Cal Poly Assistant Coach Sam Walters was likely predestined to become a basketball coach at some level. That thought being predicated on the fact that his father Stu coached hoops for decades at Soquel High (Santa Cruz County), is currently the Soquel High athletic director (since 2009) and is a local sports icon. Overall, Stu Walters has mentored prep basketball players for over 40 years.
Another nourishing factor is Walters was strongly invested especially in college basketball, making positive impressions playing at UC Santa Barbara and Colorado Mesa. The latter turned out to be a key transfer move in his post-playing career direction.
But there was no come to Jesus 'I know what I want to do with my life and it's coaching' moment for the youthful Walters. He progressed step-by-step before coming to that conclusion.
"Growing up, my family valued coaches and coaching and I watched my Dad be impactful in changing lives as a coach," Walters explained. "But I didn't think I'd become a college coach." After twice being named a Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Co-Most Valuable Player (at Soquel High), "I went on to play for Bob Williams at UC Santa Barbara (Williams began his coaching career in Santa Cruz County) and then Mike DeGeorge at Colorado Mesa (DeGeorge is the current head coach at Cal Poly). I was thinking about other careers even though I always knew that coaching was personally rewarding."
With a master's degree in Sports Management in hand after finishing at Colorado Mesa in 2019, Walters returned home with coaching still a optional lure yet not a fully concrete one. He landed a position assisting Ron DuBois at UC Santa Cruz in 2019, a D3 program. (DuBois is now also currently on DeGeorge's staff, after they first paired up when DuBois assisted DeGeorge at Rhodes College in Memphis back in 2010). Walters stayed at UCSC through the 2022 season while also serving as the interim head coach for a six-month span in 2021.
He then moved on to work under the well-regarded Danny Yoshikawa at West Valley College (Yoshikawa assisted successful college basketball programs at St. Mary's, USF and UC Santa Barbara). WVC is a community college located nearby in Saratoga and, with Walters aboard, the Vikings finished 33-0 in the 2023-24 season, capturing the state championship.
Joining Up With Cal Poly
Walters moved south for the 2024-25 season, rejoining DeGeorge as an assistant coach. Not coincidentally, Cal Poly moved from a 4-28 pre-DeGeorge season to 16-19 in just one season, averaging 18.4 points better than the previous one while burying 11.5 three-pointers per game and scoring 82.1 points an outing. The mid-major Mustangs enjoyed the greatest improvement of any team in the country last season in the KenPom rankings (345 to 182).
One extremely remarkable item about DeGeorge is just one player has ever transferred from his programs. The reasons why are multiple (individual player development and learning to play multiple positions in order to make the jump to professional status much more likely being foremost), and elements Walters wants to emulate once he is heading a program.
Earning a promotion
This year, Walters earned a promotion to recruiting director. As DeGeorge offered in an earlier article: “Sam has done a remarkable job helping our international student-athletes navigate the process...His intelligence and attention to detail have made it clear he’s ready to coordinate our recruiting efforts.”
The recruitment of student athletes from outside the United State usually require much greater documentation during the admissions and visa proceedings and involve working with educational and government entities. However as Walters explained, "We value international players because of their experiences and commitment to the game, but we are committed to recruiting the players in our backyard as well." Eight members of this year's Cal Poly team are international student-athletes.
The Cal Poly Secret Sauce
So what does Walters tell prospective Cal Poly recruits, national and international? "We're very honest with players and we provide a clear vision of that player's development program. Our style of play is attractive because it's comparable to the pro game and lends to player development (as players also learn how to be effective at multiple positions). We also get analytics in front of each player. It also helps that I played for Coach DeGeorge (a concrete credibility when answering questions about the head coach and his playing style). We also talk about packing the Mott (the 3,000+ seat Athletics Center) and it being a great environment for basketball."
"We stress Cal Poly and its strong academics and that 95% of our players graduate which is above the student body rate. Also, that San Luis Obispo is a college town and a community that cares about the school. We love to recruit California and are doing that 100% right now."
Getting Foreign Student-Athletes Enrolled
As his team's head recruiter, what does pursuing a talent require? "First, we have to check high school transcripts which are eventually evaluated by Admissions and what prospective major CP candidates can study are determined. It's also critical to check an overseas player's professional status" (as some have been paid but can often still meet NCAA amateur guidelines)."
"It's all about putting in the work and going the extra mile to make it work. (As he offered with a laugh) I have learned a lot about our own government and foreign governments."
Yes, Walters is a coaching newbie but anyone in the profession wants to eventually head his or her own program. "Yes but it's all about fit and each school's situation. I'm glad I have playing and coaching experience at all four levels and that I've had great mentors."
Being an important component on a coaching staff that revives the Cal Poly program into one of annual success would also create a tremendous career boost. Walters is preparing.