California State University, East Bay Men's Basketball

MEDIA: KRON4 MILES 4 MEALS FEATURE (5/1/20) NBC BAY AREA FEATURE (2/20/19) Coaches Corner (8/18/20) AWARDS: 2018-19 NABC West Region Coach of the Year 2018-19 CCAA Coach of the Year 2020 Silver Waves Media 50 Impactful Head Coaches Bryan Rooney was named head coach of the Cal State East Bay men's basketball program in 2017. He previously accumulated 200 victories and seven California Pacific (CalPac) Conference championships in 10 seasons as head coach at California Maritime Academy. On February 20, 2025, Rooney reached a milestone as Pioneers head coach along with his entire coaching career. Cal State East Bay's 76-55 win over Cal State San Bernardino marked Rooney's 100th win at Cal State East Bay and 300th win overall in his career. In 2024-25, two Pioneers were named All-CCAA Second Team with one Honorable Mention selection.  In 2023-24, Rooney led his program to the CCAA Tournament and won the opening round game against Chico State. That season, the Pioneers finished 19-11 overall and had two All-CCAA First Team selections and one All-CCAA Honorable Mention selection. The 2022-23 campaign was highlighted by a 79-73 road victory over Division I University of the Pacific. The team also finished the season winning eight its last 11 providing excellent momentum heading into the 2023-2024 season. The development of freshman Grady Lewis also created excellent optimism for the Pioneers as he was First Team All-CCAA as he finished top-10 in the country for field goal percentage making over 60 percent of his shots. Junior Dimitrios Klonaras was also recognized as he was selected All-CCAA Honorable Mention.  In the summer of 2023, Rooney was selected to coach in the NCAA College Basketball Academy that takes place in Memphis, Tennessee in July.  Also in 2023, Rooney was inducted into the Cal Maritime Athletics Hall of Fame, as he was the first coach among the Academy's hall of famers.  After the CCAA teams did not compete in basketball in 2020-21, the Pioneers returned to action in 2021-22. From the season, there was one All-CCAA Honorable Mention selection and eight members of the team demonstrated excellence in the classroom by being named to the NABC Honors Court.  Rooney led the Pioneers to a 17-13 overall record in 2019-20, en route to a second-straight appearance in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament Semifinals. In the process, junior forward Zafir Williams was named CCAA Newcomer of the Year, First-Team All-CCAA, NABC First-Team All-West Region and D2CCA First-Team All-West Region. In addition, junior guard Nai Carlisle garnered All-CCAA Honorable Mention. CSUEB earned a road win at Cal State San Bernardino to close the regular season, and knocked off the Coyotes again just days later at Coussoulis Arena in the CCAA Quarterfinals. The Pioneers then lost a thriller to eventually champion UC San Diego in the semifinals in La Jolla on a three-point bank shot. Following the season, he was named one of the the 50 Impactful Head Coaches by Silver Waves Media. In his second season at CSUEB in 2018-19, Rooney became the first coach in program history to earn California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Coach of the Year honors. He was also the first Pioneer head coach to be voted National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) West Region Coach of the Year after guiding the Pioneers to a 22-8 overall record, a 12-win improvement from the previous year. It was the program's first 20-win season since 1999-00 and led to its first-ever appearance in the CCAA Tournament. The Pioneers notched their first postseason win of the CCAA era as well, a first-round victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills, before falling narrowly to eventual-champion UC San Diego in the semifinals. Rooney's squad also set a program record with four All-CCAA honorees and appeared in the NABC national Top-25 poll for the first time in the CCAA era. In addition, Rooney earned Coach of the Week honors by HoopDirt.com on Feb. 18. In his first season, Rooney guided the Pioneers to 10 wins, just the third time the program had reached double-digit wins in the CCAA era. Under Rooney’s guidance, Cal State East Bay basketball has excelled in the classroom earning the highest grade point averages in program history on multiple occasions.  The 2022-2023 team finished with a 3.5 cumulative GPA for the year. The program has also earned the NABC’s prestigious Team Academic Excellence Award for six consecutive years.  Additionally, Pioneers have been represented on the NABC’s Honors Court a remarkable 44 times throughout Rooney’s tenure.  Rooney's decade-long tenure at Cal Maritime was unquestionably the most successful in the school's history. In his third season, the Keelhaulers won the CalPac championship, which marked Cal Maritime's first intercollegiate championship in any sport. Rooney's squads broke the program record for victories five times in his first eight years, culminating in 2013-14 when the team notched a 27-6 record and finished the season ranked No. 17 in the final National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) poll. Cal Maritime qualified for the NAIA National Tournament five straight years under Rooney's watch, and his peers voted him CalPac Coach of the Year six times in 10 seasons. He has coached 32 All-Conference honorees, five All-Americans, and 10 Academic All-Americans. Rooney also received the CalPac's Champions of Character Coaching award in 2016.  A native of Stockton, California, Rooney played one year of Division I football for Saint Mary's College before transferring to San Joaquin Delta College to compete in basketball for two seasons. He finished his collegiate career at Dominican University, where he was an All-Conference point guard and won the school's Athlete of the Year award as a senior. In his two seasons at Dominican, the Penguins broke their program record for wins twice, posted an overall record of 45-22, and captured the university's first conference championship.  Rooney earned his bachelor's degree in Literature from Dominican in 2003, then spent two seasons as the head assistant coach for the Penguins while completing his master's degree in education. He spent one season each on the coaching staffs at San Francisco State and Claremont McKenna College before accepting the head coach position at Cal Maritime in 2007.

Bryce Duncan began his athletics career at the University of the Pacific as the Head Men’s Basketball Manager under Head Coach Damon Stoudamire. He later joined De La Salle High School in Concord, serving three years (2021–24) as an assistant varsity basketball coach and athletic department assistant, where he developed a strong passion for mentoring athletes. In 2024–25, Duncan served as Athletic Director at Contra Costa Christian Schools. His coaching impact was recognized in 2023 when Silver Waves Media named him one of California’s Top 100 Most Impactful High School Coaches. He earned a B.A. in Health, Exercise, and Sports Science–Sports Management from the University of the Pacific in 2021.

Mikey Eggleton joined the Cal State East Bay men's basketball coaching staff as an Assistant Coach prior to the 2018-19 season.  A 2018 graduate of Menlo College, Eggleton competed for four years on the men's basketball team for the Oaks. He appeared in 105 games and scored over 560 career points, and was named 2015-16 CalPac Freshman of the Year. A native of Pleasant Hill, California, Eggleton attended College Park High School, where he was a two-time All-Diablo Valley Athletic League selection and the DVAL Most Valuable Player his junior year.

Russell Payne joined the Cal State East Bay men's basketball coaching staff in July 2024. He brings many years of basketball coaching experience, both at the high school and club level.  Before joining East Bay, Payne served as the varsity assistant basketball coach at Harvard-Westlake School and was the founder and president for Los Angeles Elite Basketball Club from 2013 to 2024.  His coaching wealth also includes serving as head varsity boys basketball coach for West Torrance High School, varsity associate head coach for Redondo Union High School and varsity assistant coach at Crossroads High School. At Harvard-Westlake, Payne was on a staff that led the Wolverines to four Mission League championships, two CIF Southern Section championships, two CIF Southern Regional Open Division championships and two CIF Open Division state championships.  While at West Torrance, he was named Pioneer League Coach of the Year in 2019-20 when his squad won the league championship. Payne earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Purdue Global University in 2024.     

A Pioneer alumnus and long-time boys basketball head coach at Newark Memorial High School, Craig Ashmore was named an assistant coach for the Cal State East Bay men’s basketball program in August 2021. Ashmore put together an astonishing 783-190 career record in 31 seasons as head coach of the Newark Memorial Cougars, which included twice being named Cal-Hi Division 2 Coach of the Year, as well as winning two NorCal championships, four CIF section titles and 16 Mission Valley League crowns. At Cal State Hayward (East Bay), Ashmore played two seasons for the Pioneers under Pioneers Hall of Fame coach Gary Hulst. During this time, the Pioneers made an appearance in the Sweet 16, won a Western Regional title as well as a league championship.  Ashmore also competed for two seasons at West Valley College under coach Bob Burton. “I’m excited to return to Cal State and be part of Bryan Rooney’s great team and staff,” Ashmore said.