Despite An Uneven Season, Mark Madsen High on Cal's Future

The Bears were 14-19 in Madsen's second season but could get a core of the team back next season

Cal coach Mark Madsen / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Andrej Stojakovic wasn’t ready for Cal’s season to be over after he scored a career-high 37 points in a 78-73 loss to Stanford at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

But following a four-overtime loss at Notre Dame, a two-overtime victory over Virginia Tech and Wednesday’s defeat to the Cardinal in the Bears’ final three games, Stojakovic sees reasons to believe better days are ahead.

“I think it shows that we’re much better than a 15th seed," he said, referring to the Bears’ position entering the ACC tournament. "We’ve had a lot of close games this year, games that we thought we should have won, games that we lost because of us not because the other team played better than us. 

"This should get the Cal fans and the Cal program excited because Cal is definitely not done in the ACC and I think we have something to look forward to next year.”

The Bears finished coach Mark Madsen’s second season with a 14-19 record, one more victory than a year ago. They were 6-14 in their first season in the ACC. Cal expects to return next season with a core that includes Stojakovic and freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson.

Madsen told reporters Wednesday night the Bears continue to be excited to play in the ACC.

“We had a number of very close games, some that we won, some that we lost,” Madsen said of 10 single-digit defeats and seven victories by the same margin. “There’s a immense amount of emotional energy that goes into that. 

“But to be honest with you, I think our players, our staff, myself we feel energized playing in this conference. Was the travel hard? Yes, absolutely,” he said. “But to be able to play at this level of competition is such an opportunity for us.”

Attractive home schedule in 2025-26

Next year brings a home schedule that includes many of the ACC’s marquee programs, including games at Haas Pavilion against Duke and North Carolina.

Madsen said even his wife, Hannah, is excited by the Bears home schedule.

“She’s already talking to her friends about the fact that Duke is coming to Cal. North Carolina, Louisville, Notre Dame, USC, Vanderbilt,” he said. “If there’s ever a year for season tickets at Cal, this is the year. 

“These are going to be sellouts. It’s going to be an unbelievable environment. We’re going to be playing high level basketball against the top teams.”

Stojakovic and Wilkinson will form a potent 1-2 punch after scoring 17.9 and 15.1 points, respectively. 

Stojakovic, a 6-foot-7 sophomore guard, missed four games with a hip injury but he averaged 29 points on 53-percent shooting over the final three games.

Wilkinson, who was named the ACC Sixth of the Year, blossomed after being moved into the starting lineup, averaging 19.5 points over those 14 games. Projected as a full-time point guard next season, Wilkinson sat out the Stanford game on Wednesday with a concussion.

Jeremiah Wilkinson / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

He completed his freshman season ranked fourth on Cal’s all-time freshman scoring list and tied for third for highest per-game average: 

Most points scored by a Cal freshman

1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1995-96) 590 points

2. Ryan Anderson (2006-07) 539

3. Jaylen Brown (2015-16) 498

4. Jeremiah Wilkinson (2024-25)    484 

5. Brian Hendrick (1989-90) 478

Highest scoring averages by a Cal freshman

1. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1995-96) 21.1 points

2. Ryan Anderson (2006-07)           16.3

3 tie. Leon Powe (2003-04)                  15.1

3 tie. Jeremiah Wilkinson (2024-25)    15.1

5. Brian Hendrick (1989-90)            14.9

DJ Campbell / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Who else is eligible to return?

Depending on who opts to stay at Cal, the Bears will have a returning contingent that exceeds Stajokovic and Wilkinson.

“We have an amazing core group of guys,” Madsen said. “I think we’re going to retain all or most of them. That’s the hope. You never know until those discussions . . . you never really know until the portal opens.”

Eligible to play for the Bears next year are junior forward Rytis Petraitis (8.2 points, 5.7 rebounds), junior guard DJ Campbell (7.8 points), junior forward Joshua Ola-Joseph (7.2 points, 3.8 rebounds) and junior center Lee Dort (3.6 points, 4.6 rebounds).

The Bears got only four games out of 6-8 junior forward BJ Omot, but he averaged 10.8 points before suffering a season-ending injury. He should be back.

Center Mady Sissoko, the graduate transfer from Michigan State, had the best season of his career, averaging 8.3 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 65 percent from the field. Madsen has said the Bears are hoping he can apply for another season of eligibility based on changes the NCAA is making.

The Bears also could add veteran talent through the transfer portal this spring, depending on which players on the current teams stay or depart.

“And on top of it, we have an outstanding freshman class coming in. So the future is very bright,” Madsen said, referring to having signed high school guards Jovani Ruff and Semetri “TT” Carr. “We have momentum. We’ve got to stay healthy — that was an issue for us this year. But I feel energized by this conference, the quality of basketball and the future.”

Madsen reiterating what he has said before about his long-term ambitions for the program.

“Our goal at Cal is to win a national championship. That’s our goal. We are going to do it, we are going to do it,” he said. “We wish we had more progress in Year 1 — we won 13 games. This year we won 14. We’re going to keep building this thing. 

“We’re locking arms with an unbelievable administration, with unbelievable alums and supporters. This is a true team and we’re going to do special things at Cal in the future.”