Atherton,CA- With the countdown to the 2023-2024 season ticking away, Menlo Men's Basketball has brought in a strong group of young, upcoming ball players with incoming freshmen class for this year. With a trio of frontcourt players and a sharpshooting guard these four will look to elevate their game to the college level under the guidance of Head Coach Brendan Rooney and his assistants Barry Wellington and Mike Barton.

Salim Arikat is a 6'9 big who embodies the "stretch four" archetype. The left handed shooter out of Petaluma High School joins the Oaks as the tallest player on the roster yet is most deadly from three point range. Having Arikat's height and length along the perimeter could create matchup nightmares for opposing teams. 

Daniel Mason and Gavin Cox round out the trio of young frontcourt players joining the Oaks as true freshmen. Mason comes to Menlo from Glassboro, New Jersey where he played his high school basketball for Bishop Eustace Preparatory School. Mason brings a level of versatility to his game that sees him not only looking to score around the rim but also step out beyond the arc and attack defenses from three as well. Most notably Mason led his team to the state semi-final for the first time in seven years while tallying 15 points and 13 rebounds in the quarter-final matchup. 

Gavin Cox is another 6'8 forward out of Turlock High School who brings a level of grit and intensity to the team. While playing in high school Cox was named team MVP as well as the team's Defensive Player of the Year. He was selected to the First Team All-League team twice as well as winning both the Manteca & Turlock Tournament MVP. His energy constantly results in hard fought rebounds, second chance opportunities and great defensive effort. Cox was also a standout track and field athlete as he was named the CCAL Meet MVP.

Lastly, the Oaks have added another guard to the teams perimeter rotation as Austin Ito joins the squad. Ito hails from Woodcreek High School in Roseville, California. While at Woodcreek he put together an outstanding high school career which included being named varsity team captain twice, was named First Team-All League twice as well as being selected to the All-Metro Team. Ito brings the ability to space the floor to the team with a solid shooting stroke from deep. Thanks to his ability to get hot from three point range Ito scored over 1000 points in his high school career enroute to being named the Woodcreek Basketball MVP twice.

Head Coach Brendan Rooney is looking forward to his young talent joining the program and embracing what it means to suit up for the Oaks. Coach Rooney said: "I am really excited about this group of freshmen. They give us some great length in our forward and guard spots that will allow us to continue to build into the future. The group as a whole shoots the ball well from three and most of all are our type of guys who are ready to put in the work required to be a successful student athlete here at Menlo." The season countdown is underway as hoops get close to returning to Haynes-Prim Pavilion.