Pasadena City College selected Ryan Frazer as the 16th head coach in the 99-year history of the men’s basketball program. Frazer’s hiring as a coach and full-time instructor in the Kinesiology, Health and Athletics Division was approved at Wednesday night’s Pasadena Area Community College District Board of Trustees meeting.
Frazer, 37, takes over the Lancers program after coaching an underdog MiraCosta College team, the #21 SoCal seed, to advance all the way to last week’s CCCAA State Championship tournament held at West Hills College Lemoore. Eventual state champion City College of San Francisco ended the Spartans run, 81-72, in the state quarterfinals on March 11. Frazer’s team led at one point 39-27 over the state’s #1 team and handed the Rams a rare halftime deficit at 41-36.
MiraCosta (17-15) finished as the fourth-place team from the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. Despite making it into the postseason as the second lowest seed, Frazer’s Spartans beat #12 Cerro Coso, 93-70, in the first round of regional play, then shocked both No. 5 Santiago Canyon in Round 2, 84-74, and No. 4 San Diego City, the PCAC champions, in the regional finals, 68-64. SDCC had previously beaten MiraCosta three times, but two of those came down to the final minute in 2-point defeats.
Frazer spent three seasons (2018-19, 2019-20, *2021-22) as MC’s head coach in compiling a 44-44 overall .500 record. In each of the seasons, the Spartans improved in victories and his debut campaign showed a 3-win improvement from MC’s previous season.
Frazer takes over a PCC program that has had its ups and downs. Last season under an interim head coach, the team finished 1-26 overall. The Lancers last won a conference title in the 1999-2000 season, tying for the South Coast Conference North Division crown with Los Angeles City. PCC has made it to the postseason as recently as the 2019 regionals. Pasadena hasn’t reached the state tournament since 1983 when the Lancers lost the state championship game in triple overtime against Cerritos.
PCC won the 1969 state title under Dan Ayala and perhaps the program’s greatest team was the 1967 state champions coached by legendary Jerry Tarkanian, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and PCC’s Court of Champions busts yard of all-time greats in PCC athletics. The Lancers finished 35-1 that season. Tarkanian’s ’68 team reached the state finals only to lose also in triple overtime–also against Cerritos.
“I have been fortunate to work for programs that have had success at high levels and I know the history of success with Pasadena’s men’s basketball program,” Frazer said. “It is because of these things that I believe I will be able to build a championship contender year in and year out at PCC. More importantly, ensuring our student-athletes are able to transfer to 4-year institutions once they conclude their eligibility. These will be the focal points of the program.
Prior to MiraCosta, Frazer was an assistant coach at Antelope Valley College for three seasons, assisting the Marauders to a 68-26 record, which included back-to-back Western State Conference Championships. The Marauders also posted consecutive 20-plus win seasons and continued a streak of appearances in the regional playoffs.
In 2015-17, Frazer spent two seasons as the top assistant at Cal State Dominguez Hills, helping place three Toros on the 2017 All-CCAA Team and serving as their lead recruiter. He also has 4-year university experience while being an assistant coach at Chico State in 2010-11.
A Southern California native, Frazer played at Palmdale High School, where he would become the boys varsity head coach. In two seasons at Palmdale (2012-13), his team compiled a 20-7 record in 2012, achieved the Golden League title, and made it to the second round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. He finished with a 33-20 overall record and two postseason appearances.
After graduating from Palmdale High, Frazer, a forward, finished his basketball playing career as a community college talent at Skagit Valley College in Mt. Vernon, Washington.
Frazer earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Azusa Pacific University in 2008, and two master’s degrees, one in sports administration from Fresno Pacific University in 2014 and the other in exercise science at Cal Baptist U. in 2020.
Frazer is married to wife Laura Reynaga, and the couple has three daughters, Alyanna, 15, Zoe, 9, and Yessi, 7. Currently residents of San Marcos, the family plans to relocate soon possibly to Arcadia as Frazer embarks on his new position.
He will be in charge of the 2022-2023 Lancers with the season beginning in November.
https://pcclancers.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/releases/20220316y89znh
