Long Beach State Sports : Re: Acker Email Summer Update

I would say it looks more balanced than some previous squads.

Highlight are fun to watch, and sometimes you can gauge athletic qualities or basketball IQ, but until D1 game speed is there, who knows what translates.

The new NCAA coaching pedagogy should revolve fully on coaches being able to maximize what they have in a short time.

Previous Message

At most colleges, a new coach with 2 losing seasons has to improve in year 3. I think Acker knows this and has changed his recruiting and, hopefully, will change his in-game coaching with this new roster. Every player's highlight reel looks great, so I wait to see how we do in the first 5 or 6 OOC games before I get excited about next year. Yes, this new roster looks different and has more potential. My wish for the upcoming season is to win at least 16 games and finish in the top 5 in the BW. I hope our coaches can get our new players to play together and win. Win games, and more fans will come to the Myd for basketball.

Previous Message

I know that we go through this yearly "HIGH HOPES" adventure thing ever year about this time, which almost always falls short of our expectations. BUT, I do like the balance that we seem to have in this years team and hope that this is the year that we can get closer to meeting the expectations than we have in the past two seasons.
I do think that Coach Ack and his staff have done a good job of finding some quality players in past two seasons, and have developed them pretty well. The problem is that there has not been enough of the real quality players and that we have not been able to keep them once they have proven that they can play at this level. I hope that this will be our breakout year!!!!

Previous Message

I like the communication and info. Did we not recruit with intention last year? I understand year one we just got the best of the crumbs we could find.

While this means nothing, I have a good feeling about this team but I won't have any expectations because the coaching staff hasn't proved they can do much to put together a winning team. If its going to happen, it should be this year IMHO.

from coach Acker's email to supporters:

It's July which means workouts start, the gym fills back up, and I get to share something I've been looking forward to telling you about for months.

The 26-27 Long Beach State men's basketball roster is coming together, and I want you to be the first to know who's joining the Beach family.

This class is different. We recruited with intention - players who fit our culture, who've already proven themselves, and who are genuinely excited to be here. Let me introduce a few of them.

Noah Amenhauser - Center | 7'2, 270 lbs | Goodyear, AZ

A 4-star recruit out of high school who was All-Sun Belt at Coastal Carolina. Noah is 7'2. He changes what's possible in our frontcourt - on both ends of the floor. His goal is to play pro basketball, and we plan to help him get there.

Brett Wright - Wing/Power Forward | 6'8, 210 lbs | Chattanooga, TN

Brett was the second-best three-point shooter in all of Division II basketball last season - he shot 50% from three. Read that again. Fifty percent. He stretches the floor in a way that opens everything up for our other guys.

Henry Lau - Wing/Forward | 6’7, 195 lbs | Sydney, Australia

Henry was a top international recruit out of high school. He committed to Pittsburgh where he redshirted. Lau spent the 24-25 season as a developmental player for the Sydney Kings and was part of the U20 Australian National Team that competed in the New South Wales.

Blake Bahr - Point Guard | 6'2, 190 lbs | Keller, TX

Blake comes to us from Snow College, where he was part of a 29-5 team that was ranked #1 in the country. He posted the best assist-to-turnover ratio in junior college basketball last season. He's a point guard who protects the ball and makes the right play - exactly what we need running our offense.

McCaden Adams - Combo Guard | 6'4, 185 lbs | Pleasant Grove, UT

McCaden is a First Team NJCAA All-American. He averaged 18 points per game last year at Snow College and shot 40% from three. He and Blake were teammates at Snow, so they're already in sync. McCaden is going to be fun to watch.

Kaleb Smith - Power Forward | 6'10, 240 lbs | Inland Empire, CA

Kaleb is a graduate transfer who's played Big West basketball - he knows this conference. He was All-Big West in 2024 and helped UCR put together the best season in their program's history. He's a California kid coming home, and at 6'10, he gives us a physical presence we've needed.

Yohann Sissoko - Point Guard | 6'5, 200 lbs | Paris, France

Yohann played professional basketball in the French first league before coming to the US. He brings a poise and a skill set you don't often see. His size at the point guard position gives us versatility that will create matchup problems all season.

Jack Payne - Wing | 6'6, 215 lbs | Laguna Beach, CA

Jack is a graduate transfer who has played in two NCAA Tournaments - once with Colorado State, once with Idaho. He was First Team All-Big Sky Conference Tournament last season. He's experienced, versatile, and he knows what it takes to win at this level.

Jaden Tengan - Point Guard | 6'0, 173 lbs | Sacramento, CA

Jaden has scored 17.3 points per game this past season and is a 90% career free throw shooter. That's elite. He's one of the most reliable offensive players I've seen at his level, and he's coming in hungry.

Grgur Brcic ("G") - Center/Power Forward | 6'11, 240 lbs | Zagreb, Croatia

G played professionally in Europe before coming to the US, and he's logged time at Toledo and Bucknell. The combination of G and Noah in our frontcourt is something I'm genuinely excited about.

I'll be honest with you - I feel really good about this group. We have length. We have shooters. We have players who've competed at high levels and still chose Long Beach State.

That's not by accident. It's because of the program you've helped build.

The resources, the culture, the facilities - these are things recruits notice. When I'm on the phone with a player's family explaining what The Beach can offer, I'm drawing on what you and other supporters have made possible.

The players are here. The work starts now.

Thank you for being part of this.

Go Beach!
Chris Acker
Head Coach Men's Basketball
Long Beach State