ARLINGTON, Texas – The time has finally arrived. The 2024-25 men's basketball season is here and UT Arlington is poised for big things under head coach KT Turner in his second season at the helm. The Mavericks open the new campaign Monday, Nov. 4, against UNT Dallas at the College Park Center in Arlington at 11 a.m. CT.
 
Turner, whose squad last season won 20 games and reached the Western Athletic Conference Championship game in Las Vegas last March, sees a lot of reason for optimism.
 
"I'm excited for the fans to come," Turner said during his press conference on Friday. "Like I said, they're going to see an exciting style of play. We're going to play fast, you're going to see more dunks this year, we're going to guard and get after you. But the biggest thing is we play fast and shoot a lot of threes and it's fun to watch. I'm just so excited for the fans to come out and see us, I'm really looking forward to that."
 
The Mavs return two players from last season, senior guard Brandyn Talbot and sophomore guard Kade Douglas. That means there are 13 new faces, 11 of which came via the transfer portal. It's a very athletic group that can score from all levels, that Turner and his staff are very excited about.
 
"For one, I was a junior college coach so I was used to going out and getting a whole new team just about every year," Turner said of the new world of college basketball as it relates to the transfer portal. "But we just want to go get talent. We work relentlessly as a staff recruiting and we know exactly what we want. We want tough guys with high IQs that can shoot. And we want good guys, high-character players."
 
Some key names that joined the Mavs are forward/center Lance Ware (Villanova), forwards Raysean Seamster (Eastern Arizona), Troy Hupstead (Maryland Eastern Shore) and Diante Smith (Nicholls), as well as guards Jaden Wells (Oklahoma Christian), Brody Robinson (Garden City CC) and Darius Burford (Illinois State).
 
UTA's season gets underway on Monday morning at the CPC, a place where Turner's Mavs finished 12-3 in 2023-24 against the Trailblazers, who are led by former Dallas Maverick Josh Howard. The Trailblazers enter play at 2-0 on their young season, having beaten Dallas Christian (80-75) and Jarvis Christian (58-50).
 
Howard's group features 11 Texas natives, and the Trailblazers have shown a lot of balance in their first two games, having six players in double-figures in their opener and three more in Saturday's win over Jarvis Christian.
 
"It's going to feel good to play against someone else on Monday," Diante Smith said following practice last week. "We've been grinding in the gym for the past two months and it's been just us. Now it's time to show the fans and even the coaching staff what we've been working on to show you guys. I'm looking forward to the fans seeing our toughness, it's going to be something that the crowd will love to see this year and just how we're relentless and aren't going to stand down for anyone."
 
A new chapter in UTA men's basketball history begins on Monday morning, and fans can enjoy that opening day feel live and in-person at the College Park Center at 11 a.m. The game will also be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Chris Mycoskie (play-by-play) and Yolanda Moore (analyst) and on the radio on KTNO 620 (AM) and KMAD 102.5 (FM) with the voice of the Mavericks, Josh Sours.
 
Season ticket deposits for the 2024-25 UT Arlington basketball season remain open. With a one-time deposit of only $50/seat, fans can lock in their season ticket(s) at the state-of-the-art College Park Center.
 
To secure your season tickets today, go to UTATickets.com.

Single game tickets are also available now, also at UTATickets.com.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, follow the men's basketball program on X (formerly Twitter) (@UTAMavsMBB), Instagram (@UTAMavsMBB) and Facebook (/UTAMavsMBB).