On Saturday, New Mexico announced Eric Olen as the new head coach of their men’s basketball team, succeeding Richard Pitino, who departed for Xavier after four seasons with the Lobos.
Just five days later, Olen secured his first commitment, and it’s from a familiar face. Class of 2025 guard Jake Hall has chosen to commit to New Mexico. A standout at Carlsbad High School, Hall had previously signed to play for Olen at UC San Diego.
Hall appeared on KUSI-TV in San Diego on Thursday night, where he announced his decision to follow Olen and join the Lobos. As a freshman at Carlsbad, Hall made a name for himself in the San Diego basketball scene, averaging 22 points and six rebounds per game, which earned him All-CIF honors. Hall maintained that level of excellence throughout his four years at Carlsbad, receiving All-CIF honors each season and being named San Diego Section Player of the Year after his junior year. He played a key role in leading the Lancers to their first San Diego Section Open Division title, narrowly losing to the eventual state champion Harvard-Westlake by just one point in the CIF State regional semifinals.
Next chapter ❤️🐺 #golobos pic.twitter.com/OJWuTxqg0R
— Jake Hall (@jake_hall7) April 4, 2025
UC San Diego was the second Division 1 program to offer Hall a scholarship, doing so in September 2022. He subsequently received a total of twelve scholarship offers before committing to the local Tritons this past summer. Hall signed with UC San Diego in November but reopened his commitment earlier this week after Eric Olen departed to become head coach at New Mexico.
“He’s made for these moments,” said Clark Allard, Hall’s coach at Carlsbad, after their championship in 2024. “When the opportunity came, he relied on his hard work and delivered. Hard work always shines through, and no one puts in more effort than he does.”
In his sophomore year, Hall scored a career-high 50 points in a 100-89 victory over San Ysidro, leading the Lancers past top recruits Mikey Williams and JJ Taylor. This past season, Hall averaged 29 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game, shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc. He continued to ascend the San Diego Section record books, becoming only the third player in section history to surpass 3,000 career points. Hall finished with a total of 3,106 career points, placing him second only to Troy Leaf on the San Diego Section’s all-time scoring list.
No Comment! Be the first one.