BERKELEY – Dai Dai Ames has signed to play for the California men's basketball program in the 2025-26 season. A 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard from Chicago, Ames arrives in Berkeley after spending one season at both Virginia (2024-25) and Kansas State (2023-24).
 
Ames averaged 8.7 points per game and shot 39.7% (31 of 78) from 3-point range for Virginia as a sophomore last season. He emerged as a focal point of the Cavaliers' offense down the stretch, scoring double figures in 10 straight ACC contests – 14.8 PPG in that span (Feb. 1-March 8) – to end the regular season.
 
"Dai Dai will elevate our backcourt with rugged defense and an ability to create scoring opportunities off the dribble for himself and teammates," Cal head coach Mark Madsen said. "He's a fearless player; he's extremely quick with the ball in his hands and has a natural feel for the game that we value in this program. Dai Dai's experience playing in both the ACC at Virginia and the Big 12 at Kansas State is going to serve him well here. We're thrilled to have Dai Dai as a Golden Bear."
 
Ames shot 46% from the floor (103 of 224) and 82.9% at the free throw line (34 of 41) for Virginia while adding 1.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 31 games played (26 starts) for Virginia. His hot-shooting 10-game stretch to end the 2024-25 regular season saw him shoot 59.5% overall (59 of 99) and 44% from deep (16 of 36). He poured in a career-high 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting in a win at Pittsburgh on Feb. 3 and had 18 against both Georgia Tech and Florida State.
 
Ames ended the 2024-25 season with a 1.58 assist-to-turnover ratio and 24 steals.
 
The Chicago native began his collegiate career at Kansas State where he played in 31 of 34 games and made 16 starts in 2023-24. Ames averaged 5.2 points, 2.0 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 20.6 minutes played per game as a freshman for the Wildcats and was a 32.9% shooter (23 of 70) from deep with eight double-figure scoring efforts, including a season-best 16 points at Iowa in the first round of the 2024 NIT.
 
Ames graduated high school from Kenwood Academy where he was a 2023 Jordan Brand All-American and led the Broncos to back-to-back Illinois Class 4A Super-Sectional titles. He scored more than 1,500 points in his prep career, including a school-record 65 points in a game against Southland Prep in 2022.
 
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