Men’s Basketball Starts WSC Season 3-1
Raiders finish preseason with 9-7 record
MOORPARK, Calif. (Jan. 21, 2026) – The 2026 Western State Conference men's basketball season kicked off just after the New Year and Moorpark College has gone 3-1 following a 9-7 preseason showing. The Raiders played a tough 16-game non-conference slate to prepare for league action.
MC started hot with four straight victories to start the 2025-26 campaign and after a short skid, got back on track over the last six non-conference games in which the Raiders posted a 5-1 record.
Since opening WSC play, the Raiders have defeated Santa Barbara, 81-67, Cuesta, 92-68 and Allan Hancock, 68-65, despite falling 84-76 to Ventura.
Eighteen different players have suited up and stepped onto the court for the Blue and White this winter. Each has contributed with at a rebound and two points. Overall, thus far, MC has scored 1,552 points (77.6 points per game) with 38.8 rebounds per game and 17.1 assists per game, 8.2 steals per game and 2.9 blocks per game.
Offensively, Eric Kubel has made an impact in his freshman season, as the only player on the roster to start all 20 games. He has scored a team-leading 272 points (13.6 points per game) in 521 minutes of action. Kubel has connected for 97 field goals with 52 three-pointers, adding 69 rebounds, 25 assists and 11 steals.
Another freshman who has stepped up to make a difference is guard Noah Cotton whose 181 points is second on the squad in scoring with a 47-for-115 showing from three-point range. Jake Field is effective at the free-throw line (25-for-27) and has chipped in with 175 points in 390 minutes of action, while knocking down 30 triples. Additionally, Field has 60 rebounds, 33 assists and 12 blocks.
Freshman Roman Finney has contributed with 174 points with a shooting percentage of 50.8 percent (67-for-132), 38 assists and 22 steals. Josh Castaniero has team-highs of 91 assists and 32 steals and is second on the squad with 83 rebounds in his 518 minutes of play. The freshman has also shot 44-for-101 from the floor (43.6 percent) with 18 three-pointers. Jozef Zlocha has surpassed the century scoring mark with 102 to date on a team-leading 52 percent shooting average (39-for-75). Additionally, Zlocha has 67 rebounds, 21 assists and 13 steals thus far in 2025-26. Finally, Dominique Brutus is a point shy of 100 with 99 from 33-for-65 shooting, which is a 50.8 shooting clip. Brutus leads the way with 14 blocks and has pulled down 75 rebounds and notched 13 steals as a defensive menace to the opposition.
Defensively, sophomore forward Markus Steele paces the pack with 92 total rebounds (38 offensive, 54 defensive), having added 13 blocks and 11 steals.
Aiden Bitran (97 points), Tidiane Sy (80 points), Aeneas Grullon (74 points), Clyde Seo (35 points), Jacob Jordan (30 points), Zach Bauman (20 points), Elijah Elohim (15 points), Parsa Kamali (8 points), Tyler Hook (6 points) and Ethan McLennan (2 points) have all scored for the Raiders.
The 12-game Western State Conference (WSC) schedule began on Wednesday, Jan. 7 as part of California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) action. Competition resumes this Saturday when Moorpark (12-8, 3-1 WSC) hosts Oxnard at 1:00 p.m. inside the Raider Pavilion prior to the women's basketball tip-off at 3:00 p.m.
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