Former UCSC head coach, USF assistant Todd Kent, 53, takes over SLV's boys basketball program

FELTON - When San Lorenzo Valley High announced head coaching vacancies for its boys' and girls' basketball teams this spring, it got an applicant so impressive, it let him choose which program he'd like to lead.

Todd Kent, 53, the winningest coach in D-III UC Santa Cruz women's basketball history, will coach the Cougars' boys team in 2026-27. He was officially hired on Monday.

Kent's youngest of two daughters, Hazel Lou, 14, plays basketball and will be a freshman at SLV in the fall. Kent wanted to be present for her - but not coach her.

"It's a cool opportunity to be involved in my community, but, also, I'll still be able watch my daughter play," Kent said. "It kinda checked all the boxes for me."

Kent said he didn't want to coach the girls team because he wants his daughter to have "an experience that is her own."

Over his 30-year career, Kent has coached at every level from high school to NCAA Division I. He served as a women's basketball assistant under Molly Goodenbour at D-I University of San Francisco last season.

"It was an incredible year," Kent said. "I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot. The team was incredible. We started three freshmen and made the WNIT tournament."

As fun as it was, it wasn't without its challenges. When he eliminated his four-hour, round-trip commute by checking in at a long-term Airbnb, he was separated from his family, which includes his wife, Stephanie, the CEO of Sutter Surgery and Maternity Center Hospital in Santa Cruz, and their two daughters, (Their oldest daughter, Frances, 17, graduated from SLV last week and will attend University of Washington in the fall.)

"My wife has a very big job in the community and I'm really trying hard, as well, to support what that looks like with our family and how we make that work, as well," Kent said. "So, me being home, me being in the community, giving kinda back to where I live. It all made sense. It all felt like it was the right decision to make and I feel really good about it."

Kent inherits a Cougars team that went 7-18 overall last season, 0-10 in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League. They're hoping to return six players from their 10-player roster.

"I expect the kids will be locked in to what he's about on offensive and defense, and execute," Cougars Athletics Director Doug Costa said. "The players are going to be respectful and they're going to listen. I feel we were missing a little of that last year."

Andrea Jacobs, who served as interim head coach last year after Dr. Bill Ciancio was fired during preseason, will transition to girls program and serve as co-coach with Chantel Long. They replace Kenedi Walters, who stepped down after three seasons at the helm.

A graduate from Eastern Washington University in 1998, Kent earned a master's degree in teaching from Heritage University in 2003. Though he'll be an off-campus coach at SLV, he and his family live less than a 1/2 mile from campus.

Kent began his basketball coaching career when he was 21, fresh out of the Marine Corps. He served as assistant for the men's team at South Puget Sounds Community College in 1994-95.

"I really was a glorified ball boy," Kent said. "I was just learning as much as I possibly could. I was absorbing everything. I have notebooks and notebooks and notebooks I took of trying to remember practices and structure and ways that they did things. I did very little coaching and a lot of shadowing, doing whatever I could to learn the game."

He later worked with boys teams at three high schools in Washington, serving an assistant Lind (1994-97), now Lind-Ritzville, in Ritzville; head coach for two seasons at Rosalia (19997-99); and assistant at Highland Senior (2001-02) in Cowiche.

Kent also was the girls basketball coach at La Salle High in Union Gap, Washington, a position he held from 2002-07. He posted a 106-23 record over five seasons, which was highlighted with a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Class B State Championship in 2006.

He served as women's assistant for two seasons at D-I Seattle University (2007-09), before joining UCSC.

Kent led the Banana Slugs for 13 seasons (2009-23), compiled a 169-148 record, and led them to NCAA D-III Tournament berths in 2016 and '17.

"I didn't feel like I was a great coach until about 10 years ago, and that was 20 years into my career," he said. "It's where I really started to figure out kinda who I was as a coach and my voice, how I taught and presented information to players, and how my job, ultimately, was to figure out the best ways they learn. And how does the stuff I'm trying to teach them fit into those spaces?"

Part of that process will begin next week, when Kent meets with some of his players and their families for the first time. He plans to fill out his staff before the team begins its skill sessions over the summer.

"I'm super stoked," Costa said. "I can learn a lot from him, too, being a basketball coach myself. I'm interested to see where he takes them. They're a lot of quick guards."

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