Aaron Tavitas has announced he will be stepping down as head women’s basketball coach at Sul Ross State University effective at the end of the spring 2016 semester.
Tavitas said he plans to spend more time with his wife and children who currently reside in El Paso.
He recently completed his second season as women’s head basketball coach. During his first season (2014-15) in Alpine, Tavitas led his squad to the most wins in four years.
The Lady Lobos earned two post-season honors, Desare Allen, American Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year and Ashley Ousley, an Honorable Mention All-Conference player in 2014-15.
Following Tavitas’s second season as head coach Sul Ross earned its second straight Freshman of the Year Award with Tomball native Kenya Miles while Jonette Jackson was listed to the ASC All Freshman Team.
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 former 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.
“We appreciate the two years of service Aaron has given in getting the women’s basketball program back to a competitive level,” said Sul Ross director of athletics Bobby Mesker. “We will now begin a nationwide search to find the best candidate possible to continue the ladies’ progress”
http://www.srlobos.com/news/2016/3/1/tavitas-steps-down-as-womens-basketball-coach.aspx
Tagged with: Aaron Tavitas ASC DIII Sul Ross State
