Skagit Valley College (SVC) announced the selection of Brock Veltri as Men’s Basketball Coach and Cooperative Education Coordinator. Currently, he is the Assistant Basketball Coach for Carroll College in Helena, Montana. He will begin work at SVC in August.
In addition to his coaching duties, Veltri will manage SVC’s Cooperative Education and Learning Into Action programs and assist students in meeting their work-based learning requirement for an Associate in Technical Arts degree. He will also work with employers in providing student placement opportunities and monitoring and assessing student performance in their Cooperative Education experience.
“I am very humbled and excited to be leading the SVC Men’s Basketball program,” said Veltri. “I am also looking forward to helping students gain important job skills in my role as Cooperative Education Coordinator.”
“Brock Veltri will make a big contribution to basketball at SVC and he will inherit a solid program,” said Gary Knutzen, SVC’s Athletic Director. “We owe a debt of gratitude to Dick Freier, who generously stepped forward to coach the team so that our program didn’t miss a beat during the past year. I especially appreciate the energy and dedication he gave to recruiting players and strengthening the program.” Freier, who served as Assistant Coach for Roger Valentine for 19 years, served as interim Men’s Basketball Coach during the 2012-13 season, following Valentine’s retirement. (more . . .)
Freier will return to the Cardinals as an Assistant Coach next season. "Our returning players gained valuable experience last year and have worked hard since the season ended,” he said. “Add to that a talented recruiting class and our fans should be in for an exciting season. I look forward to working with Brock to help assure a smooth transition."
Veltri has been at Carroll College, located in Helena, Montana, for four years. During his time there, the Saints won the 2010 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Frontier Conference Championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 at the National Tournament that year. Prior to his work in Montana, Veltri served five seasons as the head assistant coach on the Seattle Pacific University (SPU) staff, an NCAA division-II institution. While there, the Falcons won two Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) titles and reached the National Collegiate Athletic Association NCAA D-II Final Four in 2006. Coach Veltri served as SPU’s head recruiting coordinator, oversaw in-season scouting of opponents, skill development and scheduling and travel for the Falcons. He is entering his 13th coaching season including 11 years at the college level.
Prior to SPU, he was an assistant coach and sports information director for two years at Scottsdale Community College. He began his career as an assistant for his alma mater, Judge Memorial Catholic High School, in Salt Lake City. He spent one season on the staff at Idaho State University while completing his master’s degree in athletic administration.
Coach Veltri is no stranger to the Northwest Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC). He has been recruiting in the league for the past 12 years. He also played two years as a member of the inaugural basketball team at Peninsula College during the 97-98 and 98-99 seasons as the Pirates reintroduced basketball to their sports program after a 19-year hiatus.
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