Nick Kranz

3 days ago | writeforcalifornia.com | Nick Kranz

Mjracle Sheppard is the biggest transfer addition so far for Charmin Smith and the Bears via @calwbball on twitterAs Cal WBB surprised fans with a resurgent 2024-25 campaign that ended in an unexpected-in-October NCAA tournament selection, we knew that the end of the year would result in a major roster makeover. The Bears exceeded expectations in part because the team was full of 4th, 5th, or even 6th year players.

1 week ago | writeforcalifornia.com | Nick Kranz

Back in February when the winter transfer portal carousel was calming down, I put together a summary of comings and goings, with the naïve hope that Cal’s spring activity would be much more muted. So much for that. When we looked at the portal back in February, for the most part Cal had positionally replaced what they had lost to graduation/portal departures. This time around . . . not so much. Let’s get this over with.

2 weeks ago | writeforcalifornia.com | Nick Kranz

In 2023-24, Mark Madsen had no choice but to recruit nearly an entirely new roster. In the subsequent season a shallow roster showed occasional flashes but struggled to gel for half a season and ended up below .500. In 2024-25, Mark Madsen had no choice but to recruit nearly an entirely new roster. In the subsequent season a mismatched roster showed occasional flashes but never gelled defensively and ended up below .500.

3 weeks ago | writeforcalifornia.com | Nick Kranz

There must be something in the Kool-AidCruising through the doom daysHere’s the thing: I think Cal sports will fail. It’s something I’ve thought about for a long time. I don’t think it’s fait accompli or anything. I’ve gone back and forth on it over time as circumstances change, but the idea that Cal sport could fail has been an ever-present concern in the back of my mind for the better part of a decade. When Cal got relegated to the ACC, I was pretty confident Cal sports would fail.

1 month ago | writeforcalifornia.com | Nick Kranz |Nick Kranz

Another year, another heavy dose of departures and arrivals. The Bears were going to lose Jovan Blacksher and Mady Sissoko, but additional transfer departures from Jeremiah Wilkinson, BJ Omot, Joshua Ola-Joseph, Christian Tucker, and Devin Curtis means that plenty of scholarship spots opened up. And like prior years, Mark Madsen has wasted little time turning over Cal’s roster.