San Diego won't bring back Steve Lavin next season

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego coach Steve Lavin will finish a fourth season at the program but won't return next season with the Toreros, the school announced Wednesday.

The Toreros are 11-17 headed into Saturday's game at Loyola Marymount.

Lavin is just 46-79 at San Diego and his lone winning season came in 2023-24 when it went 18-15. He never led the Toreros to the NCAA Tournament. There are three games left in the regular season and the West Coast Conference Tournament begins March 5 in Las Vegas.

San Diego is 18-47 under Lavin in the WCC.

“Teaching and coaching at the University of San Diego has been an experience of unparalleled pride and joy," Lavin said in a statement. "Specifically, I will carry forward the gift of participating in our players’ journeys and will treasure the relationships forged along the way.”

Lavin was an NCAA Tournament regular in 12 seasons as coach at UCLA and St. John’s, where he was hired away before the 2022 season to take over the struggling program at San Diego.

San Diego has had just five winning seasons and one NCAA Tournament appearance under three coaches since Brad Holland was fired after going 18-14 in 2006-07.

“Competing in the upper tier of the West Coast Conference and being a regular participant in the NCAA Tournament should be the expectation for this program,” athletic director Kimya Massey said. “We are committed to providing the leadership, NIL and revenue-sharing investment, and student-athlete support necessary to recruit and sustain a roster that makes both USD and the community proud.”

The Toreros had some issues under Lavin that included last week's dismissal of leading scorer Ty-Laur Johnson. He averaged a team-high 14.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Lavin did not give a reason for the dismissal.

Lavin was 145-78 at UCLA in seven seasons from 1996-2003. He took the Bruins to the Elite Eight in his first season and made four other Sweet 16 appearances. He was fired after UCLA went 10-19 in 2002-03, the only season he didn’t get the Bruins into the NCAAs.

He was 92-72 at St. John’s from 2010-15, with two NCAA Tournament berths and two NIT appearances. Lavin left St. John’s in 2015 after going 21-12. That season ended with a 76-64 loss to San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Lavin has worked for several seasons as a college basketball analyst on television.

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