After just one season with the Mustangs, Cal Poly Men’s Basketball guard Peter Bandelj has entered the transfer portal, according to Eurohoops Scouting.
Bandelj began the year as the team’s sixth man, but the freshman showcased growth over the season and became a starter and key contributor for Cal Poly throughout their Big West tournament run. As the fourth leading scorer on the team, he averaged 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds.
The 6-foot 4-inch Slovenian’s best game of the season came against UC Riverside on Feb. 22, where he scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help lead the Mustangs to a critical 112-100 victory.
Bandelj also heavily contributed throughout the Mustangs’ run through the Big West Championships in Henderson, Nev.
In the team’s quarterfinal game against UC Riverside, Bandelj scored 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the win. In the semifinals against UC Irvine, he scored 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
How the roster looks now
First-year head coach Mike DeGeorge led Cal Poly to newfound success in just one season at the helm.
After winning just 12 games in their last two seasons combined, the Mustangs, under DeGeorge, won 16 games and made it to the Big West postseason tournament semifinals.
However, some of the team’s top contributors, such as leading scorers and graduate student guards Owen Koonce and Jarred Hyder, are set to graduate and depart from the roster.
The freshman Bandelj certainly looked to be filling their shoes in the upcoming season, but with his departure, the team must look to other athletes.
Cal Poly’s first round of 2025-26 high school recruits already includes two guards, Jason Scott and Braden Freeman, who hope to fill the void that the three will leave.