Men's Basketball

This story is part of a series for Black History Month. Read more stories highlighting Black excellence at UC Merced.

Men's basketball senior Myles Haynes has encountered expected and unexpected opportunities at UC Merced, and he has done his best to embrace each one.

The year just ending has been one for the college sports record books and many kudos are due to the Bobcat athletes and their coaches.

UC Merced men’s and women’s outdoor track swept the California Pacific (Cal Pac) Conference Championships in their inaugural seasons. Women’s soccer beat 14^th-ranked Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game and got to hoist their first trophy in front of Bobcat Nation on Bobcat Field.

It is often said in sports that you have to struggle and overcome adversity before being able to bask in the glory of success.

UC Merced athletics has faced adversity since first transitioning from a recreation program to a NAIA member eight years ago.

But the wait for success was, well, not long at all.

Last fall, Turlock native Marcus DeCouto reminded the sports scene that UC Merced consistently brings some of the top freshmen to the California Pacific Conference.

DeCouto, now a sophomore midfielder on the Bobcats’ men’s soccer team, became the first Cal Pac player since 2015 to record at least 10 goals and 10 assists in a single season. To little surprise, he was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year.

MERCED — The University of California, Merced, announced today it has named John Sykes as men's basketball coach and Allen McCreary as women's volleyball coach. They are the first coaching hires for the budding sports program, which will join the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics this season.