Cal extends men's basketball coach Mark Madsen through 2030

Cal coach Mark Madsen has agreed a two-year contract extension through the 2029-30 season, director of athletics Jim Knowlton announced Tuesday

Madsen just completed his first year with the Golden Bears, improving their Pac-12 record from 2-18 in 2022-23 to 9-11 this season. They finished tied for sixth in the Pac-12, marking their best finish in the league since 2016-17.

After losing their first three games in Pac-12 play, Cal won nine of its next 14 games, including victories over potential NCAA tournament teams Colorado and Washington State.

"I'm fired up every day to be the head coach at Cal, and consider myself very fortunate to work alongside an outstanding group of student-athletes, coaches, staff and administrators who share the same relentless passion for success," Madsen said in a statement. "I'm grateful to Jim Knowlton and our administration for their ongoing confidence in what we're building in Berkeley.

"Our goal is to win championships and pursue greatness, and our entire basketball program will continue to execute on that vision with the Cal community behind us. There are great things ahead in Bear Territory, and we're just getting started."

The Golden Bears had success recruiting the transfer portal last spring, with the team's top four scorers all in their first season in Berkeley. Jaylon Tyson (19.6 PPG) and Fardaws Aimaq (14.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG) were two of the more productive transfers in the Pac-12.

The Golden Bears face Stanford on Wednesday in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.

Cal being proactive with Madsen's contract comes as speculation swirls around the status of Stanford coach Jerod Haase. Madsen played at Stanford from 1996-2000, earning All-America honors and leading the Cardinal to a Final Four in 1998, and also spent a season in Palo Alto as an assistant on Johnny Dawkins' staff in 2012-13.

He was considered the favorite to be the next coach at Stanford if Haase left last spring, but the job didn't open and longtime rival Cal swooped in to hire Madsen.

Madsen had been the head coach at Utah Valley for four seasons before arriving at Cal, leading the Wolverines to WAC regular-season titles in 2021 and 2023.