Cal Poly announced Wednesday they will part ways with men’s head basketball coach Joe Callero at the end of the 2018-19 season.
The Mustangs have sputtered to a 6-21 overall record and 2-12 in the Big West Conference. With just two regular season games remaining, Cal Poly is on the verge of missing the Big West Tournament for the first time since 2009.
Callero led Cal Poly to its first, and only, NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014 after guiding the seventh-seeded Mustangs to the Big West Tournament championship. They went on to defeat Texas Southern in a 16-seed play-in game and eventually lost to top-seeded Wichita State in the first round.
Under his direction, Cal Poly has produced 13 All-Big West selections, including Chris Eversley, who became the first Big West Tournament MVP in program history.
Callero wasn’t available for comment on the situation, but KSBY caught up with his three seniors to discuss their mindset heading into the final two games of the regular season.
“It was tough for anybody to see Coach go, but we still have two games left, so we’re just focused on that right now,” Cal Poly senior guard Donovan Fields said. “I know he wants to go there, so he keeps preaching to us, ‘let’s just win these two games,’ so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
“We still got a really good chance to go to the Big West Tournament, and we’re going to do everything in our power to win those two games,” Cal Poly senior forward Jakub Niziol added.
Callero holds an overall record of 126-182 with the Mustangs.
