The 2025 San Quentin basketball season started in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s gym with a doubleheader featuring the San Quentin Warriors and San Quentin Kings taking on outside teams.

The Warriors, an under-40 team, and the Kings, a 40-and-over team, started a campaign that would span the summer, providing exercise, growth, and everything from mental health to spirituality for residents.

“I’m very overjoyed with the support we’ve gotten from our sponsors,” said San Quentin Warriors head coach Jerry “JB” Brown, 58. “We’ve got a full schedule and it’s gonna be an awesome experience.”

The season, which began April 12, would last until late autumn, offering an opportunity for residents to combine teamwork through fellowship as a means of furthering their individual rehabilitation goals, while playing a game they all love, said the players.

Kingdom, a faith-based organization founded by Cornell Swain of the First Baptist Church of Vallejo, committed to bringing in teams to play basketball and provide fellowship to the basketball program.

Prison Sports Ministries’ Green Team will join Kingdom as the main opponents throughout the season, on par with the Bittermen, Town Boogie, and the Outsiders.

The Warriors have new players expected to play on a highly competitive level with speed and defense, according to Coach Brown. The return of Stan “LS” Tillman, after a two-year hiatus, promised to provide stability and leadership.

“When comparing the new players with last year’s team, it’s gonna be similar,” said Donell “Sonic” Pimpton, 30, a holdover from last year’s Warriors team.

The Kings, too, have high expectations, according to Coach Demond “Oola” Lewis, 51.

Lewis said the Kings found themselves in the same situation as last year, with new players taking the place of residents no longer part of the program.

He said the team would add to the legacy of SQ basketball by creating more paths for the future of the program.

“Using a motion offense and veteran leadership, the team has grown closer and more cohesive,” Lewis emphasized. “I do expect an undefeated season as we build character and community through sports.”

The players said they looked forward to the Golden State Warriors’ annual visit, which has highlighted past seasons.

The coaches said the national legacy of SQ basketball came from the continued support from their outside opponents returning yearly to SQRC. The coaches admired the outside volunteers’ appreciation for SQ basketball’s high level of competition and life skills programming, which they called unmatched on basketball courts and gyms outside the institution.