Lorenzo Romar Coaching Record

Lorenzo Romar -- who has been a successful head coach for more than two decades and is known as one of the nation’s top recruiters -- returned to Pepperdine and is his second stint in charge of the men’s basketball program. The 2023-24 season will be his sixth since his return, and his ninth overall with the Waves.

In 26 seasons as a head coach at Pepperdine, Saint Louis and Washington, Romar’s career record is 454-377 (105-137 in his eight seasons with the Waves). He won a national championship as an assistant coach at UCLA in 1995 and led Pepperdine to the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) title in 2021.

As a head coach, he’s had 18 players taken in the NBA Draft. As either a head coach or an assistant, he’s worked with 27 future NBA Draft picks.

Romar’s first head coaching position was with the Waves for three seasons, as he took over in 1996-97 and stayed through 1998-99. After an initial rebuilding season, he led Pepperdine to 17 and 19 wins over his next two seasons, including a spot in the NIT in 1999. An 11-win improvement from season one to two ranked as one of the nation’s top improvements.

He left after that year to become the head coach at Saint Louis University, but players that he recruited to Pepperdine would go on to make the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2002.

One of the players he recruited to Pepperdine was Brandon Armstrong, a 2001 NBA Draft first-round selection. He had five All-WCC first team selections in his three years, including Jelani Gardner (who received the honor twice) and Gerald Brown (who currently serves as a Pepperdine assistant coach).

He made an immediate impact in his return to Malibu ahead of the 2018-19 season, overseeing another one of the nation’s top turnarounds by leading Pepperdine to 16 wins (a 10-win improvement over the previous year). In fact, in Pepperdine’s long history there have only been four occasions when the Waves have improved by 10 wins from one year to the next, and Romar has been the head coach for two of them.

Romar earned the 400th victory of his head coaching career on January 12, 2019, at San Diego.

In his third season back in charge of the Waves, he led Pepperdine to three wins in three days at the 2021 CBI, giving Pepperdine its first postseason trophy since the 1994 WCC Championships. He coached Colbey Ross to one of the most prolific careers in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history, as Ross became the first player to accumulate 2,200 points, 800 assists and 400 rebounds. And, Kessler Edwards became the first Wave selected in the NBA Draft since 2005.

The Waves have ranked fourth (79.2% in 2019-20) and 11th (78.5% in 2020-21) in free throw percentage nationally in recent years. The Waves were third in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.1%) in 2020-21.

“My comfort level with Steve Potts and President (Andrew) Benton played a huge role in my decision to return to Pepperdine,” said Romar in March 2018 at the time of his hiring. “I grew up in Southern California, and at this point in my career it was my preference to stay on the West Coast. The Christian mission that Pepperdine stands for, its values, the fact that they are committed to putting forth the resources necessary to allow Pepperdine to get back to the highest level where they once were, all this is very exciting to me.

“Pepperdine was my first head coaching job, and I remember us not doing well our first year. When we took over there had been a couple of losing seasons before that, and in our first year we also had a losing season. Then in our second year, I think we were the second-most improved team in the country. To see the kids on that team experience a little more success was something that was really exciting.”

Pepperdine Director of Athletics Dr. Steve Potts said: “Lorenzo Romar is one of the finest men that I know. I am extremely pleased and excited that he has agreed to rejoin our program as our men's basketball head coach. His commitment to our Christian mission, to the academic well-being of our student-athletes and to building a men's basketball program that will compete for West Coast Conference championships make him a perfect fit for Pepperdine.”

Former Pepperdine University President Andrew K. Benton said: “I am delighted that Coach Romar is coming ‘home’ to Pepperdine. I admire his approach to the game of basketball and the way in which he leads his teams in preparation for the game of life. We open this new chapter with confidence, and, of course, with waves of enthusiasm.”

Romar helped rebuild Washington into a perennial Pac-12 contender during his 15 seasons as head coach there (2002-03 through 2016-17). Fourteen of his Huskies were selected in the NBA Draft, including 11 first-round picks, such as Nate Robinson, Brandon Roy, Spencer Hawes, Terrence Ross, Marquese Chriss, Dejounte Murray and 2017 top overall pick Markelle Fultz. Future NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas also played for Romar at Washington, one of 17 Huskies that went on to play in the NBA during his tenure.

Romar left his alma mater with the second-most wins in program history with 298, averaging nearly 20 victories a season. He amassed four of the seven largest single-season win totals in Washington history, including 29 in 2004-05, tying the school record. The Huskies received their first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament that year.

He led UW to a pair of conference regular-season (2009 and 2012) and three tournament championships (2005, 2010, 2011). The Huskies played in six NCAA Tournaments, three NITs and one CBI.

At Washington, he earned three Pac-10 or Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors (2005, 2009, 2012). The Black Coaches Association named him its National Coach of the Year in 2005. In 2006, he was honored with the John Wooden “Keys to Life” Award. Pac-10 players once voted him as the opposing coach that they would most like to play for.

Prior to Washington, Romar spent three years at Saint Louis (1999-00 through 2001-02). He won 51 games, which included the 2000 Conference USA Tournament title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

After Washington and before returning to Pepperdine, Romar served as the associate head coach for one season (2017-18) at Arizona. He helped the Wildcats a 27-8 record, Pac-12 regular-season and tournament titles and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

A native of Compton, California, Romar graduated from Pius X High School and earned an associate’s degree from Cerritos (Calif.) Community College in 1980. During his sophomore year, he set a school record for single-season assists and earned all-league first team honors.

He went on to Washington, where he would be a two-year starter at point guard and was the team captain as a senior in 1979-80. He led the Huskies in assists both seasons, and averaged 9.3 points as a senior as UW made the NIT. He was the recipient of the team’s Most Inspirational Award both years.

He was selected in the seventh round of the 1980 NBA Draft (141st overall) by the Golden State Warriors. He would go on to play five seasons in the NBA with Golden State, Milwaukee and Detroit. He had totals of 1,731 points (5.9 average) and 1,022 assists (3.5 average) during 291 career regular-season games.

After the 1984-85 season, Romar joined Athletes in Action and played with the organization for seven seasons. He started 224 of 233 games during this time, and set AIA single-game records for points (54) and assists (21) and the career record for assists (1,689). He eventually became a player-coach with the organization.

That eventually led him to becoming an assistant coach at UCLA under former Pepperdine head coach Jim Harrick. During his four seasons (1992-93 through 1995-96), in which he was the top assistant and lead recruiter, the Bruins won the 1995 NCAA title and had a 98-27 record. He went from UCLA to becoming Pepperdine’s head coach.

Romar has also long been involved with USA Basketball. He served as an assistant coach for both the U-22 team that competed at the 1997 World Championships, and for the Pan American Games team in 2003. He was the head coach of the U.S. U-18 National Team, which won a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA Americas. USA Basketball named him to its competition committee in February 2013 for a four-year term.

Romar earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from University of Cincinnati in 1992. He and his wife Leona have three daughters – Terra, Tavia and Taylor – and they also have three grandchildren.

#	Full Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Year	Exp.	Hometown	High School	Previous School
2	Darryl Polk Jr.	G	5' 9''	145	Fr.	HS	Long Beach, Calif.	Long Beach Poly HS
3	Michael Wexler	G	5' 11''	175	R-Fr.	RS	Plymouth, Minn.	Benilde-St. Margaret's School
4	Colbey Ross	G	6' 1''	180	So.	1V	Aurora, Colo.	Eaglecrest HS
5	Jade' Smith	G	6' 4''	180	So.	1V	Oakland, Calif.	St. Joseph Notre Dame HS
10	Andre Ball	G/F	6' 7''	190	Fr.	HS	Chino Hills, Calif.	Chino Hills HS
11	Keith Smith	G/F	6' 6''	205	Jr.	TR	Seattle, Wash.	Rainier Beach HS	Oregon
12	Darnell Dunn	F	6' 6''	220	Sr.	1V	Kinston, N.C.	Kinston HS	Miami Dade JC
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14	Jay Yoon	G	6' 4''	195	Fr.	HS	Arcadia, Calif.	Arcadia HS
15	Kessler Edwards	F	6' 8''	190	Fr.	HS	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.	Etiwanda HS
20	Kameron Edwards	F	6' 6''	230	R-Jr.	2V	Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.	Etiwanda HS
21	Eric Cooper Jr.	G	6' 3''	190	R-Sr.	1V	Ontario, Calif.	St. Anthony HS	Nevada
25	Everett Perrot	F	6' 6''	215	Fr.	HS	Elk Grove, Calif.	Christian Brothers HS
32	Kaijae Yee-Stephens	G	6' 1''	190	R-So.	1V	Santa Cruz, Calif.	Santa Cruz HS
33	Erik Mailliard	C	6' 10''	230	R-Fr.	RS	Dallas, Texas	Parish Episcopal School
34	Victor Ohia Obioha	C	6' 9''	200	Fr.	HS	Owerri, Nigeria	Hillcrest HS
35	M.J. Cage	F	6' 10''	235	Jr.	TR	Santa Ana, Calif.	Mater Dei HS	Oregon
50	Jackson Stormo	C	6' 8''	260	Fr.	HS	Santa Barbara, Calif.	San Marcos HS

Coaching Staff
Image	Name	Title	Email	Phone Number
	Lorenzo Romar	Head Coach		(310) 506-4161
	Ken Bone	Associate Head Coach		(310) 506-4161
	Curtis Allen	Assistant Coach		(310) 506-4161
	Reggie Morris Jr.	Assistant Coach		(310) 506-4161
	John Impelman	Director of Operations	john.impelman@pepperdine.edu	(310) 506-4161
	Gerald Brown	Assistant Director of Operations		(310) 506-4161
	Tochi Oti	Graduate Manager	tochi.oti@pepperdine.edu	(310) 506-4161
	Connor Griffin	Graduate Manager	connor.griffin@pepperdine.edu	(310) 506-4161
	Matt Young	Assistant A.D. - Strength & Conditioning	matt.young@pepperdine.edu	(310) 506-7630
	Justin Ericson	Assistant Athletic Trainer	justin.ericson@pepperdine.edu	(310) 506-4169

2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster

Darryl Polk Jr.

Michael Wexler

Colbey Ross

Jade' Smith

Andre Ball

Keith Smith

Darnell Dunn

Jay Yoon

Kessler Edwards

Kameron Edwards

Eric Cooper Jr.

Everett Perrot

Kaijae Yee-Stephens

Erik Mailliard

Victor Ohia Obioha

M.J. Cage

Jackson Stormo

Lorenzo Romar

Ken Bone

Curtis Allen

Reggie Morris Jr.

John Impelman

Gerald Brown

Tochi Oti

Connor Griffin

Matt Young

Justin Ericson