Brandon Laird enters his third season as a member of the Idaho men’s basketball coaching staff in 2025-26.
Considered one of the top assistant coaches in all of Division I basketball, Laird received an invite to the Silver Waves Media Next Up Rising Stars Power Lunch for his storied career developing collegiate basketball players into consistent competitors.
Coach Laird's experience was on display in the 2024-25 season with the Vandals, as the team has experienced a staggering turnaround in his two years as the Associate Head Coach, rising from the bottom of the Big Sky Conference to a first-round bye in Boise and the program's first tournament win and semifinal appearance since 2017. In the same year, the Vandals made history off the court, recording a program-record 3.37 team GPA in the spring of 2025.
Laird joined the Vandal men’s basketball staff with over 20 years of coaching experience with stops at Sacramento State, UC Davis and Menlo College.
Most recently, Laird was a program analyst for a UC Davis team that won 18 games in 2022-23 and produced a First Team All-Big West guard in Elijah Pepper.
In a COVID shortened 2021-22 season as interim head coach at Sacramento State, Laird led the Hornets to 11 wins, which is the most overall wins and most Big Sky Conference wins by a first-year head coach in the program’s Division I era. Laird’s Hornets surged late in the year, winning five of six, including a first-round win in the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
In the nine years prior, as Associate Head Coach for the Hornets, Laird handled player administration, on-floor coaching, scouting, academics, compliance, player development and recruiting. Sacramento State won at least 13 games in seven of the nine years while Laird was with the program, a feat that hadn’t been reached for the Hornets since their run from 1966-1973.
As the Recruiting Coordinator and Associate Head Coach at Sac State, Laird played an instrumental role in the recruitment and development of over 20 players who continued their careers in the professional ranks after playing in the Big Sky. This list includes Eric Stuteville, who was the #1 pick in the 2017 G-League draft, Cody Demps who was signed to the Sacramento Kings roster in 2019, and Marcus Graves who just completed his 5th season in the NBA’s G-League. Additionally, Laird recruited and coached seven of the top 10 All-Time scorers in Sacramento State history, eight All-Big Sky performers and the 2015 Big Sky MVP, Mikh McKinney, during his 11-year stint in Sacramento.
Laird helped the Hornets to a 16-14 overall record in 2019-20. Sacramento State won its first-round matchup over Weber State in the Big Sky Tournament before the tournament was ultimately canceled due to COVID-19. The Hornets’ 16 wins were the second most in the program’s Divison I history. Defensively, Sacramento State ranked fifth in the nation and first in the Big Sky only allowing 59.7 points per game.
Sacramento State completed the 2014-15 season with a 21-12 record, marking it first time the Hornets finished above the .500 mark in the program’s Division I era. The 21 wins were tied for the second-most in program history. The Hornets appeared in the CIT Tournament after reaching the semifinals in the 2015 Big Sky Tournament. Sacramento State earned a 73-66 win at Portland in the first round of the CIT Tournament, collecting the program’s first postseason win in 53 years.
The 2015 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll ranked the Hornets as high as No. 14. Sacramento State had previously never been ranked and finished one game back from first place in the Big Sky standings.
From 2009-11, Laird was an assistant coach at UC Davis working with the guards and assisting with on-floor coaching, scouting and recruiting.
Before UC Davis, Laird served as head coach at Menlo College from 2006-09. In 2008, he led the program to 18 wins, the most for the Oaks since 1990. They also tied a program record with a nine-game win streak. Menlo won the Cal-Pac Conference Tournament and advanced to the NAIA national tournament for just the third time in program history. The Oaks finished the season with a No. 29 national ranking.
Laird also spent three years as an assistant coach at Menlo from 2003-06.
His first collegiate coaching experience began at UC Davis serving on the staff for the 2002-03 season. Laird also coached as an assistant at his high school alma mater, El Camino in 2001-02.
A UC Davis graduate, Laird played four seasons (1997-01) with the Aggies men’s basketball team playing in 85 games. He helped the program to a 31-2 record and a Division II national title in 1997-98. Laird received the Captain’s Award in 2000-01 which was voted on by his teammates.
Laird earned a degree in managerial economics from UC Davis in 2001 and obtained his master’s degree in 2005 from the United States Sports Academy.
Laird and his wife Sarah have one son, Nixon.
COACHING EXPERIENCE:
2002-03: UC Davis
2003-06: Menlo College (Assistant Coach)
2006-09: Menlo College (Head Coach)
2009-11: UC Davis (Assistant Coach)
2011-12: Sacramento State (Assistant Coach)
2012-21: Sacramento State (Associate Head Coach)
2021-22: Sacramento State (Interim Head Coach)
2022-23: UC Davis (Program Analyst)
2023-present: Idaho (Associate Head Coach)
MIC'D UP WITH COACH LAIRD
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