Brian KatzTitle: Head Coach Experience: Second Season Alma Mater: Sacramento State, '80 Hometown: Sacramento, Calif. Email:bkatz@csus.edu Bio:
Brian Katz begins his second year as head coach of the Sacramento State men’s basketball program. He became the 13th men’s basketball coach in school history when he was named to the position by Director of Athletics Terry Wanless on April 10, 2008.
A graduate of Sacramento State and a native of Sacramento, Katz’s extensive basketball résumé includes a 33-year career as a basketball coach at the NCAA Div. I, junior college and high school levels.
Katz took over the Sacramento State program almost from scratch, beginning a major rebuilding project that saw the 2008-09 squad open the year with 12 new players and only four returners. That included just one player that had started more than 17 games from the previous season.
With a full year now under his belt at Sacramento State, Katz has began the process of firmly putting his thumbprint on the program. With their first full year of recruiting, Katz and his coaching staff have put together one of the more impressive recruiting classes in recent memory. Among the seven signees that will be in a Hornet uniform in 2009-10 are three junior college all-state selections (Alpha N’Diaye, Sultan Toles-Bey and Walter Jackson), the state tournament MVP (David Norris) and the state player of the year (Toles-Bey).
Prior to his stint at Sacramento State, Katz spent 19 years as a junior college head coach, compiling a 435-185 record (.702 winning percentage) while leading his teams to the playoffs 18 times, including three Sweet 16 appearances, three Elite 8 appearances and one trip to the Final Four. Also during that 19-year span, his teams combined for seven conference championships and he received conference coach of the year accolades seven times. For his efforts, Katz was inducted into the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on March 13, 2009.
He spent 15 seasons (1993-08) as head coach at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, where he posted a 348-138 record (.716 winning percentage) and led the team to 14 playoff appearances, six conference championships, two Elite Eight appearances and one Final Four.
A six-time conference coach of the year at Delta College, Katz guided the team to three league championships and a 130-32 combined record during his final five years with the program.
Katz had just one losing season during his tenure at Delta, and that came in his first season (1993-94) when the team posted a 10-19 overall record. However, the very next year (1994-95), the Mustangs more than doubled their win total and finished with a 21-11 mark. From that point on, Delta became one of the top junior college programs in the state, winning at least 22 games 11 times during Katz’s final 13 seasons at the helm. The high point came in 2004-05, when the team finished the year 30-2 overall, 14-0 in league and reached the Final Four before falling to San Bernardino Valley College, 85-84, in double overtime.
Prior to his tenure at Delta College, Katz spent four years (1989-93) at Lassen College in Susanville, Calif., where he led the team to an 87-47 record, four playoff appearances and a league championship. One of those playoff appearances came in 1992 when he guided the team to the Elite Eight despite the school having just 800 students.
In addition, during Katz’s junior college head coaching tenure, of the 115 players that finished their sophomore years under his tutelage, 109 of them advanced to four-year institutions – 66 on scholarships.
Before entering the junior college head coaching ranks, Katz was an assistant under Carroll Williams at Santa Clara where the team combined for a 40-22 overall record and reached the National Invitational Tournament both seasons during his two-year stay (1987-89).
Previous to his stint with Santa Clara, Katz was the head coach at Antelope’s Center High School (1983-87) where he led the team to a four-year combined record of 53-34, including three Sac-Joaquin Section playoff appearances and one league championship. He began his head coaching career at the age of 23 as the varsity coach at Orangevale’s Casa Roble High School in 1982-83.
The 52-year old Katz also spent time at Sylvan Middle School (Citrus Heights, Calif.), and as an assistant at Mesa Verde High School, Casa Roble High School and Grant High School prior to getting his first head coaching stint at Casa Roble.
Katz earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Sacramento State in 1980, and his master’s degree in counseling psychology from Santa Clara in 1989.
Katz and his wife, Lori, have five children – Katie (21), Vinny (20), Megan (19), Steven (18) and Jimmy (13).
Brian Katz
