Mark Fisher

(Entering 2024-25 season)

Mark Fisher enters his 12th season as assistant to the head coach and 23rd overall at San Diego State. He is the son of former Aztec head coach Steve Fisher, who was at the helm of the program for 18 seasons before retiring at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
 
Fisher advises the coaching staff on game planning, breaks down film of both the Aztecs and opponents, assists with scheduling, on campus recruiting, practice plans and workouts.

Prior to his current role, Fisher was an assistant coach who helped the Aztecs to eight consecutive 20-win seasons, including five straight years with at least 23 victories, to go with eight consecutive postseason berths. Among the highlights during that stretch were 2011’s 34-3 record and Sweet 16 appearance. In 2012-13, SDSU advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fourth year in a row and moved on to the third round for the second time in three seasons.

During his tenure as an assistant, Fisher helped secure the 2009-10 incoming class, which featured the California Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard. The 2009-10 incoming group was ranked No. 15 in the nation by The HOOP SCOOP Online and was rated as the No. 1 class among non-automatic qualifying BCS schools by The HOOP SCOOP Online and Rivals.com. ESPN.com slotted the Aztec incoming class at No. 4 in its “mid-major recruiting.”

The hype was well deserved as Leonard became the first freshman in MW history to be named to the all-conference first team, all while earning league freshman of the year honors and MW tournament MVP accolades. Leonard additionally was one of only four freshmen nationally to lead his team in scoring and rebounding. In 2011, Leonard was an all-conference first-team pick, All-American and first-round NBA Draft pick. He and classmate, Chase Tapley, were also regulars in the starting lineup together for two seasons. Tapley, meanwhile, was a four-year starter, all-conference selection and one of the winningest players in Aztec history.

In addition, Fisher was also the lead recruiter for James Rahon, who helped SDSU win 83 games during his three years of eligibility, including three in the NCAA tournament. With Rahon in the fold for 2010-11, Fisher helped secure a 6-5 guard in Jamaal Franklin. Three years later, Franklin became a 2013 NBA Draft pick.

The 2012-13 group, which Fisher also helped secure, was acknowledged as one of the best in the country as Rivals.com tabbed the class as the 24th-best nationally. Fisher helped sign freshman Matt Shrigley and was responsible for landing JJ O’Brien, a transfer who started 33 of 34 games in 2012-13.

As the director of operations, Fisher handled many of the day-to-day operations, including scheduling, summer camps and organizing all aspects of team travel. He also represented the basketball program with the athletic administration.

During his time supervising the team’s schedule, the Aztecs played high-profile games against Arizona, California, Providence, Iowa State, Washington and Washington State among others. In addition, he arranged SDSU to play in the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska, the Shamrock Invitational in Moraga, Calif., the World Vision Classic in Fresno, Calif., and the prestigious John R. Wooden Classic in Anaheim, Calif., in past seasons. 

In his four years as the team’s schedule maker, the Aztecs won 92 games, for an average of 23 wins per season, and reached the postseason in each of those years.

In previous seasons, when SDSU had two assistant coaches, Fisher officially took on coaching responsibilities, including conducting individual workouts and off-campus recruiting.

Fisher graduated from the University of Michigan in December of 2001, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Around basketball a majority of his life, Fisher amassed a variety of experience in a short period of time. 

From 1998-2001, Fisher worked in a variety of capacities for Lincoln High School in Ann Arbor, Mich. He served as the varsity assistant head coach, head junior varsity coach and the head freshman coach during his tenure, assisting in all areas of the program.

He served as associate head coach for an Ann Arbor AAU team in the summer of 2001. Many of the players on that squad went on to play college basketball.

Fisher enjoys spending his vacation time at Devils Lake in Manitou Beach, Mich. He and his wife, Jill, live in Escondido with their son, Max.