Gary Stewart Named UC Merced Head Men's Basketball Coach
Gary Stewart, who has won 385 career games across all levels of NCAA basketball, has been named the University of California, Merced head men's basketball coach, Executive Director of Recreation & Athletics David Dunham announced today.
"We are excited to have Gary join our program to lead the men's basketball team," Dunham said. "He brings a wealth of experience and demonstrated success at multiple levels. His experience leading a team through a NCAA reclassification will be valuable to our men's basketball program and department."
"The opportunity to lead UC Merced men's basketball into NCAA Division II is a tremendous honor," Stewart said. "I want to thank Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, Executive Director of Recreation & Athletics David Dunham, Vice Chancellor Tonantzin Oseguera and the search committee at UC Merced that helped get me here. I look forward to continuing the winning tradition at one of the top universities in the country. This is a special place and I can't wait to get started."
Stewart comes to UC Merced after a tenure at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, MD. While there, he quickly guided the program to new heights and led Stevenson to back-to-back postseason trophies and 20+ win seasons in just his third and fourth years on the job. Those two years, 2013-14 & 2014-15, saw the program post its best two-year record in school history. He was named the 2014 Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Coach of the Year. He later became the MAC Commonwealth's active career wins leader.
This past season, Stewart became Stevenson men's basketball's all-time winningest coach and he finished his time with 155 wins on the East Coast. Stewart coached two MAC Commonwealth Rookies of the Year, 11 all-league selections, and eight honorable mentions.
Stewart is a well-respected leader in collegiate basketball, being appointed as the President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) President in 2022. Currently, he is a Director Emeritus alongside Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo. Stewart has also served on various other NABC and NCAA committees. Outside of basketball, he has been on the administrative staff at Stevenson and Cal State East Bay as an Assistant Athletic Director and Associate Athletic Director.
He has also had head coaching stops at UC Davis, Cal State East Bay, and University of La Verne in his tenure. He has taken every program to a conference tournament and has won seven conference championships.
Stewart was at the helm of UC Davis from 2003-2011, including during the Aggies reclassification period from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I. He won a Big West Tournament game in just the second eligible season. The following season, he won his 200th career game. Notable wins while at UC Davis include beating Stanford, Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Tulane, Sacramento State, and Boise State. During the transition period, Stewart and UC Davis won more games than any other four-year transition program.
Prior to UC Davis, he spent time at the Power 5 level as the Director of Basketball Services for UCLA under Steve Lavin for a season and was an assistant coach at Washington State for three seasons. He also spent a season at UC Santa Barbara. NBA players Cedric Bozeman, Ryan Hollins, Jason Kapono, and Dijon Thompson played at UCLA during Stewart's time in Westwood.
Stewart was the head coach at Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) from 1995-97. In just two years, he made an immediate impact on Cal State Hayward and was named the Northern California Athletic Conference Co-Coach of the Year and was a nominee for NABC District Coach of the Year honors.
He started his head coaching career at his alma mater University of La Verne. From 1987-1995, he tallied 116 wins and three SCIAC championships. He owns the highest men's basketball winning percentage at University La Verne, the most SCIAC championships, and ranks second all-time with his 116 wins.
In addition to leading programs, Stewart has coached for Team USA Olympic Team U19 Team Trials, the NABC D1 Reese's All-Star Game, and the Hardwood Classic Tournament held at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.
He was named the 2021 Standout Coach by All-In Campus Democracy Challenge and was presented a lifetime achievement award for service recipient in 2016 by President Barack Obama.
Stewart was inducted into the University of La Verne Hall of Fame in 2009.
As a player at University of La Verne, Stewart was a 4X All-SCIAC honoree and graduated in the Top-10 in nearly every statistical category. He was awarded the SCIAC Ted Ducey Award as a senior which is bestowed upon one senior athlete who best exemplifies outstanding achievement in academics, athletics, leadership, and sportsmanship.
Stewart earned his bachelor's degree in physical education and master's degree in education from University of La Verne.