University of Idaho Athletics

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Alex Pribble, was named the 31st head men's basketball coach in University of Idaho program history on March 20, 2023. He will enter his fourth year leading the Vandals in the 2026-27 season and his first as the reigning Big Sky Tournament Champion head coach.

2025-26 was one of the greatest seasons in program history and the most successful for Idaho in over three decades. UI opened the campaign by collecting the first win over regional rival Washington State in eight years, hosting the revival of the "Holiday Hoops Classic" MTE in Boise, and knocking off South Dakota State in Brookings for just the eleventh home loss for the Jackrabbits in the last decade. 

Pribble's Vandals, led by eventual All-Big Sky point guard Kolton Mitchell, Top Reserve Isaiah Brickner, and Freshman of the Year Jackson Rasmussen, collected the first winning season for Vandal Hoops since 2017-18. Idaho, As the #7 seed in the Big Sky Tournament, went on a magical run in Idaho Central Arena, winning four games in five nights. This included a 68-45 domination of #8 Sacramento State, a 78-74 thriller over #2 Montana State, and defensive clinics over #3 EWU and #4 Montana to win the fifth tournament title in school history, the first since 1990, and the league's auto bid to March Madness. 

At the end of the season, Idaho stood as the standalone most-improved team in the country in the three seasons since Pribble was hired, rising a total of 203 spots in the KenPom rankings between the beginning of the 2023-24 season and the end of the 2025-26 campaign. This was brought on by notable improvements in multiple facets of the game, including setting the school record for made three-pointers in a season with 355 and a renewed commitment to dominating the glass that made the Vandals one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the country, allowing an offensive board just 24.2% of the time (5th in DI hoops)

Pribble’s second season at the helm of Vandal Hoops produced success unseen by the program in years.  Idaho expanded upon his first season’s notables by winning 14 games, the most since 2017, while also recording the team’s highest net ranking (237) since then. In the Big Sky Tournament, the Vandals secured even more firsts for the program since the ‘17 season. The team secured the first first-round bye in the bracket since then, the first tournament win since then with an 80-70 shootout over Portland State, and the first appearance in the Tournament semifinals in eight years.

The 2024-25 Vandals, under Pribble, delivered one of the most explosive offenses in program history, banking a school-record 308 three-pointers across the season. This number shattered the old top mark and stood as the 48th-most per game in all of DI basketball. Jack Payne was also named to both the All-Big Sky Team and the All-Tournament Team for his efforts at the end of the season.

Another program record that was shattered, off the court, was the biggest indicator of the team’s success in the classroom. The Vandals recorded a team GPA of 3.37, a new program-best by far over the old record of 3.24, also accomplished under Pribble.

The first season under new leadership saw growth both on and off the floor. Idaho finished the 2023-24 campaign with the most wins in a season (11) in the last five years. They secured notable conference victories over Idaho State and Big Sky Tournament champion Montana State and achieved the highest Net Ranking (254) for an Idaho team since 2017-18. Julius Mims was recognized by the Big Sky Conference as a member of the All-Defensive Team after leading the team with 48 blocks and 34 steals.

Off the court, Pribble and the Vandals made an impact in more ways than one by excelling academically with a program-best team semester GPA of 3.24 in the Fall of 2023. Additionally, they initiated the CHAMPS mentoring program to engage with students in local elementary schools.  

Pribble joined the Vandals after serving as an associate head coach for four seasons at Seattle U, where he helped lead the Redhawks to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1960s and the programs' first-ever Western Athletic Conference regular season title. 
  
During the 2022-23 season, Pribble helped guide the Redhawks to their second consecutive 20-win season and a 7-0 start in WAC play. Seattle U's hot start in conference action received national attention as the Redhawks were among the top teams in the nation to receive votes in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
 
Throughout the season, Pribble was pivotal in the development of First Team All-WAC guard Cameron Tyson, who went on to average 18.6 points per game and total the most three-pointers among all players in the Western Athletic Conference at 97.
 
The run through the 2021-22 season saw the Redhawks achieve a 23-9 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the WAC, en route to earning a regular season conference championship. Seattle U started WAC play 8-0 for the first time in 10 years and saw the program reach 23 wins for the first time since 1957-58. 
   
Prior to his time with the Redhawks, Pribble spent four highly successful years as the head men's basketball coach at NCAA Division II Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington. He took over a program that went 6-22 overall in the year before Pribble's arrival to quickly rebuild a program that put together four-straight winning seasons, two consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament, the program's first-ever Sweet 16 berth and achieve the school's highest national ranking (No. 8) in program history. 
 
In the 2018-19 season, Pribble led the Saints to a school record 26 wins and the school's first Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season championship. Pribble went on to be named the GNAC Coach of the Year and boast four players who would receive All-GNAC postseason honors and regional recognition. 
 
Before his tenure at Saint Martin's, Pribble spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Washington from 2013 to 2015. During the 2014-15 season, Pribble helped cap off a historic season for the Eagles, who finished 26-9 overall and 14-4 in the Big Sky Conference to clinch a share of the regular-season title and garner the school's second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
 
Big Sky Player of the Year Tyler Harvey helped facilitate the Eagles' run as the nation's leading scorer at 23.1 points per game, en route to being selected as a second-round pick in the NBA Draft in 2015. 

Prior to arriving at Eastern Washington, Pribble was the top assistant for two seasons at San Francisco State. He began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at California-Berkeley under then-head coach Ben Braun.
 
Pribble graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in sociology in 2007 and a master's degree in education in 2008 from California-Berkeley.  A walk-on at Cal before receiving a scholarship after his sophomore season, Pribble played in 76 games for the Bears under Braun during his four-year collegiate career.  
 
A Fairfax, Calif. native, Pribble, 37, graduated from Sir Francis Drake High School in 2003. He and his wife Camille have one son, Braedon.

THE VANDALS UNDER COACH PRIBBLE

• First conference tournament semifinal appearance since 2017
• First bye in conference tournament since 2017
• Dynamic offense - Most 3's in a season in Idaho MBB history (308)
• Highest attendance per game in last decade (1,841)
• Record semester team GPA (3.37) 

COACHING EXPERIENCE

• 2007-08: UC-Berkeley (graduate assistant)
• 2008-11: Tamalpais High School (head coach)
• 2011-13: San Francisco State (assistant coach)
• 2013-15: Eastern Washington University (assistant coach)
• 2015-19: Saint Martin's University (head coach)
• 2019-23: Seattle University (associate head coach)
• 2023-present: Idaho (head coach)

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT ALEX PRIBBLE

"I want to first say congratulations to the University of Idaho for identifying Coach Pribble as the next leader of their Men's basketball program! He is a STAR! His dedication and work ethic to go with his high-basketball knowledge will undoubtedly lead to a successful tenure at Idaho. I look forward to continue following & supporting him during his journey and all his future success."
– Dennis Gates, Head Coach – Missouri
 
"I couldn't be more excited for Alex and the University of Idaho has made a terrific hire. With his great basketball mind, love for the game and years of experience in the Pacific Northwest, there is no doubt that he will be successful. Most importantly, he is an outstanding person who will be a great mentor and leader for the Idaho basketball program and the young men that will play for him."
– Chris Victor, Head Coach – Seattle U

"Alex is a west coast guy through and through. He can recruit and run an offense with the best coaches in the country. He has been successful at every program he's been a part of and I have no doubt that he will continue that at Idaho. He simply knows how to win."
– Shantay Legans, Head Coach – Portland
 
"Alex was a fierce competitor and great team leader on some of our best teams at Cal. His ability to connect to his teammates and now earn the respect of his players as a coach will make him successful. He will do an excellent job leading his team as the head coach at Idaho."
– Ben Braun, Former Head Coach – Cal


MIC'D UP WITH COACH PRIBBLE




ALEX PRIBBLE INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE



FIRST DAY IN MOSCOW



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