The Pioneer Spotlight this week will focus on two special stories among Cal State East Bay Athletics that took place during the winter sports seasons. In men's basketball, the spotlight will be on the journey of the program toward the 300-win milestone for head coach Bryan Rooney as well as the experience from the perspective of a student-athlete. The spotlight will also shine on women's swimming, who has had repeated individual and relay success, setting new Pioneer records, PCSC medals and competitors qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
 
The journey for Pioneer Men's Basketball toward a coaching milestone for Bryan Rooney
 
The Pioneers entered the 2024-25 season with visions of reaching the CCAA Tournament for a second straight season. A mix of returners and newcomers made up the roster. Notable returners included Tyree Campbell, Teiano Hardee, Ramsey Huff, Maxwell McCall, Payden White and DJ Sanders. Campbell was an All-CCAA Honorable Mention selection in the season prior and received the Male Rising Pioneer Award last year.
 
Campbell received a second All-CCAA honor in 2024-25, being named All-CCAA Second Team and Huff was named All-CCAA Honorable Mention.
 
With the notable returners, several new faces were on the Pioneer roster as well. Jordan Espinoza had a solid freshman season in 2024-25, Chase Page, Blessing Nwotite and Jason Ernest-Mpi joined the team and played solid roles.
 
Perhaps the most notable newcomer was Beril Kabamba, who started all 28 games in 2024-25. He led the team in rebounds-per-game with 5.5 and averaged 12.6 points-per-game. His season earned him All-CCAA Second Team honors.
 
"My experience as a Pioneer was truly special," said Kabamba. "It was awesome to be part of a culture where everyone was a great person from then players to the coaches to the managers, all the way to the trainers. I was blessed with the opportunity to play for a coach that believes in me and my abilities, trusting me to lead the team and for that I'm forever grateful. I enjoyed every second of it."
 
The Pioneers finished the season with 11 wins. And the 11^th win of the season, a 76-55 victory over Cal State San Bernardino on February 20, was a milestone win when Bryan Rooney reached 100 wins as head coach of the Pioneers and 300 wins overall in his collegiate coaching career. 
 
Reflecting on his coaching career thus far, Rooney stated, "I am incredibly grateful for the players, coaches and administrators who have been and continue to be on this journey with us. Also, one of the best parts is having my family connected to and invested in our teams over the years.
 
"Ultimately, my excitement is not solely focused on the number of wins but more importantly on the memories created and the lasting bonds that have been formed along the way."
 
Before leading the Pioneers, Rooney served as head coach 2007 at Cal Maritime. He took over at Cal State East Bay starting with the 2017-18 season. 
 
Women's Swimming continues success with outstanding camaraderie along with new records and several Pioneers reaching the NCAA Championships
 
As the culmination of the winter sports season approaches for Cal State East Bay, the women's swimming team has had tremendous success combining hard work and togetherness along the way to this week's NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships.
 
"In all seriousness, our team thrives off strong relationships while balancing our goals with a ton of fun. The goal is for connections to develop organically. Our team genuinely cares about each other and they choose to spend time together, while absolutely supporting one another. What makes this group special is how accepting they are of different personalities, creating an environment where everyone feels valued. They also take pride in each other's success—celebrating every achievement and being their own biggest cheerleaders. As a coach, that's extremely special, but I sometimes need to remind them to lock in because they're having too much fun—which is a good problem to have! I always joke that when we travel, it's a business trip, but we perform our best when we're relaxed and enjoying each other's company."
-Cal State East Bay head swimming coach Shane Pelton
 
A byproduct of the strong support and the mindset of a business trip has been the rewards from the pool to the podium.
 
First and foremost, four Pioneers were selected to compete at the NCAA Championships in individual events this week, including Kylie Beaudet, Brooklyn Dressel, Alexia Fajardo and Tehani Kong. Additionally, Lily Caraway and Delaney Carlson reached the championships on relay teams.
 
The NCAA Championships are nothing new to Beaudet, Carlson, Dressel and Kong as they all have been to at least one prior NCAA Championship meet. It will be the fourth trip for Carlson and Dressel.
 
The season saw many highlights in and out of the pool.

• Dressel set two new Pioneer records in the 100 yard freestyle on the final day of the 2024-25 PCSC Championships, as the new Pioneer record is 49.77 seconds. Altogether, Dressel collected five gold medals in her final PCSC Championship meet.
• Hannah Sharp won the 200-yard backstroke at the PCSC Championships, in 2:01.01.
• The  400-yard freestyle relay team of Dressel, Fajardo, Carlson and Kong won the PCSC Championship in the event, and set a new Pioneer record of 3:23.10, which previously stood for more than 10 years.
• Also at the PCSC Championships, a dominant showing in the 200-yard butterfly, where they claimed the top two spots.  Kong captured gold with a time of 2:04.19, while Fajardo took silver in a nail-bitingly close finish, just 0.02 seconds behind.
• Kong set a new Pioneer record in the 200 yard butterfly on January 10 (2:02.06), breaking a record she previously held.
• The team finished the 2024 Fall Semester impressively in the classroom for a 3.60 team grade point average and as a result, was named a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team for the fall semester.
• Several Pioneer swimmers earned weekly honors during the regular season from the PCSC
  • Fajardo was named PCSC Freshman of the Week following her CSUEB debut this past September. She had a repeat honor for the same award in January.
  • Dressel was named PCSC Swimmer of the Week to open the season.
  • Additional weekly awards from the PCSC for Cal State East Bay included Kylie Beaudet (Swimmer of the Week – Jan. 6-12), Tehani Kong (Swimmer of the Week – Oct. 28-Nov. 3) and Kali Mull (Freshman of the Week - Oct. 28-Nov. 3).

The Pioneers are competing throughout this week at the 2025 NCAA Division II Championships in Indianapolis and will look to finish the season impressively.