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Pete Thamel
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Jeff Borzello
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Jeff Borzello
ESPN Staff Writer
- Basketball recruiting insider.
- Joined ESPN in 2014.
- Graduate of University of Delaware.
Cal coach Mark Madsen has agreed a two-year contract extension through the 2029-30 season, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Madsen just completed his first year with the Golden Bears, improving their Pac-12 record from 2-18 in 2022-23 to 9-11 this season. They finished tied for sixth in the Pac-12, marking their best finish in the league since 2016-17.
After losing their first three games in Pac-12 play, Cal won nine of its next 14 games, including victories over potential NCAA tournament teams Colorado and Washington State.
The Golden Bears had success recruiting the transfer portal last spring, with the team’s top four scorers all in their first season in Berkeley. Jaylon Tyson (19.6 PPG) and Fardaws Aimaq (14.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG) were two of the more productive transfers in the Pac-12.
The Golden Bears face Stanford on Wednesday in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.
Cal being proactive with Madsen’s contract comes as speculation swirls around the status of Stanford coach Jerod Haase. Madsen played at Stanford from 1996-2000, earning All-America honors and leading the Cardinal to a Final Four in 1998, and also spent a season in Palo Alto as an assistant on Johnny Dawkins’ staff in 2012-13.
He was considered the favorite to be the next coach at Stanford if Haase left last spring, but the job didn’t open and longtime rival Cal swooped in to hire Madsen.
Madsen had been the head coach at Utah Valley for four seasons before arriving at Cal, leading the Wolverines to WAC regular-season titles in 2021 and 2023.