Teams › Big West · Compare UC Irvine with another team
UC Irvine
UC Irvine returns 75% of last season's minutes and rates #201 on offense and #45 on defense of 365 teams. 80% range: -3.1 to +11.6.
Why we have them here
UC Irvine's preseason projection of +4.3 (No. 105 of 365) starts from the roster: its players' ratings, weighted by projected minutes, add up to a roll-up worth +1.6, about the +2.2 typical of teams ranked near it. Last season's rating (No. 96 at the end of 2025-26) adds +0.5, about its neighbours' +0.9; the program's level two and three seasons back and the roster's experience and shape add +1.8. It returns 75% of last season's minutes, more than teams ranked near it (56%). The projection leans most on Jovan Jester Jr. (+1.9), Nils Cooper (+1.7) and Harrison Carrington (+1.2); the newcomer who matters most is Nils Cooper, a transfer from UC Davis, at +1.7. Its 80% range, -3.1 to +11.6, is about as wide as that of teams ranked near it.
Generated from the published projection's own terms, not written by hand. "Teams ranked near it" are the thirty nearest in the preseason order. Preseason projection frozen 2026-10-23; how the projection is built.
Roster
Returning 52% · Transfer 18% · Freshman 7% · Other newcomer 23%
| Rank | Player | Pos | Ht | D1 yrs | Group | From | MPG | Rating | Contrib. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 471 | Jovan Jester Jr. | G | 6-4 | 1 | Returning | UC Irvine | 22 | +3.5 | +1.9 |
| 589 | Nils Cooper | G | 6-6 | 3 | Transfer | UC Davis | 26 | +2.7 | +1.7 |
| 736 | Harrison Carrington | F | 6-7 | 3 | Returning | UC Irvine | 21 | +2.3 | +1.2 |
| 1092 | Tama Isaac | G | 6-2 | 1 | Returning | UC Irvine | 26 | +1.0 | +0.6 |
| 1210 | Olivier Rioux | C | 7-9 | 1 | Transfer | Florida | 10 | +1.1 | +0.3 |
| 1624 | Josiah Johnson | G | 6-3 | 0 | Freshman | High school | 15 | +0.1 | +0.0 |
| 2416 | Torian Lee | F | 6-0 | 2 | Other newcomer | 9 | -1.0 | -0.2 | |
| 2642 | Luke Isaak | F | 6-3 | 0 | Other newcomer | 9 | -1.1 | -0.3 | |
| 2687 | Joshua Palmer | F | 6-4 | 0 | Other newcomer | 9 | -1.2 | -0.3 | |
| 2865 | Bryce Goldman | F | 6-6 | 0 | Other newcomer | 9 | -1.3 | -0.3 | |
| 2947 | Mason Hodges | F | 6-7 | 0 | Other newcomer | 9 | -1.4 | -0.3 | |
| 3224 | Tishan Ahir | G | 6-0 | 2 | Returning | UC Irvine | 9 | -1.6 | -0.4 |
| 3344 | Nes Emeneke | F | 6-10 | 1 | Returning | UC Irvine | 14 | -1.4 | -0.5 |
| 4216 | Ben Egbo | G | 6-4 | 2 | Returning | UC Irvine | 11 | -2.4 | -0.7 |
A player's rating is points per 100 possessions better than an average Division I player while he is on the floor. Contribution weights it by the share of a rotation slot he is projected to play, so a star on the bench and a role player who never sits both read right. Rank is among all 5,249 rated players. MPG is the projected share of a rotation slot times 40. "From" is last season's team. The bars are contribution, the player's rating times his projected share; their sum is the roll-up the projection starts from.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Proj. margin | Win prob. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat Nov 07 | vs |  San José State #187 | +8.9 | 77% | |
| Tue Nov 17 | at |  Stanford #69 | -10.1 | 21% | |
| Sat Nov 21 | N |  San Diego #263 | +6.4 | 70% | |
| Sun Nov 22 | N |  Loyola Marymount #170 | +3.2 | 60% | |
| Sat Nov 28 | at |  Seattle U #111 | -5.8 | 32% | |
| Thu Dec 03 | vs |  UC Riverside #252 | conf | +8.1 | 74% |
| Sat Dec 05 | vs |  UC San Diego #77 | conf | -0.3 | 49% |
| Fri Dec 11 | vs |  Northern Iowa #88 | +3.5 | 61% | |
| Fri Dec 18 | vs |  New Mexico #50 | +0.0 | 50% | |
| Sun Dec 20 | at |  Hawai'i #179 | -2.2 | 43% | |
| Tue Dec 29 | vs |  Fresno State #221 | +10.2 | 79% | |
| Thu Dec 31 | at |  Long Beach State #278 | conf | +5.1 | 66% |
| Sat Jan 02 | at |  Cal State Fullerton #236 | conf | +3.6 | 61% |
| Thu Jan 07 | vs |  Sacramento State #199 | conf | +6.9 | 71% |
| Sat Jan 09 | vs |  Utah Valley #112 | conf | +2.8 | 59% |
| Thu Jan 14 | at |  California Baptist #157 | conf | +0.2 | 51% |
| Sat Jan 16 | at | UC Riverside #252 | conf | +3.1 | 60% |
| Thu Jan 21 | vs | Cal State Fullerton #236 | conf | +8.4 | 75% |
| Sat Jan 23 | vs | Long Beach State #278 | conf | +9.3 | 77% |
| Thu Jan 28 | at |  Cal Poly #223 | conf | +2.9 | 59% |
| Sat Jan 30 | at |  UC Santa Barbara #103 | conf | -2.5 | 42% |
| Thu Feb 04 | vs |  Cal State Bakersfield #328 | conf | +11.8 | 83% |
| Sat Feb 06 | vs |  Cal State Northridge #227 | conf | +7.8 | 73% |
| Thu Feb 11 | at | Utah Valley #112 | conf | -3.1 | 40% |
| Sat Feb 13 | at | Sacramento State #199 | conf | +1.8 | 56% |
| Thu Feb 18 | vs | California Baptist #157 | conf | +4.8 | 65% |
| Sat Feb 20 | at | UC San Diego #77 | conf | -4.7 | 35% |
| Thu Feb 25 | vs | UC Santa Barbara #103 | conf | +2.2 | 57% |
| Sat Feb 27 | vs | Cal Poly #223 | conf | +7.7 | 73% |
| Thu Mar 04 | at | Cal State Northridge #227 | conf | +2.8 | 59% |
| Sat Mar 06 | at | Cal State Bakersfield #328 | conf | +5.5 | 67% |
Projected margin is from UC Irvine's side, with home court where the game is not neutral (N). Games are the schedule as posted; tournaments and late additions appear as they are listed. Predictions are as of 2026-10-26 and reflect the roster as the model has it on that date.