The American River College Beavers Men's Basketball program is set to tip-off under a new leader for the first time in 27 years; Coach Michael Lorente takes over for Hall of Fame Coach Mark Giorgi.  Coach Lorente was Giorgi's head assistant from 2013-2020, before taking the Capital (Destiny) Christian Head Coach position, where he led the Cougars (Lions) to a comprehensive record of 94-43, including five straight conference titles, 3 CIF Section Semi-Final appearances and one NorCal Final appearance. 

Coach Lorente is excited about his staff and new look roster.  "I think we have a lot of potential!  Our roster is young, but have very experienced coaches that have coached and played at a high level, in addition to many pieces on the floor that could equate to success.  We play with tremendous pace, are fairly physical and shoot the ball well.  I think we are going to surprise some teams, but still have a lot of work to do!", Lorente states, optimistically.

The Beavers roster is headed up by returners Vincent Gonzales, a combo-guard from Elk Grove, and Sam Herlehy from Placer, who played limited but productive minutes during ARC's 2024-25 campaign.  Rounding out the starting five is redshirt Freshman Miles Macayan (Folsom HS), a well-rounded point guard that can fill up a stat sheet and act as floor general at the same time;  true Freshman Corey (CJ) Hazewood (Inderkum HS) is a talented, versatile forward who can score at a high clip, defend, rebound and plays with a high level basketball IQ; and Freshman Dwayne (Deuce) Thompson, a So-Cal native who is a long, athletic Forward who prides himself on playing with high energy, defending in the open court, and scoring in transition.     

Coach Lorente adds "I am confident in our guys.  They have worked extremely hard this Fall to not only prepare their body and minds to compete at a high level, but to form a team environment that is rooted in high expectations, championship standards and accountability".    

The Beavers travel to Santa Cruz on Saturday, November 1st and Sunday, November 2nd to take on Gavilan and Cabrillo in the annual Cabrillo Classic, followed by the Tony Costello Tip-Off at Las Positas College, November 6th-9th, where they will open with Contra Costa.  The Beavers full schedule can be found HERE.