USD Magazine Fall 2026

TORERO ATHLETICS

A MISSION AND A MANTRA Big aspirations don’t materialize without a plan of action. And at the outset, small steps lay the foundation for something bigger.

Men’s Golf Makes Statement at NCAA Championship The University of San Diego men’s golf team had its best finish in 15 years last spring, advancing to the fourth round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship. That finish was better than half the 30-team field that made it that far, and put them within sight of match play and a top-8 finish, what would have been the program’s best-ever result. The finish portends a bright future for the team, which made it this far in just the second season for head coach Evan Emerick. “Overall, the week was unbelievable with this group, making it back-to-back years here, which is something really difficult to do,” Emerick said after the final round. “I think we’re one of the youngest teams here. Last year, we finished dead last (in the national championship), then this year we made it to the fourth round and finished 15th.” Emerick, though, gives credit to the golfers and their hard work. One example of that is Ian Maspat, who finished his career at USD not only with the deep championship run, but also a stellar individual season. He was named honorable mention to the NCAA Division I PING All-America Team, one of only 30 golfers in the country. Maspat’s storied career at USD has come to a close, but there’s plenty of promise on the horizon. Junior Cooper Humphreys and sophomore Reid Piron were just a few strokes behind Maspat during championship stroke play. They’re both back this year and will look to lead USD to its third-straight NCAA Championship appearance. Men’s tennis star Oliver Tarvet was in the spotlight of international tennis this summer, but this time it wasn’t unfamiliar territory. Once again, Tarvet — who entered Wimbledon as a qualifier — powered his way through that bracket and into the main draw. Last year, he shocked the tennis world as an amateur, battling all the way to a Centre Court showdown with arguably the best player in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, who praised Tarvet afterward. While he may have been prepared for what to expect this time around, a repeat performance was no easy task. In the final match of this year’s qualifiers, Tarvet took down No. 31 seed Stefanos Sakellaridis. That set him up for a first round match against Arthur Rinderknech, the No. 25 seed in the tournament. The two put on a dazzling, if grueling show — a four-hour, four-set match that included multiple sets decided by tiebreakers. Ultimately, Tarvet fell just short against Rinderknech, ending his 2026 Wimbledon appearance, but the performance showed his 2025 run was no fluke. And now, Tarvet will springboard into his professional career. GETTING COMFORTABLE ON WORLD STAGE

His days are centered around the hardwood, but part of the reason Blount gets such an early start is so he can leave work at the door when he gets home. He relishes family time in the evenings. A family favorite is watching Shark Tank before bed. The girls prod their parents for business ideas the sharks might like. As they settle into their new home, it’s clear to Blount this is where he was meant to be. A man of faith, he identifies with USD’s mission and identity. Here, Blount said, excellence is the expectation, alongside a culture of care. He’s invested in his team’s success on the court and off of it. They start the day together with a 6 a.m. practice, and end it together at 5 p.m. with a team dinner. Get better daily. In between practices, workouts and film sessions, Blount walks USD’s campus, taking in the beauty of his new home. It’s important to him too, not to be isolated to the Basketball Performance Center. He wants the men’s basketball team to be visible and accessible, for the campus community to forge a real, human connection with them.

JR Blount has tasted success at the highest levels of college basketball. The new head men’s basketball coach is fresh off yet another deep tournament run with Iowa State, a team that he helped coach to 124 wins, a Big 12 Tournament win and three trips to the Sweet 16. He knows what it takes to compete with the best. It’s all about what’s right in front of you, and it boils down to one thing. Something that’s become a mantra inside the USD Basketball Performance Center. Get better daily. For Blount, that means starting bright and early. His alarm goes off at 4:15 every morning. A morning workout helps him wake up, clear his mind and prepare for the day ahead. “I want to maximize my day. I want to make sure I can get in and work out and kind of have that time to myself to get acclimated with the day and write down, ‘Hey, this is what I want to get done today.’” Blount said.

The season hasn’t started yet. The Toreros are still trying to find their identity and develop a culture they hope will lead to results. But it all begins, Blount says, with daily habits. Over the summer, he wanted his team to “stack days” — put in the required work one day after another. Blount didn’t sugarcoat it in his introductory press conference, calling for a commitment to the

You can spot Blount at faculty and campus events. The team takes yoga classes at the Palomar Health Student Wellness Center and participates in events on campus and out in the Linda Vista neighborhood. “That’s how you get people invested,” Blount said, “How you build a community.”

monotonous. Give yourself to that grind enough — stack enough days, develop those habits — and you’ll raise the bar. Get better daily. That’s the foundation for what comes next. “It’s about what you do every single day. And can you do it consistently at a high level? When you do that, that becomes your standard. When we have our standards, then we say, this is who we are and that’s our identity,” Blount said. “Then, once we have our identity, it kind of works itself into ... this is your culture. You have to be this type of person to be in this program — that becomes your culture.” Blount moved to San Diego in April with his wife, Ashley, and their three daughters — Maya, Zuri and Gema.

Come this fall, when the Toreros take the court they’ll showcase what their stacked days and dedication have built. “We’re going to be a defensive-minded team that is super disruptive and tries to dictate to the offense and then turn our defense into offense,” Blount said. “When you come to see us, you’ll learn to appreciate the amount of effort that we’re giving on both ends — diving on loose balls, crashing into other guys and giving our body up to sacrifice anything we can to win the game.” There’s a thrill of possibility surging through the program. An exciting buzz now and big dreams

for the future. Through it all, though, there’s one constant. Get better daily. — Steven Covella

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