Aaron Tavitas, whose San Antonio College men’s team went 47-8 in two seasons, has been named to replace Chris Marks as the head coach at Sul Ross State.
Tavitas, who earned a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications from Texas Tech in 1998, coached both boys’ and girls’ basketball at his alma mater, St. Gerard High School in San Antonio, before becoming Head Coach and Assistant Coordinator of Student Leadership at San Antonio College. |
A native of San Antonio, Tavitas was a forward for St. Gerard as they won the Texas Catholic Interscholastic League championship in 1993. He also played football, and was a defensive back at Texas A&M-Kingsville for two seasons before an injury ended his playing career and he transferred to Texas Tech.
At SAC, he served as the head men’s basketball coach for three years. His 2008-09 team went 24-4 overall and 11-1 in conference play, and Tavitas was named Coach of the Year as his team won both the conference regular season and tournament championships. The next season, SAC was 23-4 overall and 11-2 in conference play, and his team finished as the conference runner-up. In two seasons, his teams earned seven All-Conference berths, and sent four players on to play at NCAA and NAIA universities.
Tavitas then served as a graduate assistant for the 2010-11 Sul Ross State University men’s basketball team under current Head Coach Greg Wright, earning a master’s degree in Physical Education. He and Wright became acquainted when the Lobos recruited several of his players.
He then moved on to Canutillo High School in El Paso, serving as an assistant boys’ basketball coach. Canutillo advanced to the area championship for only the second time in school history, while the junior varsity team went 63-15 in the last three seasons.
During the past 10 years, Tavitas has owned and operated South Texas Hoops, a youth basketball organization that has produced the past eight San Antonio Express-News players of the year and has produced numerous NCAA players, including Andre Roberson, the first round pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder this season.
"I’m very excited and blessed to have the opportunity to go back to Sul Ross State," said Tavitas. "It was a great experience, and I have family living in the area, which is a big plus. I’m looking forward to it. I think they need a coach who will teach and be passionate about the sport, who will teach them to accomplish all of their goals on and off the court, and will help them to be there for the long haul."
Tavitas said that he would work hard to develop a solid program. "It may not be easy, but we are going to take the necessary steps to get it turned around," said Tavitas. "It starts by putting together a staff that is committed and bringing in people and setting a standard. Each year, we will try to get better, and try to get into a position where we will be competing for a playoff spot each year."
"After having the chance to talk to Aaron, it was clear he had a vision and a plan of what he believed would get our women going in the right direction," said Sul Ross State Interim Director of Athletics Bobby Mesker. "We are excited, and I know he’s already rolled his sleeves up and gotten to work."
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