Sam Walters - Assistant Coach - Men's Basketball Coaches

Sam Walters

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
swalte01@calpoly.edu

The Cal Poly men’s basketball program’s designated recruiting coordinator, Sam Walters is in his second season as an assistant coach with the Cal Poly men’s basketball program.

With Walters on staff during head coach Mike DeGeorge’s initial 2024-25 season, Cal Poly reached the Big West Championship semifinals for the first time in 11 years while finishing third among 355 NCAA Division I programs with 11.5 three-pointers per game and 19th with 82.1 points per game. The Mustangs set new program single season records for total points, three-pointers and field goals while scoring 90-plus points 11 times.

Averaging 18.4 more points per game than the previous 2023-24 season – the most dramatic scoring reversal in the nation – Cal Poly’s 12-win improvement last year marked the fourth most successful turnaround in Division I.

As Cal Poly’s recruiting coordinator, Walters is instrumental in assisting international players through the recruitment, admissions and visa processes.

“Sam has done a remarkable job helping our international student-athletes navigate the process,” DeGeorge said. “His intelligence and attention to detail have made it clear he’s ready to coordinate our recruiting efforts.”

Walters arrived at Cal Poly after serving the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at two-year West Valley College (Saratoga, Calif.). With Walters, West Valley closed the 2023-24 season with a 33-0 mark and the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship.

Prior to West Valley, Walters was an assistant coach at Division III UC Santa Cruz (2019-22), initially under fellow second-year Cal Poly assistant coach Ron DuBois then as the program’s interim head coach for six months in 2021. He eventually reverted to an assistant coaching role at UC Santa Cruz for the 2021-22 season.

A three-year performer as a guard with UC Santa Barbara, Walters – after redshirting for the Gauchos during his 2014-15 freshman season and graduating in 2018 – transferred to Division II Colorado Mesa for a 2018-19 graduate season. Playing for DeGeorge at Colorado Mesa, Walters started 28 of 29 games in his one year with the Mavericks, averaged 7.4 points per appearance and shot 41.7 percent from three-point range and 84.1 percent from the free throw line. He completed his master’s degree in sports management from Colorado Mesa in 2019.

“Sam was an all-time teammate and leader when we were fortunate enough to have him as a player [at Colorado Mesa],” DeGeorge said. “When we signed Sam, we needed to bring in guys that were committed to excellence. No one is more committed to excellence than Sam. He’s bright, articulate, organized, leads by example and has been an incredible asset in all aspects of the program.”

Not the first Cal Poly coach in the family, Walters is the cousin of Mustang volleyball head coach Caroline Walters. Playing for his father, Stu, at Soquel HS in Santa Cruz County, Walters was twice named Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Co-Most Valuable Player. Also a two-time All-SCCAL first team honoree, he averaged 21.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game during his 2013-14 senior season.