Fardaws Aimaq chooses Cal, will reunite with former Utah Valley coach

Texas Tech big man Fardaws Aimaq is transferring to Cal, according to multiple reports on Friday.

Aimaq confirmed the reports by forwarding them on his Instagram and Twitter feeds. He included positive emojis with the Twitter report from Stadium.

The decision allows Aimaq to reunite with Mark Madsen, his former head coach at Utah Valley for three seasons. Madsen was recently named the new coach at Cal.

Aimaq was on the court for two seasons for Utah Valley. He was WAC Player of the Year in 2020-21 and the league's Defensive Player of the Year twice, including his final season (2021-22) before transferring to Texas Tech.

His season at Texas Tech was limited to 11 games (nine starts) due to foot injuries. He averaged 11.1 points and 7.9 rebounds.

Those numbers were a dropoff from his Utah Valley stint. Aimaq averaged 13.9 points and 15.0 rebounds in 2020-21 and 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds in 2021-22.

Cal will be Aimaq's fourth school. He began his college career with Mercer in 2018-19 before transferring to Utah Valley and sitting out a season due to transfer regulations.

Texas Tech has a new coach in Grant McCasland, formerly of North Texas.