CHICO, Calif. - When Greg Clink retired last fall after 16 seasons at the helm of the Chico State men's basketball program, he had built one of the most successful Division II programs on the West Coast. In his final season, seniors and program cornerstones, Joshua Hamilton and Kelvin Wright, led a loaded roster to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Cevin Meador, who spent the past three seasons as the program's lead assistant coach, was named the team's interim head coach just before the start of the season and his young team stumbled out of the gate in the 2024–25 campaign.

The Wildcats started 1-2, including a loss where they gave up 105 points to the Academy of Art. Across the CCAA, observers began to wonder: was Chico State finally vulnerable?

Meador's team answered emphatically, and that (wishful) thinking didn't last long. Beginning with a second-half comeback to beat Hawai`i Pacific in the home opener, the Wildcats reeled off 13 straight wins on their way to a 24-6 (19-3 in CCAA play) record.

Meador quickly proved he was ready for the big chair. Despite his mild-mannered appearance, he established himself as a commanding leader who balances relentless positivity with an intense, fiery presence on the bench. More than once, a missed assignment or defensive breakdown prompted an immediate timeout, followed by a passionate, no-nonsense address to his team that had fans in the first few rows looking at each other as if to say, "This guy isn't messing around."

The players fed off his energy, played with freedom, and responded to whatever he asked.

"This team is really, really close and everyone took ownership of the situation," said Meador. "Our pieces fit together very well this year and guys have shown they were ready to step into new roles." 

Jojo Murphy, the Wildcats' talented point guard and on-the court-leader, turned in an all-time season. He showed the ability to score at all three levels on his way to leading the conference in scoring at 20.4 ppg and was named CCAA conference player of the year. One rival sports information called him, "the CCAA's version of Steph Curry" and you could understand the comparison after he showed a knack for making clutch shots in close games, including a long game-tying three, and then an eruption in overtime during a comeback win over of Cal Poly Pomona early in conference play.

"Everyone will focus on Jojo's scoring, but he has become a complete player," said Meador. "He's been an unselfish facilitator and his defensive growth has been a key reason for our success."

Murphy didn't do it alone. Isaiah Kerr (first-team All-CCAA), Trae Taylor (second-team All-CCAA), and Caden Harris (All-CCAA honorable mention) all stepped into starting roles and demonstrated Chico State's thriving player development program.

Thanks to his numerous dunks throughout the year, Taylor became an instant fan favorite and developed into one of the best and most exciting big men in the conference. He says the external doubt served the team well.
"We took it personally that everyone thought we were going to struggle," said Taylor. "We are all very close, so we just got in the gym and the work has been consistent."

Now, Chico State returns to the NCCA tournament as the No. 3 seed and plays Central Washington at noon on Friday on the Point Loma campus in San Diego, and they are looking to keep it going.

"We can go the whole way in the region," said Miles Daniels, Chico State's do-everything guard who went down with a collarbone injury on February 1 but still managed to earn all-conference honorable mention despite missing the last 10 games of the regular season. "With Coach Cev, everything is the same. We have a great group and our (program's) culture and expectations have always been the same. We like our chances."

(Every Chico State NCAA Tournament game will be broadcast locally on AM-1290 and FM 102.9 KPAY Sports Radio and streamed live at NCAA.com. Links to the NCAA tournament bracket, broadcasts, stats, schedules, and more, can be found at ChicoWildcats.com)