BRANDON LAIRD PROMOTED TO ASSOCIATE HEAD MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH
6/7/2012
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Brandon Laird, who was hired in May of 2011 as an assistant at Sacramento State, was promoted to associate head coach, it was announced today by Hornet head men’s basketball coach Brian Katz.
Laird was part of a 2011-12 Sacramento State coaching staff that helped guide the program to its most overall victories since the 2006-07 season. In addition, the Hornets went 5-3 during the second half of Big Sky Conference play, won their most road games (4) since the 2005-06 season, set the Div. I-era record for highest field goal percentage (.451), swept a Big Sky road trip for the first time since 2006, and yielded a Div. I-era low 69.1 opponent points per game.
Laird, who has 11 years of coaching experience under his belt, is also Sacramento State’s recruiting coordinator. He played a large role in this year’s six-man recruiting class which netted four players that were all-state selections and one more than averaged over 22 points per game last season as a prep.
“Brandon is a bright, young coach with a relentless work ethic, and is adept in all phases of the day-to-day operations of a Div. I basketball program,” Katz said. “His positive impact on the program was felt the first day he stepped on campus.”
In addition, Laird, who is a Sacramento native, assists with on-floor coaching, day-to-day player administration, scouting, academics, player development, compliance and offseason workouts.
“I want to help Coach Katz build a winning program, and I’m here to shoulder as much responsibility as possible to get that mission accomplished,” Laird said. “Anything and everything I can take off Coach Katz’s plate that allows him to focus more on coaching basketball will be a big part of my job.”
Prior to Sacramento State, Laird spent two years (2009-11) as an assistant at UC Davis. He also has three years of head coaching experience from his days at Menlo College (2006-09) where he led the team to its most wins in nearly 20 years (18 victories in 2007-08), a Cal-Pac Conference Tournament championship, and the third NAIA national tournament appearance in school history.
Laird also spent three years as an assistant with Menlo (2003-06) where he helped rebuild a program that went 4-22 his first season to 17-11 in his third year. His first collegiate coaching experience took place at UC Davis where Laird served on the staff during the 2002-03 season. He spent the previous year (2001-02) as an assistant at his high school alma mater (El Camino).
A graduate of UC Davis, Laird played four seasons with the Aggies (1997-01). During his four-year tenure, he appeared in 85 games and helped the Aggies to a combined record of 93-24, including a 31-2 mark in 1997-98 when they captured the Division II national title.
Laird graduated from UC Davis in 2001 with a degree in managerial economics and later added a master’s degree in 2005 from the United States Sports Academy.
