(Entering 2024-25 season)
Dave Velasquez enters his 23rd season at San Diego State and 12th as an assistant coach. Prior to his appointment as an assistant coach, he spent six seasons as the program’s director of player development.
Velasquez’s responsibilities to the program include recruiting, on-court coaching, skill development and academics.
He’s played a critical role in the team finishing the past five seasons ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West in scoring defense, allowing 3.7 fewer points per game than any team in the league since the start of the 2019-20 campaign. In addition, overall, Aztec defenses have ranked No. 2 and No. 4 nationally in 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively, and have ranked in the top-11 in four of the last five, according to KenPom.com.
In three of the last five campaigns, SDSU led the conference in steals and in two of those campaigns led the league in turnover margin and scoring margin, holding opponents, on average, to double digit points per game less than it scored. In addition, the Aztecs were either first or second in the league in field goal percentage defense in the 2019-20, 2020-21, 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Lamont Butler earned his first Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023-24 as well as inclusion for the third straight year on the league's all-defensive team. Under Velasquez’s tutelage an Aztec has won the Mountain West’s Defensive Player of the Year in each of the last three seasons and in four of the last five.
The conclusion of 2022-23 campaign saw Nathan Mensah garner his second straight Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year award and inclusion for the third straight year on the league's All-Defensive Team. In addition, Mensah was a third-team All-Mountain West performer. Butler earned his second straight all-defensive team designation from the Mountain West, and among the writers who regularly cover the league, was named the defensive player of the year.
At the end of the 2021-22 regular season, San Diego State had the No. 2-rated adjusted defensive efficiency in the nation according to KenPom.com. Nathan Mensah was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, earned inclusion on the All-Defensive Team and was an honorable mention designee. Lamont Butler, who ranked No. 2 in the Mountain West with 46 steals, and No. 61 in the nation with an average of 1.87 steals per game, was a member of the league’s all-defensive team.
Following the 2020-21 campaign forwards Mensah and Matt Mitchell earned inclusion on the league’s All-Defensive Team, and in 2019-20, Malachi Flynn was honored as the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, as voted on by the league’s coaches.
Nationally, in the past five seasons, the team ranked in the top-10 in scoring defense three times (No. 3, No. 8 & No. 2), in the top-20 in field goal percentage defense four times (No. 10, No. 12, No. 4 & No. 16), and in two of the last four years in the top-20 in scoring margin (No. 3 & No. 13), and turnover margin (No. 20 & No. 12).
Velasquez also plays a large part in the performance of Aztecs in the classroom. The Bay Area native works directly with San Diego State’s academic advisors, tutors, and mentors to ensure standards are met and exceeded.
What may go unnoticed is his relationship with players. As a former SDSU men’s basketball student-athlete and recruit host, Velasquez understands all of the virtues that an Aztec basketball player possesses, which allows him to relate to the entire roster.
In his first season as an assistant, Velasquez helped ink a consensus top-15 recruiting class, while helping the Aztecs enjoy one of their finest seasons ever, which culminated in 31 wins, a Mountain West regular-season title and an NCAA Sweet 16 berth. He was also key in the development of Xavier Thames, who was a 2014 All-American, Mountain West Player of the Year and NBA draft pick.
In 2014-15, he helped coach SDSU to 27 victories, a second straight Mountain West regular-season crown and an appearance in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Velasquez was also key in the Aztecs inking two four-star players for 2015-16, which resulted in 28 wins, another Mountain West title, and an appearance in the semifinals of the NIT. In ‘16-17, Velasquez helped secure another four-star player and three Division I transfers, while bringing in a three- and a four-star player for the 2017-18 campaign.
The aforementioned campaign saw Velasquez help San Diego State win 22 games, capture the program’s Mountain West-leading 11th conference championship and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015. On the recruiting trail, Velasquez helped sign five players, including four four-star athletes and Malachi Flynn, one of the top Division I transfers on the market, who sat out the 2018-19 campaign.
As SDSU’s director of player development, Velasquez assisted the basketball coaching staff with video breakdown, film exchange, travel, community service and handled many of the day-to-day office duties.
Prior to working as the director of player development, Velasquez was a student manager in 2002-03 before serving as head manager from 2003-07.
In 2002-03, San Diego State earned a berth to postseason NIT, where the Aztecs picked up their first Division I postseason tournament victory enroute to an appearance in the second round.
Then in 2005-06, San Diego State won the Mountain West with a 13-3 league record before winning the Mountain West tournament. As a result, the Aztecs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time under head coach Steve Fisher and won a then school-record 24 games.
Velasquez was awarded a scholarship in December 2006 and added to the active roster in January 2007.
As an official member of the team, Velasquez played in four games and recorded a steal. He was a member of a team that finished with a 22-11 record and advanced to the second round of the postseason NIT.
In Velasquez’s five seasons as manager, the Aztecs went to the postseason three times and won 22 or more games twice.
Following his graduation from San Diego State in May 2007, Velasquez was hired at the University of the Pacific. As the Tigers’ graduate manager, he assisted with UOP’s camps, created highlight tapes, and coordinated film exchange before returning to his alma mater.
Since his return, SDSU has recorded 11 more 20-win seasons and reached the postseason in 10 of the last 12 years in which a national champion was crowned. Additionally, Velasquez has helped the Aztecs earn an NCAA tournament berth in nine of the last dozen years, win the first 11 NCAA tournament games in program history, reach at least the second round of the Big Dance seven times, including four Sweet-16 appearances, and one national championship game appearance.
Velasquez is married to the former Lindsay Ward. The couple’s son, Marcus, was born in 2018 and daughter Harper in 2020.