UC Davis Athletics

Since Jim Les became the 23rd head coach in UC Davis' history on May 5, 2011, the Aggies posted their best records as a Division I program, won every game played on Hamilton Court twice within a three-year time span, captured their first Big West Conference championship, Big West Tournament championship, and in 2017 earned the school's first NCAA Tournament berth. 

Les will be entering his 14th season at the helm of the Aggies in 2024-25, a period during which the program has experienced unprecedented stability. Les, Associate Head Coach Kevin Nosek, and Assistant Coaches Jonathan Metzger-Jones and Kyle Vogt enter their ninth season together while Les, Nosek, and Vogt have coached together at UC Davis since the 2012-13 season. 

Les achieved his 300th career win on Nov. 12, 2021 in an 84-76 home win over Eastern Washington and enters 2024-25 with 349 career wins (195 at UC Davis).

In 2022-23, Les guided UC Davis to its third consecutive winning season, and sixth total during his tenure. Under Les' leadership this past season, Elijah Pepper experienced a career season, one in which the guard from Selah would lead the Aggies in points, rebounds, and assists while also breaking the school's single season scoring record. The 2022-23 season also was the first time since 2017-18 in which three Aggies were recognized on the All-Big West Teams.

2021-22 season saw Les guide the Aggies through multiple competition pauses and more canceled games than any other Big West team to a 13-11 record and a trip to the BWC Tournament quarterfinal round. 

UC Davis saw eight games lost from its schedule due to COVID-19 with the Aggies going without a game for a nine-day stretch in February and were able to play just one game between Dec. 22, 2021 and Jan. 14, 2022. That one game epitomized the 2021-22 Aggies though. Down to just seven active players and needing a game after the previous three were canceled, Les coached the Aggies to a 78-71 win over UC San Diego on Jan. 8 in an empty University Credit Union Center. 

That ability to adapt and persevere continued to show up in Les' 2021-22 group as the Aggies went on a three-game win streak in February but with two weeks inbetween the second and third wins due to cancelations. That streak was part of a stretch in which UC Davis won four of five. 

Under Les' tutelage, Ezra Manjon was named Big West All-Conference First Team and surpassed 1,000 career points and backcourt mate Elijah Pepper was named to the Second Team. 

During the 2020-21 season, Coach Les led the program through one of the most unique and challenging situations faced by any Division I head coach.

Due to COVID-19, UC Davis paused all basketball-related competition to remain compliant with Yolo County Health orders. While other Big West teams were practicing, organizing workouts and playing games, the Aggies adjusted their in-season schedule accordingly. 

Unable to use its facilities during the inaugural portion of a seven-week pause, student-athletes worked out on a one-on-one, and limited basis, once clearance was received by county health officials.

With the program adjusting its schedule each week to remain fully compliant, men's basketball returned to the court on January 22, 2021, in a road game at UC San Diego — the team's first since its December 4 home opener — which took place shortly after the program received authorization to practice as a team.

The Aggies' seven-week hiatus was the second-longest pause faced by any Division I program in the country; only three teams in the nation played fewer games than UC Davis when it faced the Tritons in its inaugural league game of the year. 

Since returning to campus in the summer of 2020 for off-season workouts, throughout the entire 2020-21 academic year, the program recorded zero positive tests for COVID-19 due to Les' leadership and an uncommon level of self-discipline exhibited by student-athletes, staff members and coaches.

Once action concluded, the Aggies strengthened their national reputation as one of the top free-throw-shooting teams in the nation, and toughest defensive units to face since it held the ninth-highest turnovers-forced average (17.06 per game) and 12th-highest team free-throw-shooting percentage (.785) among all 340 Division I programs.

Throughout the 2018-19 season, no team was more dominant on defense than UC Davis. In addition to posting the lowest opponent scoring average in the league, both overall and during conference play, the Aggies set new program records in all major rebounding categories by holding opponents to season-low overall and three-point percentages.

The program's championship tradition continued in 2018 when the Aggies won their third Big West title within four years and secured another postseason berth. Once the regular season concluded, Les received Big West Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career. 

Known for its defensive prowess and intensity, UC Davis men's basketball earned a spot on college basketball's national landscape thanks to numerous team championships and elite individual honors earned throughout the Jim Les era. 

Under Les' guidance, UC Davis won its first NCAA team statistical championship when the 2014-15 roster posted the highest three-point percentage among all Division I programs in the nation. Two individuals, Corey Hawkins (2014-15) and Stefan Gonzalez (2019-20), also earned individual titles when each ended their respective seasons with the No. 1 three-point percentage.

In 2015, Hawkins became the first UC Davis player in the program's Division I era named Big West Player of the Year. Three years later, TJ Shorts II became the first player in Big West history to win its top two individual awards when he ended his first season in Davis as the league's Newcomer and Player of the Year.

Shorts II is the Aggies' third Newcomer of the Year selection and joins a list of elite talents comprised of Chima Moneke (2017) and Hawkins, who became the first Aggie in program history to earn one of the league's major awards when he was selected in 2015.

Following the Aggies' thrilling victory in the league tournament's championship game, Moneke became the first Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player in program history.

Under Les’ leadership, Ezra Manjon earned another one of the BWC’s major honors when officials named him Freshman of the Year in March of 2020.

In addition to Best Sixth Man awards received by Josh Fox (2015) and Siler Schneider (2017), Darius Graham collected consecutive Best Hustle Awards in 2016 and '17 and became the second player in program history to accomplish this feat (Joe Harden was the first when he earned this accolade in 2010 and '11).

Les also created a unique home court advantage throughout his tenure at UC Davis, and turned the Pavilion into one of the most challenging environments on the West Coast. From 2015-19, no mainland squad collected more home wins than the Aggies and no Big West team held a higher home win percentage.

UC Davis' historic 2017 NCAA Tournament run, which started with a come-from-behind victory against the defending league champions in the Big West Tournament, continued with another win in the NCAA First Four vs. North Carolina Central. By winning their inaugural Division I Tournament game, the Aggies drew Kansas in a Midwest Regional First Round matchup that took place at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. 

The 2014-15 Big West Coach of the Year led UC Davis to its first-ever Big West Conference championship, and its inaugural postseason berth as a D-I team when the Aggies faced Stanford in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament. That appearance capped a season that included new school records for the most overall, home, road, conference and non-conference wins.

For the first time in school history, UC Davis also ended that season as the NCAA's national three-point champions thanks to its .447 shooting percentage — the highest mark recorded by any team since the three-point line was pushed back to its current distance. Corey Hawkins, the country's No. 1 three-point shooter with his .488 percentage brought the team's first-ever individual title to Davis. Combined, the 2014-15 squad recorded the highest three-point team percentage in program history since 1994.

As the only team in the nation to hold top five three-point and overall field goal percentages on a weekly basis, the Aggies posted a +16 win differential one that historic season concluded. Not only was that differential the largest enjoyed by any Div. I team that season, it is a new Big West Conference record.

Les came to the Aggies after spending nine years as the head coach at his alma mater, Bradley University, where he won more than 150 games and led the Braves to an appearance at the 2006 NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen.

In all, Les possesses 30 years of successful playing and coaching experience in both the collegiate and professional ranks.

Les is no stranger to the Sacramento area, having spent four years as a player with the Sacramento Kings, followed by three seasons as an assistant for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs. After a nine-year professional playing career, which included seven seasons in the National Basketball Association, Les enjoyed a successful venture into the financial world before returning to his basketball roots.

Following his three-year tenure with the Monarchs, Les returned to Bradley and was named the 12th men's basketball coach in Braves history on April 7, 2002.

In his first head coaching position, the Braves averaged more than 20 wins in five seasons from 2005 to 2010, while racking up 10 postseason wins throughout that time. Along the way, Les became the first coach in NCAA history to win games in four different postseason tournaments.

Les' coaching career has been defined by more than just wins and losses: Of the 26 seniors he has coached in his nine years with the Braves, 24 earned their degrees with the other two continuing their basketball careers overseas as professionals. Under Les' direction, Bradley set a program record for grade point average and had 11 team members earn a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll during the 2009-10 academic year for posting a minimum 3.0 semester GPA during at least one of the two grading periods that year.

Inheriting a team that produced a 9-20 record during the 2001-02 season, Les laid a solid foundation for a program that re-emerged as a force in the Missouri Valley Conference. Les finished with a 152-140 record in nine seasons as Bradley's head man, having directed the Braves to the Sweet 16s of the 2006 NCAA Tournament and 2007 National Invitation Tournament, followed by runner-up finishes in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (2008) and CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (2009).

In 2005-06, Les' veteran Braves were able to find their stride down the stretch and play their way into the postseason picture by winning 13 of their last 17 contests, including a seven-game win streak that took the team all the way to the MVC Tournament championship game. Bradley went on to win a pair of NCAA Tournament games, defeating No. 4 seed Kansas (77-73) and fifth-seeded Pittsburgh (72-66) at the Palace of Auburn Hills to make its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1955.

Les began his college career at Cleveland State, but transferred to Bradley during the winter break of his sophomore season. Once in the Bradley fold, Les led the Braves to a 60-27 (.690) record in his 87 games, consecutive trips to the postseason (1985 NIT and 1986 NCAA Tournament) and one of the greatest seasons in the history of both Bradley and Valley men's basketball.

The 1985-86 squad won the MVC regular season title with a perfect 16-0 league record and it remains the last Valley team to post an undefeated conference slate. Although the Braves lost the MVC Tournament championship game at Tulsa, Bradley earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, where the Braves lost to eventual national champion Louisville in the second round. Bradley's 83-65 victory versus UTEP in the first round of the 1986 West Regional, however, was the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since 1955.

During Bradley's memorable 1985-86 season, Les averaged 14.2 points and led The Valley with 7.9 assists per game. In addition to being named MVC Player of the Year in 1986, the 5-foot-11 point guard won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Hall of Fame Award as the nation's best player less than 6-feet-tall.

Les was inducted to the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame on Feb. 7, 1998. He also has been inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, Braves fans voted Les one of the 15 greatest players in program history during the celebration of Bradley's first 100 basketball seasons.

Following his senior season, Les was a third-round selection (70th overall) by the Atlanta Hawks during the 1986 NBA Draft and played a combined seven seasons for Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and the Hawks. He led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (.461) during the 1990-91 season and he was the runner-up to Chicago's Craig Hodges in the AT&T Long Distance Shootout during the 1992 NBA All-Star Weekend.

Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan and Dick Motta dot the list of coaches Les played for during his NBA career - three of the winningest coaches in NBA history.

Originally from the Chicago suburb of Niles, Ill., Les is married to the former Jodi Martineau. The Les' have three children: son Tyler and daughters Amber and Hannah.