Men's Basketball

2015 Red Auerbach National Coach of the Year Award winner 
As head coach at the College of Idaho (2013-18), led the Yotes to a 129-42 record
Led College of Idaho to three conference championship titles and one Final Four appearance 
As both a head and assistant coach, has posted 22 winning seasons in 23 total years at the collegiate level
As an assistant coach, has been a part of seven conference championship teams and 10 NCAA Division I Tournaments.
Coached in three NCAA Division I Final Fours at UCLA (2006, 2007, 2008)
Has coached on staff with Ben Howland (UCLA), Rick Majerus (Utah), Lorenzo Romar (Pepperdine) and Herb Sendek (Santa Clara)
Recruited and/or developed 16 NBA players including All-Stars Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Zach LaVine
Has helped Santa Clara to three-consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2000-01
Board Member on the Rising Coaches DEI Alliance and the Jewish Coaches Association


Scott Garson wrapped up his fourth season as an assistant coach with the Santa Clara men’s basketball program in 2021-22 and 24th year on a collegiate coaching staff. In his 24 seasons in college basketball at five different schools, Garson has been a part of 23 winning seasons, 18 postseason berths, 10 conference championships and three NCAA Division I Final Fours.

As an assistant coach, Garson currently oversees Santa Clara's offense, along with his responsibilities for player development and recruiting. Santa Clara has been in the top 25 nationally for pace of play over the past two seasons. One of Garson's focal points is oversight of SCU's post players, including forward Josip Vrankic, who established himself as one of the best players in program history as a four-time All-WCC pick and top-10 in school history in both scoring and rebounding. 

With Garson's assistance, Santa Clara has posted four-straight winning seasons, their longest stretch since seven-straight from 1994-95 to 2000-01. 

In 2021-22, Garson helped the Broncos reach the postseason for the first time since 2012-13. The Broncos posted 21 wins for their second 20-win campaign in the last three seasons, the first time that the program has achieved that since 2010-11 through 2012-13, en route to being selected to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for just the fifth-time in program history. The historic year saw Santa Clara pick up their first win over a ranked opponent since 2004 (over No. 22 Saint Mary's) and first win over BYU since 2017 as three players were selected to All-WCC squad. Jalen Williams and Josip Vrankic were first team selections while Keshawn Justice was a second team pick. Williams in particular had a season to remember, becoming the first Bronco since 2016-17 to earn all-region honors after finishing as the WCC's second-leading scorer at 18.0 ppg. Santa Clara's 10 wins in league play were their most since Herb Sendek's first season in 2016-17. The Broncos finished the year ranked 11th nationally in field goal percentage (48.4) and 16th in 3-point shooting percentage (37.8). 

Williams would go on to be selected 12th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, becoming Santa Clara's highest draft pick of the modern era and second-highest pick of all time. He was Santa Clara's first draft pick since 1996 when Steve Nash was picked 15th overall. 

In 2019-20, Garson helped Santa Clara to its first 20-win campaign in seven years and only the fourth in the previous 19 seasons. It was the program’s second consecutive winning season as they continued a historic run at home. The team compiled a 17-game home winning streak, which is the third-longest in school history and the most ever in Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center. Despite players missing nearly 80 total games to injury, the Broncos, who did not feature a senior on the roster, downed Washington State and Cal, which gave them a pair of victories against the Pac-12 Conference in back-to-back years for the first time in school history. Three players earned All-West Coast Conference honors at the end of the season highlighted by Josip Vrankic (second team) and Jaden Bediako (all-freshman).

Garson, who was hired in April 2018, spent the previous five seasons as head coach at the College of Idaho where he led the Yotes to a 129-42 record, three Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season championships, three league tournament titles and four NAIA national tournament appearances, including a run to the 2015 national quarterfinals and 2018 national semifinals. Garson was named Cascade Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2018, and he was the recipient of the 2015 Red Auerbach National Coach of the Year Award. He became the first coach at the school to win back-to-back league crowns since the 1950s. His 2014-15 team posted a 30-6 record, the second-most single-season victories in the program 105-year history. The 2017-18 squad matched that total when it finished 30-7.

Prior to his time at the College of Idaho, Garson was on Ben Howland’s staff at UCLA for nine seasons (2004-13). During his tenure at UCLA (2004-13), the Bruins amassed a record of 222-90, including Pac-10 titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008, a Pac-12 title in 2013, and league tournament titles in 2006 and 2008. The Bruins qualified for six NCAA tournaments and made trips to the Final Four in 2006, 2007 and 2008 – reaching the 2006 national championship game. During that time, Garson helped in the recruitment and development of 16 future NBA players, including Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison, Arron Afflalo, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Norman Powell and Zach LaVine.

From 1999-2004, Garson worked under Hall of Fame Coach Rick Majerus at the University of Utah for five years where the Utes won four Mountain West Conference titles and amassed a record of 112-47. He got his start at the collegiate coaching level during the 1998-99 season at Pepperdine University.

Garson, played one year of basketball and baseball at Washington University in St. Louis, before transferring to UC-Santa Barbara where he earned a bachelor’s degree in law and society in 1999. He went on to receive a master’s in exercise and sports science, with an emphasis in sport psychology, from the University of Utah.

He and his wife, Amy, have one son, Sidney, and one daughter, Maya.