Jesse Pruitt - Assistant Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches

Jesse Pruitt

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
jpru@calpoly.edu

With a primary focus as the Cal Poly men’s basketball team’s general manager and directing the program’s defensive efforts, Jesse Pruitt is in his second year as an assistant coach with the Mustangs.

Pruitt’s initial 2024-25 season as a member of head coach Mike DeGeorge’s staff produced the program’s most successful campaign in more than a decade with the Mustangs reaching the Big West Championship semifinals for the first time in 11 years while Cal Poly’s 12-win improvement marked the fourth most successful turnaround in Division I. Offensively, Cal Poly finished third among 355 NCAA Division I programs with 11.5 three-pointers per game and 19th with 82.1 points per game while setting new program single season records for total points, three-pointers and field goals.

Alongside coaching responsibilities, Pruitt – in his general manager role – serves as Cal Poly’s primary contact for Name, Image and Likeness initiatives and the refinement of the Cal Poly Players’ Trust while also spearheading community relations endeavors.

“Jesse brings great experience for this role and compliments the strengths of our staff,” DeGeorge said. “His experience in California at the Division I level and highly selective universities make him a great fit for Cal Poly and provides a perspective that benefits our staff. More importantly, he’s a tremendous coach and person.

“He has a great understanding of the best practices in navigating the financial side of our new reality. He’s well prepared to take the leadership role for these additional responsibilities (as general manager.”

Arriving at Cal Poly following eight seasons as an assistant with Stanford (2016-24), Pruitt helped lead the Cardinal to 126 total victories, the program’s best Pac-12 finish (third) and highest conference victory total (11) in a decade during the 2017-18 season and the second round of the 2018 NIT. Helping bring multiple top-20 recruiting classes to Stanford, Pruitt coached 13 All-Pac-12 selections and five Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorees.

Academically, Pruitt played a role in recruiting 43 Pac-12 All-Academic Team honorees, five Academic All-Americans and five Pac-12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

“Right away, we meshed,” said Pruitt of his initial conversation with DeGeorge. “Philosophically, and in terms of how we see the game, it felt natural from the start.

“(DeGeorge) said he wants to play fast. Everyone says they want to play fast, but when you say 60 percent of your shots happen in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, that’s playing fast. That was intriguing. Defensively, he has a lot of principles that I’ve been comfortable teaching. Very quickly, I saw that how we see the game aligned.”

With nearly two decades of Division I recruiting and coaching experience, Pruitt was also part of Santa Clara’s staff from 2008-16. His last four seasons with the Broncos were as an assistant coach.

With Pruitt, Stanford closed the 2022-23 season ranked 27th nationally in three-point percentage. Academically, forward James Keefe was Stanford’s third straight Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree while forward Brandon Angel and guard Michael Jones were named Academic All-Americans.

Elite recruiting continued with Pruitt in 2023 as Stanford signed two top-40 recruits for the first time in 17 years in McDonald’s All-America selection Andrej Stojakovic and Kanaan Carlyle.

Stanford’s 16-win total during the 2021-22 season included its first victory against an AP top-five opponent (No. 4 Arizona) since 2007. Forward Harrison Ingram was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year – Stanford’s first such selection in 22 years.

During a 2020-21 season turned upside down by the COVID-19 Pandemic, Stanford’s 14-win total included 10 Pac-12 victories, three wins against eventual NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 programs, two triumphs against Elite Eight sides and a season sweep of Arizona for the first time since 2008. During the 2021 offseason, Stanford signed a third top-20 recruiting class in four years.

Stanford finished the 2019-20 season with a 20-12 mark while remaining solidly in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth before the postseason was curtailed by the pandemic. Boasting the nation's No. 16-ranked scoring defense, Stanford also recorded its top field goal percentage (46.9) in 16 years. The Cardinal capped the season with a top-10 national recruiting class.

Completing the 2017-18 season with 19 wins and an 11-7 Pac-12 mark, Stanford reached the NIT second round. Stanford’s third-place finish in the Pac-12 standings was its best in 10 years.

A native of Pomona, Calif., Pruitt – in his eight seasons at Santa Clara (2008-16) – helped the Broncos to the 2013 College Basketball Invitational postseason tournament title and the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Championship. Santa Clara finished the 2012-13 season with a 26-12 mark that included 21 regular season victories.

Overseeing Santa Clara’s recruiting and scouting efforts, Pruitt helped develop several All-West Coast Conference selections. The Broncos placed an individual on the conference’s all-freshman team for three consecutive seasons with guard Kevin Foster finishing as Santa Clara’s all-time leading scorer and second-leading scorer in WCC history.

Santa Clara was equally successful in the classroom under Pruitt with at least one player earning a spot on the WCC All-Academic team in seven of his eight seasons with the Broncos. All 19 players who reached their senior season earned degrees and the men’s basketball program enjoyed a 100 percent graduation rate during Pruitt’s time on staff.

Prior to joining the Broncos coaching staff, Pruitt served as Santa Clara’s Director of Operations from 2008-10. He began his tenure as the team’s video coordinator for the 2008-09 season.

Before arriving at Santa Clara, Pruitt was an assistant at Division II powerhouse Cal Poly Pomona under Greg Kamansky from 2006-08. He was instrumental in the recruiting efforts that led to back-to-back national title game appearances (2009 and 2010) and the 2010 NCAA Tournament title.

Pruitt graduated from UC Davis in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. He was a member of the UC Davis men’s basketball team for two seasons.

Pruitt married the former Mary Jo Alexander on Oct. 2, 2010 at Stanford Memorial Church. His wife was an All-American runner at UC Davis and former assistant coach with Stanford’s track and field and cross country programs. They have three children: Gisele Brin, Paige Elizabeth and Trae Robinson.