Montecito, Calif. (KEYT). – The Oakland Soldiers marched into Santa Barbara announcing a new basketball team plus they unveiled plans for a spring event that will bring thousands of hoop fans to the area.

The Soldiers are adding a Santa Barbara squad to its growing franchises throughout California.

President and executive director of the Oakland Soldiers Mark Olivier was on hand for this groundbreaking announcement.

“For 35 years, the Oakland Soldiers AAU Program has been elevating basketball participation and development in communities throughout California. Basketball on the Central Coast has been underserved for many years now but we know the talent, resources and the local support is very much here,” said Olivier. “We couldn’t be more excited to bring the Soldiers Basketball program to Santa Barbara and the entire Central Coast and look forward to making further announcements of just how involved we plan to be in this community for many years to come.”

Established in 1990, the Soldiers organization has helped produce nearly 70 NBA players, such as LeBron James, Aaron Gordon, Chauncey Billups and Kendrick Perkins. The organization has also supported the development of hundreds of international professional players and Division 1 student-athletes, including a number of former UCSB men’s basketball players.

The new spotlight on Santa Barbara is one of the many reasons why Darnell Campbell — the director of the Central Coast Soldiers (and its local-circuit counterpart, Pro/spects), founder of LevelUp, and the newly minted boys basketball coach at Laguna Blanca School — is so excited for this overdue investment in the Central Coast community.

“(The Soldiers) resume speaks for itself with some of the alumni that they have played professionally and in college,” Campbell said. “This program has really changed lives for families and communities. Now, we will get the maximum exposure for our guys and girls through platforms like the Nike EYBL — now they can showcase themselves.”

The coaching backbone of the Central Coast Soldiers is in part why the area was chosen for the expansion, with Campbell (Laguna Blanca, LevelUp, Pro/spects), Cassandra Gordon (Santa Barbara High legend, star at Georgetown and Loyola Marymount universities, and European professional basketball player), Eric Lee (coach and co-owner of The Void on State Street and in Ventura) and Taylor Adnan (coach and CEO of Rad Sourcing, a U.S.-based boutique manufacturing firm) all providing both elite coaching, as well as support for players and families off the court.

For Gordon, she remembers well being that elite-level athlete trying to balance her aspirations of competing at the highest of levels with the grueling commitment it took to do so.

“Being a kid playing basketball, growing up Santa Barbara and the 805 in general, has always had talented athletes, but we’ve never had a platform like this, or like an EYBL-level club team here in the city that can give kids exposure in the competition that they deserve,” Gordon explained. “Especially if they have aspirations of playing at the next level, this is huge. (Before) if kids wanted to play at the next level or play on a circuit like this, they would have to travel outside of Santa Barbara to join a program.

​​”Firsthand, I know growing up, I had to travel to deep L.A., specifically Lynwood, three or four times a week. It took three to four hours to get down to practice, coming home at midnight, still trying to do my homework in the car on the way down, and waking up the next morning for early practices. This is amazing, what we’re doing now and putting together and just, you know, giving the kids a chance and an opportunity to play at this level, and not having to leave Santa Barbara.”

Darnell Campbell has used the past nearly decade to help countless number of youth athletes hone their skills through the LevelUp program he founded locally.

With that now comes a new, local-circuit venture in the Pro/spects, which was created to send teams to local and regional/non AAU competitions. These teams would be considered the “G League” to the Soldiers’ “NBA” status.

The team will begin practicing and playing this week, with future tournaments and opportunities for Central Coast players to participate in the near future.

‘Soldier Day’ will come to Santa Barbara on April 18, 2026, at UCSB’s Thunderdome. The event will bring every Soldier team in the organization — nearly 100 — to Santa Barbara, with each team featuring 8-10 athletes. The event will bring an estimated 6,000 people to the Central Coast from across California, including teams from as far as Sacramento.

(The Oakland Soldiers franchise contributed to this article).