David Carter enters his second season with the Toreros in 2019-20 and 29th overall as a coach. In his role, he helps in all areas such as coordinating the defense, recruiting, practice and game preparation, and developing players.
In his first season with USD in 2018-19, Carter helped the team rank in the WCC’s top-half for scoring defense and tied for third in steals in conference-games only. In KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, the Toreros were third among WCC schools (67th in the nation).
Carter joined USD after compiling 27 years of coaching at the collegiate level, including 24 at Division I. He was the head coach at Nevada for six years (2009-15), a place where he spent 16 years rising from assistant to head coach. He won 98 games in his six years at the helm of Nevada and was named the 2012 WAC Coach of the Year after leading the Wolfpack to a regular season conference championship and trip to the NIT, where they reached the quarterfinals.
In addition to his 16 seasons with the Wolfpack, Carter has coached at Saint Mary’s – where he played for four years – Washington, Eastern Washington and Georgia.
At Nevada, Carter was key in recruiting future NBA players Ramon Sessions, JaVale McGee and Kirk Snyder. He also served as an assistant to Trent Johnson (1999-04) and Mark Fox (2004-09) while being on the coaching staff of four NCAA Tournament teams (2004-07). The 2004 team reached the Sweet 16, a year after playing in the NIT. In total, Carter and the Wolfpack reached the postseason in nine of his 16 seasons (4 NCAA, 3 NIT, and 2 CBI).
Carter is familiar with the West Coast Conference, coaching at his alma mater of Saint Mary’s during two different tenures from 1997-99 and 2015-17 under Randy Bennett.
After starting his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Washington in 1989-90, Carter was an assistant coach at Diablo Valley CC (CA) for three seasons (1992-95) before moving on to Eastern Washington for two years (1995-97).
A four-year starter and team captain during his playing days, Carter led his Saint Mary’s team to the NCAA Tournament in 1989 and registered a No. 17 national ranking with a 25-5 record. He graduated with a degree in liberal studies in 1989 and became a member of the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
Carter played high school basketball at Crenshaw High in Los Angeles, where he won two state championships.
Carter and his wife, Kim, have two children: Alexis and Cameron. Cameron is a freshman guard at Cal State Fullerton.
David Carter Year-By-Year
1989-90: Graduate Assistant, Washington
1992-95: Assistant Coach, Diablo Valley CC
1995-97: Assistant Coach, Eastern Washington
1997-99: Assistant Coach, Saint Mary’s
1999-2005: Assistant Coach, Nevada
2005-09: Associate Head Coach, Nevada
2009-15: Head Coach, Nevada
2015-17: Assistant Coach, Saint Mary’s
2017-18: Assistant Coach, Georgia
2018-Current: Assistant Coach, San Diego
