Sacramento State Hornets basketball — program history

Sacramento State's basketball program dates to 1948, and the Hornets compete in the Big Sky Conference. The program has been a mid-major competitor in Northern California, occasionally challenging for conference titles.

The name

The Hornets nickname dates to the school's founding era, chosen to represent the aggressive and industrious nature of the hornet.

Signature moment

Reaching the 1962 NCAA College Division national championship game, where the Hornets fell 58-57 in overtime to Mount St. Mary's in the deepest postseason run in program history.

Sacramento is known as the "City of Trees," and Sacramento State's campus is one of the most tree-covered in the CSU system, giving the Nest (their arena) a unique woodland setting.

The Sacramento State Hornets compete in the Big Sky and hold an all-time record of 319–689 (.316 winning percentage) across 35 recorded seasons dating back to 1991-92.

Season-by-season results

SeasonRecordConferenceCoachAP peak
2025-2610-216-12 (Big Sky)Mike Bibby
2024-257-253-15 (Big Sky)Michael Czepil
2023-2410-244-14 (Big Sky)David Patrick
2022-2314-187-11 (Big Sky)David Patrick
2021-2211-186-14 (Big Sky)Brandon Laird
2020-218-125-9 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2019-2016-148-12 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2018-1915-168-12 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2017-187-254-14 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2016-1713-189-9 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2015-1614-176-12 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2014-1521-1213-5 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2013-1414-1610-10 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2012-1314-158-12 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2011-1210-185-11 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2010-117-214-12 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2009-109-213-13 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2008-092-271-15 (Big Sky)Brian Katz
2007-084-242-14 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
2006-0710-195-11 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
2005-0615-155-9 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
2004-0512-168-6 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
2003-0413-157-7 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
2002-0312-175-9 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
2001-029-193-11 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
2000-015-222-14 (Big Sky)Jerome Jenkins
1999-009-183-13 (Big Sky)Tom Abatemarco
1998-993-233-13 (Big Sky)Tom Abatemarco
1997-981-250-16 (Big Sky)Tom Abatemarco
1996-973-232-14 (Big Sky)Don Newman
1995-967-202-4 (AWC)Don Newman
1994-956-212-4 (AWC)Don Newman
1993-941-26IndDon Newman
1992-933-24IndDon Newman
1991-924-24IndJoe Anders

More Big Sky programs

Eastern Washington Eagles · Idaho State Bengals · Idaho Vandals · Montana Grizzlies · Montana State Bobcats · Northern Arizona Lumberjacks · Northern Colorado Bears · Portland State Vikings · Weber State Wildcats

All Division I programs · Historical rankings · Championship journeys · Hoopsipedia home

Hoopsipedia
Hpsipedia
EST. 2025 · VOL. II · NCAA OFFICIAL RECORDS
● 360 PROGRAMS · VERIFIED
★ ★ ★ The complete record of college basketball ★ ★ ★
Hpsipedia
★ Built for banter. Backed by the record book. ★
THE MAIN EVENT
Program 1
?
VS
since 1900
Program 2
?
Try:
✦ Ask Hoopsipedia AI
THE RECORD BOOK

All-time wins

Full leaderboard →
Rank Team All-Time Wins

On this day

SPOTLIGHT

AP Top 25

All rankings →
DISCOVER

More to argue about

Rankings Deep Dive
Who's REALLY a blue blood?
Our composite HTSS ranking of all-time program strength. See how every team stacks up across 100+ years.
EXPLORE →
Time Machine
Travel back to any season
See who was #1, who was rising, and who was falling. Every season from 1949 to today.
EXPLORE →
Coach Trees
The coaching lineages
From Dean Smith to Roy Williams to Hubert Davis — trace the family trees of college basketball's greatest coaches.
EXPLORE →

2026 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Last updated: --:--:--
For the best bracket experience, view on a desktop or rotate your device to landscape.

Team Rankings

Rank Team Conference All-Time Wins

Teams

★ ★ The architects ★ ★

COACHES

Top 100 by all-time D1 wins. Verified against the NCAA record book — and tiered so you can argue properly.

SETTLE A DEBATE
Compare Coaches
VS
FILTER BY TIER:
# COACH RECORD WIN % SCHOOL(S) YEARS BEST SEASON / LEGACY
Ask Hoopsipedia BETA
Hi! I'm the Hoopsipedia Assistant. I can look up team histories, compare programs, explore rankings, and more. Try asking: