The 2025-26 school year was one of celebration for San Bernardino Valley College, as the school celebrated its centennial.
While the campus celebrated, the student-athletes at SBVC made sure to make the centennial year one for the record books.
SBVC had athletes from nine of its 12 athletic teams participate in postseason or state championship action during the school year, starting with an impressive fall that culminated in one of the busiest days of action in school history, as on Saturday, Nov. 22 all of six of SBVC’s fall sports teams participated in postseason play on the same day.
The fall season kicked off with the return of the SBVC football program, after it was forced to shut down in the middle of the 2024 season. Under the direction of new coach James Griffin, the reinvigorated squad re-introduced the Death Valley Defense, as the Wolverines’ defense shut out opponents in 10 consecutive quarters early in the season – en route to three shutout victories, and a 31-2 win in which the defense did not allow a point.
SBVC’s men’s soccer team opened the season strong as well, climbing as high as No. 5 in state rankings voted on by sports information professionals across California. The Wolverines also were the first team to earn a win in a nonconference game at El Camino College since 2018. SBVC opened the postseason at home, tying the game in stoppage time before winning in extra time before a raucous crowd on the soccer field.
The SBVC women’s team also opened the postseason at home, putting together a six-game unbeaten streak down the stretch to earn the first-round home game against Inland Empire Athletic Conference rival Mt. San Jacinto. The two teams split their regular season series – both winning 2-0 on their home fields. The rubber match was just as close, with the Eagles taking the lead late in first-half stoppage time before Dianna Calleja got the equalizer with about six minutes remaining. Extra time could not determine the winner, with the game decided in the sixth round of the penalty shootout, SBVC advancing 5-4.
Coming off back-to-back conference championships, a young SBVC volleyball team spent much of the season trying to find itself after an impressive sophomore class left following the 2024 season. The Wolverines came together in conference play, handing conference champion College of the Desert its only defeat to finish second in the IEAC and earn a first-round home playoff game.
Meanwhile, San Bernardino Valley’s cross country teams continued their dominance of the Inland Empire Athletic Conference. The men’s team had the top 11 finishers in the field in the conference race, winning its sixth consecutive team title, while the women’s team had seven of the top 10 finishers to take home its third title in a row. Both teams would advance to the State Championships, which were held Nov. 22.
Both cross country teams kicked off the busiest day in SBVC athletics history at Woodward Park in Fresno. There, the men’s team continued to prove itself as one of the top teams in the state, taking sixth as a squad, with Micah Watson finishing ninth at the race. The women’s team, which eked into the state meet, finished 18th as a team, outrunning three teams that had beaten them at the Southern California regional meet.
Back closer to home, the SBVC football team earned its first bowl appearance since 2019 after finishing the regular season 7-3. The Wolverines faced Antelope Valley in the Western State Bowl – a rematch of the season’s opening game. Again, SBVC fell short against the Marauders, losing 26-14 at Antelope Valley. The two teams will open the 2026 season against one another Aug. 29.
After picking up thrilling overtime victories in their playoff openers, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams took to the road for the second round. SBVC’s women faced top-seeded Saddleback, falling to the Bobcats 3-0, while the men could not find the back of the net at Mt. San Antonio, losing 1-0.
That left the SBVC volleyball team – the only home event on Nov. 22. Before the largest crowd of the season, the Wolverines rallied from a set down twice to force a deciding fifth set against College of the Canyons. SBVC dominated the final set, beating the Cougars 15-7 to advance to the next round. In round two, the Wolverines split the opening two sets with San Diego Mesa, before falling in four sets.
With the end of the fall sports meant all eyes turned to the SBVC basketball teams for the winter.
Coach Quincy Brewer’s 2025-26 team featured an overhauled roster from the squad that went to the state final four the year before. And the new squad stumbled a little out of the gate, losing three of its first five games. But the team finally found its footing – thanks in part to a school record-setting performance in its seventh game of the season. On Nov. 21, SBVC defeated Imperial Valley 156-52, setting school records for most points in a game and largest margin of victory.
Finally on track, the Wolverines attacked the IEAC, dominating their conference foes to run the table with a perfect 16-0 finish. Twice in conference play, the Wolverines pulled away in the second half, posting more than 70 points against opponents during January. After opening the postseason with an impressive 76-60 win over Canyons, SBVC faltered down the stretch in their second-round game at Mt. SAC, bowing out after a 66-55 defeat.
The SBVC women’s basketball team struggled to find wins on the court throughout the 2025-26 season, but a pair of the team’s sophomores worked to assault the SBVC record book in flashes of what could be. Alexa Jansen pulled down 24 rebounds in a Jan. 7 game against College of the Desert, the second-most in school history in a single game. Then, in the team’s final game of the regular season, Destiny Melendez set a goal and reached it. Against Palo Verde, the Wilmer Amina Carter High School graduate scored 48 points, beating the previous school record for points in a game that had been set in 2001. Melendez finished the season with 561 points, the fourth highest in a single season in school history.
On the diamond, SBVC’s baseball team posted its best record since 2016, finishing the season with a record of 20-20, after opening the season with five consecutive losses. The Wolverines got to .500 with a mix of fundamentals along with some pain at the plate.
SBVC set the school mark for most team sacrifices in the season, with 57 successful bunts and sacrifice flies on the season – Devean Mahoney accounted for a school record-tying 11 of those. Meanwhile, SBVC batters shattered the school record after they were hit by a pitch 111 times on the season – Gama Martinez was hit a school-record 26 times, with Adrian Diaz being hit 18 times, good for fourth-most in a single season. Diaz finished his SBVC career having been plunked an all-time best 30 times.
In its second season under the helm of Kendra Mendoza, the SBVC softball team improved on its four-win 2025 season, as the Wolverines ended the season with 11 wins. Inconsistencies plagued SBVC on offense and defense. The Wolverines scored double digit runs five times during the season, but gave up 10 or more nine times, while being shutout six times.
The 2025-26 season closed out on the track with six members of the SBVC squads participating in the State Championships at Mt. SAC.
Micah Watson closed out his impressive freshman year with a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, just 0.75 seconds behind the winner in one of the closest finishes of the weekend.
Savannah Flores became the first woman in school history to complete the 10,000 meters in under 40 minutes, finishing sixth at the state meet with a time of 39 minutes, 14.25 seconds.
And freshman Tamia Hardwick – who also starred for the SBVC volleyball team in the fall – left her mark in the record books. She finished the season with the school record in the triple jump, posting an early season mark of 39 feet, 2.25 inches. But she competed at state in the long jump, finishing fifth. Her best long jump of the season – 19 feet, 4 inches – is the fourth-longest in school history.