The Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball team represents Santa Clara University in NCAA Division I basketball competition. The team plays home games at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, California and have been members of the West Coast Conference since its formation in 1952. The team is currently coached by Herb Sendek.
Santa Clara has a long history of basketball success, having appeared in twelve NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2026. Historically, Santa Clara has produced a number of NBA players, including Hall of Famer Steve Nash, Kurt Rambis and Kenny Sears. In the 2022, 2023 and 2026 seasons, Santa Clara produced a first round draft pick in the NBA draft, Jalen Williams, Brandin Podziemski and Allen Graves.
History Basketball made its inauspicious debut at Santa Clara in 1904 with a 9–7 victory over Alameda High School. Later that year, Santa Clara played its first intercollegiate game, a loss to the University of the Pacific, then located just down the road from Santa Clara. Early schedules composed of high school and YMCA opponents gave way to wholly intercollegiate schedules, and by 1916, the Broncos were matching up with teams like Stanford, USC, and Nevada, in addition to traditional arch-rivals San Francisco and St. Mary's. Santa Clara has long had a series of long-tenured coaches; since 1935, only seven different men have coached the Broncos.
The first long-tenured coach of Santa Clara was Harlan Dykes, who led the team to a 101–48 record. Much like the university football team, the Broncos played many home games in San Francisco, both at Kezar Pavilion and at the Civic Center.
More sustained success for Santa Clara came under Head Coach George Barsi, whose tenure spanned from 1935 to 1945. Barsi was a graduate of Santa Clara in 1930. Barsi's "Magicians of the Maplewood" included future Warriors Head Coach Bob Feerick as well as Santa Clara's first All-American, Ralph "Toddy" Giannini. The Broncos dazzled crowds in excess of 20,000 at Madison Square Garden and defeated City College of New York and La Salle University by 20 points apiece during an exhibition match-up. Santa Clara was among the first teams to shoot one-handed or run the fast break.
Some of Santa Clara's earliest basketball stars, like Bruce Hale, Dick O'Keefe, and Stan Patrick, played in the NBL, the forerunner to the modern NBA.
Following the post-war period, former Santa Clara star Bob Feerick returned to coach the Broncos. Under his guidance, the Broncos advanced to the 1952 Final Four, as well as Elite Eight trips in 1953 and 1954. Santa Clara forward Ken Sears appeared on the cover of the new Sports Illustrated in December 1954, becoming the first basketball player, college or pro, to do so. After leading the Broncos back to the NCAA tournament in 1960, Feerick left Santa Clara in 1962 to coach the NBA's San Francisco Warriors, who had just relocated from Philadelphia.
Replacing Feerick was Dick Garibaldi, a member of the 1952 Final Four team, who led the Broncos for eight seasons and compiled an overall record of . His 1968 squad finished at 27–2, dropping only one regular season game, to local rival San Jose State. Led on the court by Bud Ogden and Dennis Awtrey, Santa Clara reached as high as second in the AP poll. The Broncos also appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1967 and 1969. In a three-year period, they compiled a record.
Garibaldi resigned in the summer of 1970 to work for Converse shoes, and Carroll Williams became the longest tenured coach in Santa Clara's basketball history, leading the Broncos from 1970 to 1991. He led the team to a record. Despite the sustained success, Williams took the Broncos to an NCAA tournament only once (1987); in addition, the team reached the NIT in 1984, 1985, and 1989. Williams' tenure produced two of Santa Clara's most memorable players, Kurt Rambis and Nick Vanos, the former remembered for his time with the Lakers and the latter remembered for his untimely death shortly after entering the NBA. Both players would have their numbers retired.
Dick Davey became the head coach in 1992, after serving as an assistant for many years. He experienced immediate success, thanks to a young Canadian point guard, Steve Nash, who led the Broncos to three NCAA tournaments in 1993, 1995, and 1996. In 1993, the fifteenth-seeded Broncos upset second-seeded (and #5) Arizona, becoming the second team to do so. Nash went on to become Santa Clara's most decorated player at the professional level, twice winning the NBA MVP award.
Following the 2006 season, Davey retired under controversial circumstances, as it appeared some boosters had pushed hard for his retirement. Davey compiled overall record, and a record in West Coast Conference play. He won three straight regular season WCC titles and one WCC tournament.
He was replaced by Kerry Keating, an assistant coach from UCLA. In nine seasons at the helm of the Broncos, Keating led the Broncos to both CBI and CIT championships, but was unable to take the Broncos to the NCAA tournament or finish better than 4th in the WCC. Keating's overall record as head coach was , with a record in WCC play. Keating is the only coach to post a lifetime losing record in conference play with Santa Clara. On March 7, 2016, Keating was fired by Santa Clara.
Three weeks later, Santa Clara announced the hiring of Herb Sendek, whose head coaching experience included time at Miami University, North Carolina State, and Arizona State. Sendek's resume includes trips to the NIT or NCAA tournament in 18 of his 22 seasons as a head coach.
Under Sendek, the Broncos have enjoyed a renaissance. In 2022, Santa Clara returned to the NIT for the first time since the 1980s, and saw Jalen Williams drafted 12th overall, the first Bronco selected in the NBA draft since Steve Nash. The following year, Brandin Podziemski was drafted 19th overall by the Golden State Warriors and the Broncos returned to the NIT. In 2025, the Broncos returned to the NIT for the third time in four years, and won their first NIT game since the 1980s.
In 2026, Santa Clara received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first trip since 1996. Santa Clara fell in overtime after a half-court buzzer beater by Kentucky tied the game. Santa Clara forward Allen Graves was drafted 19th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft
Rivalries
Santa Clara maintains a number of rivalries, most of which are almost a century old. Santa Clara's most heated rivals have traditionally been the other Bay Area WCC members, San Francisco and Saint Mary's. All WCC members are treated like rivals, as are all four in-state members of the Pac-12.
San Francisco Dons Santa Clara and San Francisco first met in 1908, and have met 211 times since. Santa Clara has leads the series, 111–101. As two comparably sized Jesuit institutions within an hour’s drive of each other, the Broncos and Dons are natural rivals. The rivalry was heightened in the 1950s, with Santa Clara advancing to the Final Four in 1952, and San Francisco winning the tournament in 1955 and 1956. In a time when the NCAA tournament field was limited to 16 teams, the winner of the rivalry series was often the WCAC representative. The rivalry has remained competitive to the present day, however, it has lost some of its luster following San Francisco's self-imposed death penalty in 1981. Up to that point, the Dons had been one of college basketball's powerhouses, and the Broncos had played the role of foil. Santa Clara has won a majority of the match-up since the San Francisco program was revived in 1985.
San Jose State Spartans San Jose State and Santa Clara first played in 1909, and Santa Clara leads the all-time series, 82–32. The rivalry between the two schools was formalized in 2002 as the Rivalry Series which compiled point totals in men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's cross-country, baseball, softball, and women's volleyball, tennis and water polo.
Saint Mary’s Gaels Saint Mary's and Santa Clara first played in 1910, and Santa Clara leads the all-time series, 131–83. The rivalry between the two schools has been most intense in football, and was less competitive in basketball. However, with both schools dropping football and Saint Mary's recent rise to prominence in basketball have heightened the rivalry.
Pacific Tigers Santa Clara and Pacific own the oldest intercollegiate basketball rivalry in California, with the series beginning in 1904. Santa Clara leads the all-time series 89–51. The rivalry was initially one of proximity, as Pacific was founded in Santa Clara and later moved to San Jose. When the basketball rivalry began, the schools were located a stone's throw from one another. When Pacific relocated to Stockton in 1923, the rival lessened somewhat. Pacific was a founding member, along with Santa Clara, of the WCAC conference in 1952. However, the rivalry took another hit when Pacific moved to the 1971 to join the Big West Conference. However, the teams remained fixtures on one another's schedules. With Pacific returning to the WCC in 2013, the rivalry will take-on renewed significance.
Stanford Cardinal Stanford and Santa Clara first met in 1912, and Stanford leads the all-time series 51–25. Both universities are in Santa Clara County, and have long shared a rivalry on and off the court. Former Bronco head coach Dick Davy served as an assistant at Stanford from 2008 to 2012 following his retirement as head coach of Santa Clara in 2007. Santa Clara's Kevin Foster passed Stanford's Todd Lichti as the leading scorer in Bay Area college basketball history.
Gonzaga Bulldogs A newer rivalry for the Broncos has been with the Gonzaga Bulldogs. The teams first met in 1946, but did not become regular competitors until Gonzaga joined the West Coast Conference in 1979. Gonzaga leads the all-time series 49–31. In 2007, Santa Clara became the first, and to date, one of only two WCC members to beat Gonzaga in the McCarthey Athletic Center. In 2012, the attendance at the Santa Clara-Gonzaga game was 4,907, a Leavey Center record. On January 18, 2025, Santa Clara set the all-time opponent scoring record in the McCarthey Athletic Center in a 103-99 win against Gonzaga.
Postseason
NCAA tournament results
The Broncos have appeared in 12 NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 11–14.
The Broncos win over Arizona in 1993 was the second time in tournament history that a 15 seed has upset a 2 seed.
1952 Sweet SixteenElite EightFinal FourNational 3rd Place Game UCLAWyomingKansasIllinois W 68–59W 56–53L 55–74L 64–67 1953 First RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight Hardin-SimmonsWyomingWashington W 81–56W 67–52L 62–74 1954 First RoundSweet SixteenElite Eight Texas TechColorado StateUSC W 73–64W 73–50L 65–66 2OT 1960 Sweet SixteenRegional 3rd Place Game CaliforniaUtah L 49–69L 81–89 1968 Sweet SixteenElite Eight New MexicoUCLA W 86–73L 66–87 1969 Sweet SixteenElite Eight Weber StateUCLA W 63–59 OTL 52–90 1970 Sweet SixteenRegional 3rd Place Game Utah StateLong Beach State L 68–69W 89–86 1987 15 First Round (2) Iowa L 76–99 1993 15 First RoundSecond Round (2) Arizona(7) Temple W 64–61L 57–68 1995 12 First Round (5) Mississippi State L 67–75 1996 10 First RoundSecond Round (7) Maryland(2) Kansas W 91–79L 51–76 2026 10 First Round (7) Kentucky L 84–89 OT
NIT results
The Broncos have appeared in seven National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 3–6.
1984 First RoundSecond RoundQuarterfinals OregonLamarLouisiana-Lafayette W 66–53W 76–74L 76–97 1985 First Round Fresno State L 76–79 1988 First Round Oregon L 65–81 1989 First Round New Mexico L 76–91 2022 First Round Washington State L 50–63 2023 First Round Sam Houston L 56–58 2025 First RoundSecond round UC RiversideUAB W 101–62L 84–88
CBI results
The Broncos have appeared in one College Basketball Invitational. Their record is 5–1 and were the 2013 champions.