New ‘Jacks head coach DJ Broome and the Cal Poly Humboldt men’s basketball officially announced their first two recruits of the summer on Monday, bringing back former Arcata Tiger, Brandon Bento-Jackson, to the program for his second stint with Cal Poly Humboldt, along with Rob Jenkins out of Nelson American Indian College.

Bento-Jackson came to the ‘Jacks straight out of high school, playing 21 games in the 2023-24 season as a freshman. Bento-Jackson made 15 starts for the 6-21 ‘Jacks, averaging 6.7 points per game to go along with 1.4 assists and 2.0 rebounds a game.

Following his freshman season, Bento-Jackson transferred to San Diego City College. With San Diego City, Bento-Jackson scored 7.9 points per game with 2.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds for the 23-6 Knights’ team.

“I’m really excited to add Brandon to our program,” Broome said of Bento-Jackson. “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around, and he understands how special this program and community are. We are excited about the instant impact he will have on the program.”

While the university officially announced Bento-Jackson’s return on Monday, Bento-Jackson announced the return to Humboldt on social media back in June. Bento-Jackson becomes the first signing for Broome as head coach of the ‘Jacks, as he was hired to take over for the Cal State San Bernardino-bound Chris Tifft.

Bento-Jackson, the former two-time Big 5 Co-MVP with the Arcata Tigers, has already made some big shots while with Cal Poly Humboldt, as he hit a game-winning floater against Western Oregon University in December 2023. The guard shot 35.6% from three as a freshman and 35.8% from the field overall as he’ll now likely take on a bigger role in his second stint with the ‘Jacks.

Jenkins comes to the ‘Jacks fresh off a D-1 National Christian College Athletic Association earlier this year with Nelson American Indian College. Jenkins scored 20 points with 11 rebounds in the championship win over Columbia International.

The 6’2” guard will be entering his senior season this fall and played his high school ball at Cactus High School in Glendale, Arizona. In his junior year with Nelson American Indian College, Jenkins was second on the team with an average of 19.7 points per game and shot an amazing 42.5% from three and was up to 52.5% overall from the field.

The lofty shooting splits weren’t out of the ordinary for the Nelson American Indian College, as they shot 52.9% from the field on the season as a team and 41.3% from three. Even with such a strong shooting team, Jenkins still stood out, being named to the Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference’s First Team All-Conference and earning the SWS Commissioner’s Player of the Year award.

The addition of Jenkins and Bento-Jackson won’t be the last, with the ‘Jacks being tasked with having to rebuild almost all of their rotation from last season, as the seven Humboldt players that started the most games in the 2024-2025 season (Rob Diaz II, Kalib LaCount, Josiah Sanders, Kyle Frelow, Aidan Fowler, Jamal Briscoe and Marsai Mason) have either left the program or remain in the transfer portal.

More roster additions will come soon, with the fall semester beginning later this month and the men’s basketball season approaching rapidly, starting on Nov. 14 in San Rafael against Western Washington in the West Region Tipoff Challenge.

Dylan McNeill can be reached at 707-441-0526.

Originally Published: August 12, 2025 at 12:30 PM PDT