Legendary Merced College men’s basketball coach Don Reid dies at 89
Don Reid, the legendary men’s basketball coach who led the Blue Devils to back-to-back state championships in the late 1970s, has died, according to a Facebook post from his daughter Sharon. Reid was 89.
Reid served as the college’s first-ever head men’s basketball coach starting in 1963 and was the head coach until 1988.
He is a member of the Merced College Athletic Hall of Fame, the California Community College Men’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Sonora High Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Blue Devils went 26-8 in 1978 and won the state junior college championship. A year later, Merced College went 34-1 for its second straight state title. That team was honored as the No. 1 team in the nation.
Reid’s teams won 14 conference championships and finished either first or second in 21 of 24 seasons. He was named California Coach of the Year two times. He also coached the United Arab Emirate National Olympic team in the late 1980s.
The Merced College women’s basketball team was established in 1992 under the leadership of Reid.
Allen Huddleston Sr., who started under Reid as a student assistant, took over the women’s program in 1997 and had a legendary career himself, going on to win nearly 500 games.
In 2010, the court at Merced College was named in Reid’s honor.
Reid was 26 when he started as the first men’s basketball coach at Merced College. He came from Manteca High School, where he led the Buffaloes to a 106-29 overall record over five seasons.
Reid graduated from Sonora High in 1954 and attended Modesto Junior College. He graduated from San Jose State University in 1959.
This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 10:54 AM.
