Herb Sendek

Herb Sendek (born February 22, 1963)

Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Santa Clara Broncos
Current conference: West Coast Conference (WCC)
Miami (OH) record: 63-26 (.708)
NC State record: 191-132 (.591)
Arizona State record: 159-137 (.537)
Santa Clara record: 140-107 (.567)
Overall record: 553-402 (.579)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  8  (1995, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2014)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: (2005)
  • NCAA Tournament Final Four:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  12  (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2022, 2023)
  • WCC Regular Season Champion0
  • MAC Regular Season Champion:  1  (1995)
  • WCC Tournament Champion0

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2016-present Santa Clara
2006-2015 Arizona State
1996-2006 NC State
1993-1996 Miami (OH)
1989-1993 Kentucky (asst)
1986-1989 Providence (asst)
1985-1986 Providence (grad. asst)

Herb Sendek Facts

  • Herbert Joseph Sendek, Jr.
  • Born February 22, 1963
  • Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Alma Mater: Carnegie Mellon University (BS, 1985)
  • Attended Penn Hills HS and played PG at D-III Carnegie Mellon, both in his hometown of Pittsburgh
  • First coaching job was a season an an assistant at Central Catholic HS (PA)
  • Spent two seasons working under Rick Pitino – first as a graduate assistant and then a full assistant coach – at Providence
    • Stayed at Providence for two more seasons assisting coach Rick Barnes before rejoining Pitino’s staff at Kentucky in 1989
    • Worked at Kentucky for four seasons before becoming a head coach
  • Went 63-26 in three seasons as the head coach at Miami (OH), reaching two NITs and the 1995 NCAA Tournament
  • Left for NC State in 1996, coaching the Wolfpack for the next ten seasons
    • Won 191 games at NC State, went to four-straight NITs and later five-straight NCAA Tournaments
    • Finished in the ACC top 3 just twice and had a losing record against Duke and North Carolina, leading Sendek to leave in 2006 for Arizona State
  • Coached the Sun Devils for nine seasons, winning 159 games and going to the postseason six times (two NCAA, four NIT)
    • Fired in 2015 following an 18-16 finish to the preceding season
  • After one year out of coaching, Sendek was hired as the head coach at Santa Clara
    • Through eight seasons, Sendek is 140-107 overall and has won 20+ games on four occasions
  • Notable for his extensive coaching tree (see below); a number of his assistants have had great success as head coaches

Herb Sendek Coaching Tree