Fancy passes, ankle-breaking dribble moves, and highlight reel dunks spotlight another blowout win for the explosive, high-octane Riordan’s Varsity Boys Basketball Team.

This year’s team feels a bit different with a record of 25-1 and a back-to-back undefeated season in WCAL play, going 14-0.
The motivating factor could be avenging last year’s heartbreaking loss in the CIF State Championship Semifinals, it could be a sense of urgency to win, it could be that several seniors are in their final season, or it could be their incredible level of teamwork.

Coach Joey Curtin ’01 said, “The day to day goal is to improve as a team.” He added, “Games are an opportunity for us to showcase what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown as a team.”

Furthermore, Varsity player Kirby Seals ’25 said that to build team chemistry, “We hang out outside of practice, we take tournament trips, and we have team meals before every game because families eat together.”

But with this renewed team chemistry, the end goal remains.

Coach Curtin said, “The ultimate goal is to win a state championship.”

Players Andrew Hilman ’26 and Seals both reaffirmed this statement.

With these high aspirations comes an elevated level of pressure and criticism for even the slightest mistakes.

To respond to both the critics and the pressure, Curtin said, “No one has higher expectations for the team than ourselves. Anyone who isn’t in the building, their opinion doesn’t matter. I really try to emphasize high expectations and we don’t need other people’s opinions.”

In addition to a strong team chemistry and a rock solid mentality, the team has also cultivated an atmosphere of intense competition in practice.

Hilman ’26 said, “We compete with each other and that makes us all better players.”

Incorporating all of these aspects has certainly translated into a blazing hot start for the Crusaders. With their sights set on state, and several wins in their pocket already, it is an exciting time to be a Riordan boys basketball fan.