Steve Lavin fired at San Diego: Toreros coach is out near the end of his fourth season in the WCC
Lavin took the job in 2022 but never won more than 18 games in a season
By
Matt Norlander
Feb 18, 2026
at
2:54 pm ET
•
1 min read
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College basketball has its second coach firing in less than a week’s time.
Mere days after Jerome Tang was terminated at Kansas State, the University of San Diego has followed suit by sacking fourth-year coach Steve Lavin, sources told CBS Sports.
The Toreros are 11-17 and host LMU this Saturday. Lavin was hired in 2022 after his second lengthy stint working as an on-air college hoops commentator, but he couldn’t bring the program to consistency in the Gonzaga-dominated WCC. Lavin leaves USD with a 46-79 record. The program has not made the NCAAs since 2008 under Bill Grier.
The 61-year-old Lavin has a 283-229 career record, including his time at UCLA from 2006-03 and St. John’s from 2010-15.
Sources stated San Diego athletic director Kimya Massey has reached out to a few prospective candidates for the job in recent weeks. The target may well wind up being a sitting high-major assistant. The job will take on some increased appeal moving forward, as Gonzaga’s move out of the WCC to the reborn Pac-12 next season will open up opportunities for other programs to make inroads in what’s expected to largely be a one-bid league moving forward.
