The University of Texas Permian Basin men's basketball team enters the 2025-26 season with a simple but powerful focus – get better every day. For Head Men's Basketball Coach Kyle Tolin, who leads the Falcons into another year of Lone Star Conference competition, that phrase captures the essence of the team's mindset heading into the new season.

"It's cliché, but its all about just trying to get better day-by-day at this point," Coach Tolin said. "We've got 10 new players, a few guys that know what we're doing every day, but with a new staff and everything – it's a learning curve every day. So, the mindset is just, hey, can we come in and make progress today."

Rather than setting big-picture goals or specific win totals, Coach Tolin and his staff have emphasized the process – teaching players how to work, compete, and play like champions.

"Right now it's about trying to teach them how to win and how to build championship habits," Coach Tolin explained. "We've got to get to where we're practicing on a championship level, and that entails a lot of things to do that. So right now, it's just little by little. Today in practice it'll be two or three goals. Can we hit these two or three goals. Can we concentrate on these couple of things right here and help our team move forward."
  With a roster that has undergone significant changes, growth has been gradual but steady. The players have learned what it takes to play with the intensity and consistency required in the Lone Star Conference.

Coach Tolin explained, "It goes from guys not really understanding how hard you have to play, to understanding how hard you have to play. It seems like every couple of weeks, there's another guy who's figured out the level they've have to play at, and it's just trying to continue on that path. I don't know if there's been major growth, but there's been little growth throughout the preseason and obviously through seven or eight practices here."

Even through the challenges – including early preseason injuries and limited bodies in practice – Coach Tolin sees the team making strides. He compares the current group's situation to one of his most memorable teams that he coached at the University of Arkansas at Monticello during the 2020-21 season.

"Right now, where we're at kind of reminds me of the team I coached during the 2020-21 season where we had guys out in the in the preseason," Tolin said. "We've got some guys banged up that aren't practicing right now and it's just like, all right, are we making progress every day. With that team at UAM, you could kind of tell throughout that year, we really made progress in the year, played at a high level and won a championship along the way. So, I'm not saying we're there, but I'm saying right now it's kind of similar in the fact that we got guys out."

Still, Tolin remains encouraged by the team's direction. He knows that the goal isn't just to improve now – it's to build toward playing their best basketball when it matters most.

Tolin said, "You think about where we were six weeks ago to now. Well, obviously we're hoping the same progress happens over the next six weeks and then obviously the goal is to be playing your best basketball of the year in February and March."

If there's one area where Coach Tolin expects this team to build its foundation, it's on the defensive end.

"I think the way we recruited and tried to build the team, we've tried to build through defense, that's kind of where your toughness goes," said Coach Tolin. "You can carry that on the road with you. It's an every night deal. You may make shots, you may not make shots, but your defense travels. So, can we defend? Can we rebound? Can we take care of the ball? Those are the important things to me"

Coach Tolin knows that mastering those fundamentals will give the Falcons a chance to compete every night in one of the toughest conferences in the nation.

"It doesn't matter what level, if you can do those three things, you're going to have a chance to have a good team," said Coach Tolin. "So really, we tried to hone in on the defensive end, guarding and building some toughness that way."

With so many new faces, leadership is still emerging – but a few players have already stood out.

"We're still working on that," Tolin said. "I think Kyle McElroy has done a good job. He's new and he's got some toughness to him. He competes every day. He's a really tough kid. Guys appreciate the fact that he shows up to work every day, works as hard as he can, does what the coaches ask him to do, cares about winning and wants this thing to look good."

Another newcomer, Tash Lunday, has also begun to step into a leadership role.

"Tash is another new one" Tolin said. "He kind of fits in that same mold. He's got some toughness to him and works hard every day. Both of those guys I'm trying to talk to them about leadership and things they need to do, and they can't have bad practices and things like that. I think both of those guys are making a step in the right direction when adversity hits within practice or whatever. It seems like those two guys in particular have stepped up to the challenge, and they're trying to do a good job of leading. And, you know, the goal is to try to get other guys to that level."
While Tolin hesitates to define expectations too early, he knows what success will look like – steady improvement, consistency, and being in the mix when it matters most.

"You hate to put up expectations when you're not really for sure," said Coach Tolin. "I mean, I don't know enough right now to be honest with you. So, the expectation might change based on how you play and how you start and things like that. We've tried to build the schedule in a positive way where we're playing really good Division II competition, but also hoping we have some success along the way. Obviously, we understand that every Lone Star Conference game is going to matter. We have to play some teams twice and the teams we're playing twice are all really good."

The goal, as always, is to be in contention down the stretch.

"Obviously you'd like to be in the thick of things," said Coach Tolin. "I think we've had a chance the last two years of being in the thick of things, down the stretch of the season. That's kind of what you can ask for. So, that's the goal is to play well enough to prepare ourself to be in the thick of things down the stretch of the season with an entirely new team."
  As the new season tips off, Coach Tolin hopes the Falcon community will rally behind the team and help make the Falcon Dome one of the toughest places to play in the Lone Star Conference.

"We're excited for a great year," he said. "We're hoping we can get people out to the games. I think that makes a huge impact and you think about in the Lone Star Conference when we go play at games, and there are people in the stands and committed to the programs. That makes a difference."

His message to fans was simple:
"Come out and watch these guys," he said. "We'll try to compete and play hard and represent UTPB in the right way every day, with how we act in the classroom, and on the floor and off the floor."
The Falcons will tipoff the regular season at home on Friday, November 14, hosting Adams State University in game one of the South Central Region Challenge at 4 p.m.