland on the weekends.

“I like soul food, coming from the south. There’s this place called Y’s Choice and Rob Ben’s. That’s Marshawn Lynch’s restaurant. Pretty good around here. I eat there on the weekends because I’m on a diet throughout the week with Kendall in the nutrition room. Throughout the week it’s steak, rice, chicken, greens, any protein and carbs, fruit, vegetables. Healthy stuff. But I eat good on the weekends.”

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Main Course

We start this week with a feature out of UC Berkeley News on the upcoming commencement speaker, Robert Reich. Reich, while a graduate of Dartmouth College, University College, and Yale is of course a currently the emeritus Carmel P. Friesen Professor of Public Policy a the Goldman School of Public Policy. Prof. Reich’s tenure began back in 2006 and he became semi-famous on campus at least for his “Wealth and Poverty” course taught in the main lecture hall of Wheeler Hall where students often filled the aisles and even stood outside to listen. I tried to take it as a student but was DEEP on the waitlist and when I couldn’t even get into the Wheeler hallways, I figured the ship had sailed already.

Prior to his time at Cal, Robert Reich was of cource the Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton where he helped bring out the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), negotiated by the previous George H. W. Bush administration. Of course he’s most famous for his role however as Detective Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in just an honest to goodness Conan O’Brien sketch.

Stay tuned as I’m sure his speech will be recorded!

URSINE UPDATES: THE ACC IS BEAR TERRITORY. ALSO COLORADO.

It’s time for another installment of Ursine Updates. We start with two bears fighting outside of a North Carolina home.

And then switch over to a bear that just wanted to catch a little nap.

Hot Links

Imagining Human Longevity

This past week, UC Berkeley held a conference imagining human longevity . John Ramos from CBS News put together a nice feature on it. Give it a watch!

Small Bites

• Hawai’i has a new Chief Justice of their Supreme Court (and he’s a double Bear!)

• I assume some form of white smoke or nuclear radiation was emitted out of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab this week after Katherine Yelick was named Head of the lab

• Ron Rivera was interviewed by Sports Byline USA

• Rowing celebrated Senior Day

• Women’s Basketball put together a nice season recap.

Golden Bear Honors

• Jeff Kent’s exhibit is up at Cooperstown (and the Cal Letterman Jacket featured prominently.)

• Adora Liu (Women’s Golf) is headed to the NCAA Stanford Regional this weekend!

• Portia Sherman, Emma Donley (First Team), Marilu Pally, and Grace Hong (Second Team) were all named to the All-MPSF Team for Beach Volleyball

• Portia Sherman was also named a First Team All-American by the AVCA!

• Emma Donley was also named a First Team All-American by the AVCA!

• Kai Anderson set the Freshman Pole Vault record with a high of 5.32m

• Solomon Williams (Rugby) was named National Player of the Year, Cal’s first ever!

• Anaya Togia (Softball) was named Third Team All-ACC

• Ron Rivera was inducted into the inaugural Hispanic Football Hall of Fame

• Cal Men’s Golf is headed to the NCAA Regionals next weekend

This Week in eCommerce

This week on eBay we found shirt celebrating the 97th element Berkelium!

Buy it now before Berkelium97 does.

Cal Pros Recap

Basketball

After being drafted by the Valykries and then cut, Marta Suarez has landed with the Phoenix Mercury. Jaylen Brown…is angry with some officiating after the Celtics were bounced out of the playoffs by the Sixers. Jaylon Tyson and the Cavs made it past the Raptors but lost to the Pistons in Game 1.

Golf

Max Homa made the cut in the Miami Championship and ended the tournament tied for 38th at -4. Michael Kim finished tied for 18th at -7. Collin Morikawa pulled out of the Truist Championship.

Football

Marshawn talked about his path to Cal. And visited Nike Headquarters.

And so we find ourselves again at the end of another beautiful, perfect, Golden Nuggets. Thanks again for reading and hope to see you next week! I’m going down a Conan Youtube rabbit hole now.

AJ Tuitele’s decision to come to Cal had personal roots before it had anything to do with football.

“I got a lot of family out here in the Bay. And then just the defense that Coach Tosh and Coach Hutchings bring to the table, it’s a good fit for me and who I am.”

On head coach Tosh Lupoi’s presence on the field, Tuitele appreciated the energy he sets.

“Very active. He matches energy, he’s not scared to get too hyped, and the players just match his energy. It’s a big deal for us.”

Asked to describe his own game, Tuitele kept it punchy.

“Fast, physical. I play sideline to sideline, I love the tackle, I love to hit, very aggressive. I’m good in pass coverage too, and it’s a new game nowadays, more passing, you need more coverage linebackers. That’s what I bring to the table.”

His time at USC taught him lessons that go beyond scheme.

“The biggest thing was just confidence. You got to come in not scared of going against the best player on the team. And I also learned how to read the playbook, different ways to learn it and make it easier on yourself and on your teammates.”

The inside linebacker role carries the same responsibilities it did at USC, and Tuitele laid out exactly what that means.

“Playing the mike, the M, we call it the vocal leader of the defense. Call out the plays, first one to get the plays, first one to give out the plays. Just the quarterback of the defense.”

Working under linebackers coach Bob Gregory has been a positive experience.

“Coach Gregory is a good, informative, great coach. He gets on me for the little stuff and I love that. It’s not just on the field but off the field they take care of us. It’s just a great coaching staff to have.”

The linebacker room itself has become a melting pot, and Tuitele is embracing it.

“It’s amazing just knowing their different cultures, where they came from. From down south, from the West Coast, East Coast. I just love it. From Alaska, different culture, I get to learn it. Like eating deer. Never heard of that, but hey, I’m gonna try it.”

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Once the program led by Cal’s Mike Neu (2016-2017), UoP hosted the Golden Bears in Stockton, CA, as they embarked on one final road trip for the 2026 season, heading to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers this weekend. Pacific came into Tuesday night’s game at 20-25, but remains in the hunt for a WCC title, as they are competitively at 12-9 in conference play, sitting in third place out of the 10 teams, while only San Francisco (13-8) and Gonzaga (16-5) stand above them.

California came into Tuesday night at 24-23 with two straight ACC series losses and a midweek loss to Davis, putting the team in a bit of a slump while they are depleted in star power. Cal’s pitching had been its sole hope day in and day out, with the weekend rotation of starters each picking up a quality start over 18.0 combined IP and an ERA of 3.00. That pitching dependency on Cal was even more evident against the Tigers, with Tanner Grove getting the start for the Bears and putting up a stellar 4.0 IP, allowing just two hits and two walks and striking out four in his second start of the season.

Cal’s offense once again came out with no momentum but struck first in the top half of the 4^th against UoP’s Liam Smith, who has not pitched in a game that the Tigers have won since March 3^rd, pitching in nine straight losses in that span. Daniel Murillo got the 4^th started with a one-out single, and scored on an RBI single from Cade Campbell for his 17^th of the season. The Bears would add one more in the 6^th to take a 2-0 lead on back-to-back hits from Hideki Prather and Daniel Murillo, the latter of the two hitting an RBI-double down the left field line to give Cal’ their inevitable “winning” run.

Ryan Spalliero would relieve Grove in the 5^th, and after allowing just one hit, would be relieved by Jett Wright in the 6^th. Wright would strike out Jake Tandy to lead off the inning, but he then hit MacArthur with a pitch and walked Spear to put two runners on, thus bringing Cade Colombara in to pitch for the Bears. Colombara would surrender an RBI single to JT Shank to make it 2-1, and with some clutch pitching from California in the 7^th from Trent Roach, Cal would pull away in this low-scoring game with a 2-1 victory at Klein Family Field.

California will travel to No. 23 Virginia, sitting at 25-23 after winning two straight, and play in their second-to-last ACC series of the season before taking on Stanford at Stu Gordon Stadium. Cal’s final road trip of the regular season will be streamed on ACCNX/ESPN+ - Friday’s game will be at 3:00 PM, Saturday at 1:00 PM, and Sunday at 10:00 AM (all PST).

As the 2026-27 Cal Men’s Basketball Roster comes together, Head Coach Mark Madsen has added some international flavor to the Golden Bears. Today, Cal announced the signing of F Dominykas Daubaris out of Lithuania.

He will join Cal as a freshman, where he’s coming off appearances at the 2025 FIBA U18 Eurobasket in Serbia and working with team Zalgiris in the Lithuanian LKL.

Daubaris averaged 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for Lithuania in U18 Eurobasket.

Daubaris joins the following as the transfer class for Cal heading into next season:

• Michael Cooper

• Nojus Indrusaitis

• Nicolas Mitrovic

• Jordan Ross

• Jake Wilkins

As we enter into the summer stretch, Cal Football continues its upward trend on the recruiting trail.

This afternoon, the Bears picked up the commitment of Duvay Williams, a cornerback out of Serra down in Gardena. Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported his pledge to Tosh Lupoi and company, picking Cal over UCLA and Arizona State.

• Duvay Williams Tape

• Duvay Williams profile

Williams becomes the 10th player committed in Cal’s 2027 class. His fellow Golden Bear commit Charles Davis III loved what he was seeing once the announcement came to be.