ROCKLIN, Calif. — Jessup University Men's Basketball is thrilled to announce the addition of Kevin Pham to the coaching staff as an Assistant Coach. Pham joins the Warriors with a proven track record of championship success, defensive excellence, and elite student-athlete development across both the collegiate and high school levels.

"Kevin Pham is someone I've had the privilege of knowing for more than 13 years, and I couldn't be more excited to have him join our staff at Jessup University," said Head Coach Mark Darnall. "He brings a tremendous amount of experience as a college head coach and will bring some fresh ideas to our program. He is an excellent recruiter with a great eye for talent and has an outstanding basketball mind, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. More importantly, Kevin is a great person who genuinely cares about people and has the character and integrity to be a tremendous influence on our players. I know he will make an immediate impact, not only in helping us grow as a basketball team, but also in helping our student-athletes develop and grow as young men."

Pham brings over a decade of head coaching experience to Rocklin. Most recently, he led the Inderkum High School Tigers to a stellar 21-9 record in the 2025–26 season. Prior to his time at Inderkum, Pham was named the 2024–25 California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year following a historic final season at UC Merced.

During his ten-season tenure at the helm of the UC Merced men's basketball program, Pham compiled a 139-106 overall record and an 87-49 mark in Cal Pac play—with both win totals ranking first in program history. Under his leadership, the Bobcats reached eight conference tournaments and captured the 2021 Cal Pac Phase Two Tournament Championship. In his final season at UC Merced, Pham guided the Bobcats to a perfect 10-0 conference record and the program's first-ever Cal Pac regular-season championship. That capped off a stretch of historic milestones, including a 21-9 campaign in 2022–23, which marked the program's first 20-win season and featured a marquee upset over No. 20-ranked University of Antelope Valley to reach the conference title game.

Under Pham's direction, UC Merced built a reputation as one of the nation's premier defensive programs in the NAIA. The Bobcats finished in the Top-5 nationally in scoring defense in seven of his final eight seasons, and in the Top-15 in eight of his ten seasons. During their standout 2022–23 campaign, the Bobcats allowed just 62.7 points per game—ranking fourth in the NAIA, which marked the best full-season defensive average among West Coast NAIA programs since 2016–17 and the top mark in the Cal Pac since 2008.

Pham's national impact was formally recognized in 2023 when he was named the Asian Coaches Association (ACA) Men's Coach of the Year, presented by ACA President Mike Magpayo during the NCAA Men's Final Four in Houston. Throughout his ten years with the men's program, he mentored numerous award-winning student-athletes, including 16 All-Cal Pac First Team selections, six Second Team selections, eight Honorable Mention honorees, 23 Conference Players of the Week, three Cal Pac Defensive Players of the Year, two Freshmen of the Year, one Conference Player of the Year, and one NAIA All-American.

Prior to taking over the men's program, Pham spent three seasons building the UC Merced women's basketball program from its inaugural 2012–13 season. He improved the team's record each year, culminating in a 14-12 record in 2014–15. That season, the Bobcats captured the California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship after upsetting No. 15-ranked Menlo College in the semifinals, earning an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa, and bringing home the first team championship in UC Merced history. During his time with the women's team, he coached two Freshmen of the Year, one Newcomer of the Year, seven All-Conference selections, three Honorable Mention honorees, three Conference Players of the Week, and two Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Pham's coaching career also includes five seasons as assistant head coach at Cosumnes River College, where he helped lead the Lady Hawks from last place in the conference to three winning seasons, back-to-back California Community College state tournament appearances, and rankings as high as fifth in Northern California and 14th in the state. Additionally, he served two seasons as a student assistant working with guards at the University of California, Berkeley, and spent one season as an assistant varsity coach at Sacramento Waldorf High School, helping lead the team to a 19-10 record and the San Joaquin Section semifinals.

A Sacramento native, Pham earned his Bachelor's degree in Economics from UC Berkeley. Please join Jessup Athletics in extending a warm Warrior welcome to Coach Kevin Pham!  
About Jessup University Athletics Jessup University is a member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).