Tim Tai

In the 25 years since James Jones took over as head coach of Yale men’s basketball, his squads have consistently performed well in both regular and postseason play. No class, however, has distinguished itself quite like the Class of 2025.

This senior class is leaving Yale with three March Madness appearances and a record-breaking 85 wins over the past four years.

When asked what contributed to their success, Bez Mbeng ’25 pointed to the team’s camaraderie.

“We don’t leave as the winningest class if we don’t have a great relationship with each other,” he told the News. “Time in the gym together and time off the floor together hanging out, taking classes and just figuring out Yale together.”

When they arrived as first years, Mbeng, John Poulakidas ’25, Jack Molloy ’25 and Teo Rice ’25 joined a team that had not played a game in over a year and a half. In the 2019-20 season, the Bulldogs went 23–7 before their season was cut short, ending their postseason dreams.

During the seniors’ first year, Jones sought to replicate the success from the team’s last played season as he attempted to replace key players that had graduated. Mbeng saw the floor for about twenty minutes per game and led the team in assists, a statistic he would carry forward throughout his four years as point guard. Although the other three then-first years did not get as many minutes as Mbeng, they all made it off the bench at points throughout the season.

While the 2021-22 Yale basketball team did not match the record-setting win total of the previous team, the Bulldogs were still the best in the Ivy League and advanced to the Big Dance. There, they faced a tough Purdue team and lost 78-56. While the Bulldogs did lose, the four first years gained valuable experience that prepared them for future tournament appearances.

In the 2022-23 season, the roles of these four players increased significantly. Mbeng continued to lead the team in assists and also took the lead in steals on his way to earning his first Ivy League defensive player of the year award. Poulakidas, who played significantly more his sophomore year, became the No. 2 scorer on the team — successfully shooting over 40 percent from downtown.

Once again, the Bulldogs entered Ivy Madness hoping to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately the team fell short against Princeton who made a run all the way to the Sweet 16. Yale received a berth to the National Invitation Tournament but lost in the first round to Vanderbilt.

With two years of postseason experience under their belts, the rising juniors and the rest of the Yale basketball team had high hopes for the 2023-24 season. They entered the season with a difficult non-conference schedule ahead of them, including trips to No. 11 Gonzaga and No. 2 Kansas.

After coming up victorious in most non-conference games, Yale led for a solid portion of both the Gonzaga and Kansas games before narrowly losing both on the road. Despite the challenging schedule, the Bulldogs made an impressive run in Ivy League play, which included thrilling wins over Cornell and Princeton.

With the pair of second-team all-Ivy players — Mbeng and Poulakidas — complementing an experienced senior class, the Bulldogs entered Ivy Madness that year looking to make it back to the NCAA tournament. In the first round, Yale took care of business with Cornell and turned around quickly to take on Brown the following day. In a tightly contested game, the Bulldogs found themselves down six with half a minute left on the clock. However, thanks to a late deep three by Poulakidas, Yale cut Brown’s lead to one and set up the legendary Matt Knowling ’24 buzzer-beating layup, punching their ticket to March Madness.

When asked about his favorite basketball memory at Yale, Poulakidas said, “Definitely Knowling’s game-winner against Brown. Winning that game was so special and just encapsulated a crazy year.”

After the thrilling Ivy Madness win, the NCAA Tournament committee matched the 13th-seeded Bulldogs with the fourth-seeded 2024 SEC Champion Auburn Tigers. In a historic game for the Elis, Poulakidas lit up the Tigers with 28 points, leading Yale to a stunning upset victory over Auburn.

In the second round, however, the Bulldogs’ March run was cut short by the San Diego State Aztecs — a team that was the national runner-up in 2023.

After a stunning 2023-24 season, the pressure to perform was even higher in the seniors’ fourth and final year wearing the blue and white. Senior Teo Rice ’25 was tasked with leading the team as captain.

“Mentorship-wise, all the seniors were great leaders and taught the younger guys so much about basketball and even life in general,” Trevor Mullin ’27 told the News. “Teo was the best possible captain we could have had for the year. He was the guy who always kept our heads on straight, and he truly knew how to lead us as a unit.”

Although the Bulldogs dropped six non-conference games in the beginning of their season, they got back on track with record-breaking play in the Ivy League. After a hot start to conference play, including statement wins over Princeton and Cornell, the Bulldogs found themselves undefeated at the halfway point of conference play. The Bulldogs secured a thirteen-game winning streak — the longest in the country — before a heartbreaking loss to Harvard in their final regular season game.

In postseason play, Yale managed to subdue both Princeton and Cornell for the third time this year en route to another Ivy Madness title. The senior class punched their third ticket in four years to March Madness, the most by any class in school history. There, the Bulldogs again matched up with a fourth-seeded SEC squad, but were not as lucky as the year before and fell 71–80 to the Texas A&M Aggies.

Regardless, Poulakidas was selected for the all-Ivy first team and was the most valuable player in the Ivy League tournament. Bez Mbeng picked up his third consecutive defensive player of the year recognition and was named the Ivy League Player of the Year.

This senior class has made a historic run over their past four years as Bulldogs and will surely be missed next season. Poulakidas finished off his final year as the leading scorer, and Mbeng left his mark, leading in steals for the third year in a row.