Cal Baptist is a Christian university in Riverside with an enrollment of 12,516 that was founded in 1950 and went Division I in basketball just seven years ago.
Friday night at Viejas Arena, the Lancers make their NCAA Tournament debut against one of college basketball’s bluest of blue bloods, Kansas.
The Jayhawks feature Darryn Peterson, the 6-foot-7 freshman projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Lancers have 5-10 (maybe) Dominique Daniels Jr., who attended four different high schools, had no Division I offers and played two years of juco ball.
The nation’s best player versus the nation’s best player you’ve never heard of.
“Well, he’s good,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said of speedy, shifty point guard who is fifth in Division I scoring at 23.2 points per game. “And he can score on anybody, any level. He’s capable of getting 30, 35 any night. … He’s a real guy.”
As incredible as his story is just getting to Cal Baptist — undersized, academic issues, a bad experience at a Las Vegas prep school, nearly quitting basketball during the pandemic, spending two years at San Bernardino Community College — the more remarkable part might be that he stayed there in an era of seven-figure NIL and revenue-sharing payouts.
“You just don’t see it very often,” Self said. “I think it’s very admirable.”
Daniels played only 21 games before an injury prematurely ended his first season at CBU, but it was enough to elicit big-money offers to go elsewhere.
Daniels responded by … fasting.
For two weeks.
“I think I lost about 10 pounds, I’m not too sure,” Daniels said. “I didn’t really step on a scale or anything.”
Cal Baptist guard Dominique Daniels Jr. works out during an open practice at Viejas Arena on Thursday ahead of the Lancer’s NCAA Tournament game against Kansas. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The purpose wasn’t to trim baby fat but as an act of spiritual discipline to eliminate external distractions, focus on prayer and seek divine guidance. To get closer to God.
“No one really around,” Daniels said. “Just taking it to the Lord, asking him to direct my path or what I need to do to put myself and my family in the best possible position. And I just ended up staying at CBU. I feel this is where He wanted me to be, just the prayer and all the fasting.
“I feel like it definitely paid off in the long run.”
Dominique Daniels Jr. #1 of Cal Baptist takes a photo with teammates before a practice for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 19, 2026 in San Diego, CA.(K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Daniels had another big season in 2024-25, including a 22-point, six-assist performance in a nervy 81-75 San Diego State win at Viejas Arena. More interest. More offers. More temptation.
The decision was already made.
“He’s incredibly loyal,” CBU coach Rick Croy said. “When we finished the year, it was like unfinished business. We lost in the (WAC) semis to Grand Canyon. We felt like we were close.”
The result was a 25-win season, WAC Player of the Year, WAC Tournament MVP, a 47-point game against Utah Valley and six others of 30 or more and the school’s first trip to the Big Dance.
He is a high-volume shooter (averaging 18 attempts) and rarely leaves the floor (36 minutes per game). Foul him, and he makes 81.9% of his free throws. He almost always has the ball in his hands, rubbing off a high screen from one of CBU’s massive posts or isolated by himself against an overmatched defender.
In the WAC championship game against top-seeded Utah Valley, he was 4 of 22 (2 of 10 on 3s) as the Lancers trailed by six as the clock ticked inside two minutes to go. Then he made back-to-back-to-back 3s for a 63-61 win.
In the semifinals a day earlier against Utah Tech, he had 41.
Over his last six games, he’s averaging 28.2 points per game while shooting 41.3% behind the arc.
“There are so many kids that he’s inspired because of his size,” Croy said. “He’s not the 6-7 prototype. People come watch this guy play, and they go, ‘Man, I could be great, too.’ It’s been really amazing to be around.”
Cal Baptist guard Dominique Daniels Jr. dunks during an NCAA Tournament practice at Viejas Arena. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
His highlight reels have gone viral, now that the stench of March Madness is on them. Slicing through the lane for acrobatic layups, fast-break dunks at 5-10, step-back 3s over taller defenders, sending a defender flying with his jukes.
“The thing that I think is so interesting about him is he is so downhill,” Self said. “He’s a good shooter, without question. But his speed and strength and shiftiness makes it hard to switch, making it hard to hedge without being split. He can just put a lot of pressure on the defense every possession.”
His teammates will tell you all that as well, but they mention other attributes: humility, leadership, toughness.
“I don’t want to toot my own horn,” Daniels said, “but I feel like I’m a pretty tough guy on the court despite my size and what other people may think about me as a basketball player. I just compete every possession. I’m a competitor.”
“A competitive pitbull,” Self said.
California Baptist University men’s player Dominique Daniels Jr. reacts during a watch party for the bracket reveals, on their first NCAA Division I March Madness appearance, inside the Fowler Events Center on Sunday, March 15, 2026. (Photo by Milka Soko, Contributing Photographer)
His favorite Bible verse is Hebrews 1:11: “They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.”
He plays guitar at his church in Compton. His father is on the keyboards and drums, his grandmother on the organ.
The team will return to campus at 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning after another brutal WAC road trip, and Daniels will be up early a few hours later, making the drive to Compton with his guitar.
“We just felt like we knew what he was about: his Christian faith, his love for his family,” Croy said. “We felt we could be a great fit. … It’s not a question of whether or not he’s going to church on Sunday. He’s going to be at church on Sunday.
“He’s going to lead in our locker room, he’s going to lead in our university and he’s going to lead at church. He’s not going to listen to what everyone else is saying. He’s going to do what he thinks is right.”