Previously a head coach at Central Florida, Wake Forest and Navy, Joe Sanchez was hired by the Montreat College athletic department as the assistant coach for the women’s basketball program in the fall of 2023. Sanchez coached one season with the Cavaliers in 2023-24.
PRIOR TO MONTREAT
Sanchez came to Montreat following several stops in the Sunshine State. Most recently, Sanchez was an assistant coach on the men’s basketball staff at Florida Tech for the past four years. While he coached at the NCAA Division II school, the Panthers notched a trio of seasons at or above .500. With Sanchez on staff, Florida Tech saw players sign professional contracts, grab All-Sunshine State Conference (SSC) honors, notch SSC Player of the Week accolades and garner SSC All-Tournament Team recognition in addition to numerous academic achievements.
Prior to his time with FIT, Sanchez spent four seasons at Warner University as the head coach with the women’s basketball team and an assistant coach for men’s basketball. At WU, the Royals’ women’s squad collected 19 wins, while the men tallied 93 victories during his time in Lake Wales, Fla.
Before Warner, Sanchez coached at Indian River State College, where the Pioneers were a mainstay in the Region 8 Coaches’ Poll. Under Sanchez’s direction as head coach, IRSC had a pair of 20-win seasons, including a Southern Conference Tournament Championship in 2012. While at IRSC, Sanchez also taught in the sports management program.
Over his years in the field, Sanchez has amassed seven conference Coach of the Year awards, two regional Coach of the Year honors and nomination for National Coach of the Year. He has captained eight teams to national tournaments and claimed his 500th collegiate coaching win against Broward College while at IRSC.
Some of Coach Sanchez’s most noteworthy stops have included head coaching positions at the University of Central Florida, Wake Forest University and the United States Naval Academy. Sanchez guided the Knights to four consecutive 20-win seasons and four consecutive national rankings and tournament appearances. For his efforts, Sanchez was named SSC Coach of the Year and an All-American Coach by the American Sports Federation.
Sanchez then headed to Wake Forest for seven seasons. The Demon Deacons made the NCAA Tournament in 1987-88, while holding as high a ranking as No. 16 in the AP Poll. For his team’s achievements, Sanchez captured the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year honor, Converse Regional Coach of the Year and a National Coach of the Year nomination.
Following Wake Forest, Sanchez transitioned to the head coach at Navy, where he registered a 141-112 record from 1994-2003, including a Patriot League Regular Season Championship in 1997-98 and a Patriot League Coach of the Year honor. Coach Sanchez also held the rank of Associate Professor in the physical education department at the Naval Academy. Before accepting the position at Navy, Sanchez led Nebraska-Kearney to an NCAA National tournament slot and was named the Omaha Herald's Nebraska Coach of the Year.
At the high school level, Sanchez earned two state championships and seven regional appearances. He has been named a State Coach of the Year twice and has coached internationally with Spain's Olympic basketball development program. Sanchez has been a very active speaker throughout his career, having the honor to have lectured at the states Coaches Clinics of Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Alabama and New York.
Sanchez currently resides in Lake Lure, N.C.
