Former Citrus Head Coach Rick Croy Leads CBU Into March Madness Debut

Former Citrus College men's basketball head coach Rick Croy will lead California Baptist University into its first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance.

Croy guided the Lancers to a 25-8 record this season, the most wins in the program's Division I era, while capturing the program's first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament championship. California Baptist enters the tournament as the No. 13 seed and will face No. 4 seed Kansas in the first round on Friday, March 20 at 6:45 p.m. at Viejas Arena on the campus of San Diego State University.

During his tenure at Citrus College from 2005 to 2010, Croy compiled a 130-35 overall record. He led the Owls to the postseason in each of his final four seasons and guided the program to three consecutive Western State Conference championships beginning in 2007-08. That same season, Citrus captured its first and only 3C2A Men's Basketball State Championship. The 2007-08 team was later inducted into the Citrus College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.

Following his time at Citrus, Croy spent time at Saint Mary's College before being named head coach at California Baptist in 2013. Since his arrival, he has compiled a 275-136 overall record, becoming the winningest coach in program history. He has led the Lancers to six consecutive WAC Tournament appearances, winning the program's first title this season with a 63-61 victory over top-seeded Utah Valley in the championship game on Saturday, March 14.