APTOS >> The Cabrillo College men’s basketball team is poised for another successful campaign after reaching new heights in 2023-24.

Cabrillo will be led by sophomore talents Zavier Sims, Max Parmigiani, and Cullen Cleaves, all of whom saw significant action on the program’s first state tournament qualifying team last season. The Seahawks have also stocked up on young talent as they hope to build upon their best finish in school history.

“We’ve got a good group; they play their tales off,” Seahawks coach James Page said. “We’ll benefit from our closeness and cohesiveness. If we keep taking steps in the right direction, we’ll get where we need to get to.”

The Seahawks open the 2024-25 season at home in the two-day Cabrillo Tip-off Classic this weekend. They’ll square off against Mendocino on Friday at 5 p.m. and face San Joaquin Delta on Saturday at the same time. Conference foe Gavilan is also in the tournament.

The Seahawks (25-6 overall in 2023-24) play in one of the toughest conferences in the state. They tied San Jose City for second place in the Coast Conference South Division last season, finishing behind eventual state champion West Valley.

Playing such fierce competition battle-tested Page’s squad. So much so, it stunned No. 2 seed San Francisco in the NorCal Regional finals to advance to the CCCAA State Tournament for the first time.

Guards Sims and Parmigiani, and 6-foot-7 forward Cleaves return for their sophomore seasons, which has Page optimistic that the Seahawks can again compete with California’s best.

“I’m excited about all three of those guys, I think they’ll have a great year,” the coach said.

Surprisingly, the Seahawks were given Rodney Dangerfield treatment — no respect — in the 2024-25 preseason regional poll. They’re ranked outside the top 20 in NorCal. San Francisco is No. 1, West Valley is second, and Sequoias is third.

The Seahawks graduated a pair of first-team all-conference talents in guard Darius Best and forward Solomon Tucker, and saw guard Jalen Cunningham and forward Quentin Henry transfer after their freshman seasons. Such turnover is commonplace at the community college level. The Seahawks did their best to reload.

Cleaves and Page believe the new crop of freshmen can make an immediate impact, even though they’re still learning schemes.

“I think we’ll pick up where we left off,” Cleaves said. “We want to control the tempo and pace of the game. We have a lot more athletes this year. We lost some size, but we have long, lengthy guys. We have a motor. You can sacrifice some of not knowing with pure effort, and make up stuff on the go.”

One of the newcomers is 6-foot guard Walzel Evans, who tore his ACL as a freshman Coffeyville C.C. in Kansas in 2020-21, the year the Red Ravens won the National Junior College Athletic Association title.

“He’s quick, he can score. He’s athletic,” Page said. “He’ll be one of the better guards we’ve ever had. There’s a lot of upside with him.”

Two other out-of-state talents played for Kearns High in Utah: 6-6 forward Anywan Kuang and 6-7 forward Johnny Gasaloga. Kuang averaged 15.5 points and 4.8 rebounds for the Cougars last season.

Page said Gasaloga is “athletic and really, really skilled.”

Dai’shaun Wilkerson-Buie, a Utah native who last played for Prestige Sports Academy, is a 6-7 freshman forward who is expected to provide plenty of highlights.

“He finishes big at the rim,” Page said, “and is a good shot blocker.”

The coach is also impressed with 6-6 freshman Skylarr Redwood, a 6-6 combo guard out of Roosevelt High in Fresno who possesses “crazy, great length.”

Riley de Wit, a 6-7 sophomore forward out of College of Southern Nevada, and Christian Barber, a 6-2 redshirt freshman guard out of Rosemont High in Sacramento, help bolster the roster.

Other newcomers include: perimeter shooting talent Suliman Koko, a 6-2 freshman guard out of San Jose Prep in Jacksonville, Florida; and Dontrez Kimble, a 6-1 freshman guard out of TW Josey High in Augusta, Georgia.

There’s a chance that Kimble, 17, described by Page as a “freak athlete,” uses his redshirt season.

The Cardinals have four other talents who will redshirt this year: Ben Dotten, a 6-5 freshman forward out of Santa Cruz High; 6-1 guard Charlie Kosta out of Salinas, a transfer from Monterey Peninsula College; Josh Salinas, a 6-2 freshman guard out of Lee’s Summit West High in Missouri; and Mike Carson, a 6-4 sophomore forward who transferred from Garden City C.C. in Kansas.

In addition to the Tip-off Classic, Cabrillo will also host the Saltwater Classic on Dec. 6-8. The Seahawks face Alameda, coached by NBA legend Gary Payton, to kick off action on Dec. 6 at 5 p.m.