Herb Sendek is still coaching, has Santa Clara believing in Kentucky upset

ST. LOUIS – With Santa Clara’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 30 years barely 24 hours away, Herb Sendek spent a lot of his Thursday morning media session looking backward.

The Broncos’ longtime head coach, 10 days removed from his 600th win as a head coach, split his news conference mostly between discussing his own team and reminiscing on his time as an assistant under Rick Pitino at Kentucky.

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“That four years was just, it was magic,” Sendek said of his time in Lexington. “Big Blue Nation is one of a kind.”

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On Friday, Sendek will try to steal some of that magic, when his No. 10 Santa Clara team chases an upset of the 7-seeded Wildcats.

With the 26-win Broncos enjoying their best season in decades, the most-experienced coach in this weekend’s pod might just be the one poised to deliver the weekend’s biggest upset. His team does not lack for belief in the possibility.

Sendek’s career is a testament to longevity in what has increasingly become a young man’s game.

March 9, 2026; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Santa Clara Broncos head coach Herb Sendek talks in the locker room after defeating against the Saint Mary’s Gaels after the game at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Of the eight head coaches in St. Louis this weekend, only two — Sendek and Purdue’s Matt Painter — have been at it more than 11 years. Two here, Miami’s Jai Lucas and Tennessee State’s Nolan Smith, brought their teams to March Madness in their first years in their respective jobs.

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Sendek’s story covers many more chapters.

Friday will be his 16th Tournament game as a head coach. Santa Clara is the fourth different program he’s brought dancing. Honored this winter as West Coast Conference coach of the year, Sendek has now won that award in four different leagues.

He invokes Pitino and Jim Valvano as comfortably as he talks about the way these Broncos succeed by “staying in the moment, all season long.”

Mostly, he talks like what he is — a coach’s son who never really considered making a…

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Publish date : 2026-03-20 15:04:00

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