As Stan Johnson enters his fourth season and Aarika Hughes begins her third season, the LMU men's and women's basketball teams are poised for strong seasons, leading toward a memorable showing in the West Coast Conference tournament in March 2024.
 
When Johnson was hired as the 27^th men's basketball head coach at LMU, he set out to change the way that the school, the community, the students, the faculty, the staff, and everyone looked at a program that just couldn't return to the bright points of the past. After his first three seasons, Johnson has shown that he is on the cusp of taking LMU back to a place that this institution has not been in over 33 years: the NCAA Tournament.
 
Hughes is also hopeful for the coming season. Though the team's fortunes dipped a bit in 2022-23, she has built a promising roster, including 10 new players, and fan enthusiasm is building.
 
The men's team is riding the momentum of famously ending Gonzaga's 75-game home winning streak in Spokane. The Lions then earned their second top-15 win of the season, defeating Saint Mary's at home, in a game that concluded with the entire student section storming the court. Also, Johnson and the Lions won their first trophy together last November, the 2023 Jamaica Classic, with come-from-behind wins over Georgetown and Wake Forest on a neutral floor in an internationally broadcast game.
 
The women's program made a splash hire this offseason. Lauren Unger joined Hughes' staff as an assistant coach from Cal State Northridge. "I cannot express how grateful I am to have the chance to work alongside Coach Aarika Hughes, and the impressive staff and team she has assembled at LMU," said Unger.
 
Lastly, under Coach Johnson, the Lions continue to improve in the classroom as well, raising their team GPA to a program-record 3.3 GPA for the year. The women's team placed several players on the WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll in the silver and bronze categories.
 
The men's and women's teams have greatly benefited by rising fan attendance. If you were at Gersten Pavilion the last five games of the season, you know the difference that a true home-court advantage has. The attendance from the opening five home games of the season in 2022-23 compared to the final five home games saw a growth of over 131 percent. The feel inside Hank's House noticeably changed when this happened.
 
Let's start the year at that point. Let's not only sustain it, but rather, let's grow it. Let's make Gersten Pavilion a place that competitors dread. Let's make LMU a place where road teams lose all optimism when they enter our building.
 
Single game, partial plans, and season ticket plans are available for men's games and women's games.