Griff Aldrich Named Pepperdine Head Men's Basketball Coach
Pepperdine University has named Griff Aldrich head coach of the men’s basketball team. A proven program builder with a track record of leading turnarounds and guiding teams to NCAA tournament appearances at multiple institutions—including most recently as associate head coach at the University of Virginia—Aldrich will usher in a new era of Waves basketball in Malibu.
“Decisions like this are fundamentally about character and leadership,” said president Jim Gash (JD '93). “Coach Aldrich has long demonstrated the integrity, leadership, and competitive excellence needed to lead Pepperdine basketball forward into a new era. We are thrilled for what lies ahead and confident he will build a program that reflects the very best of Pepperdine.”
Tanner Gardner, Pepperdine University’s director of athletics, expressed enthusiasm in announcing Aldrich’s appointment, highlighting both his experience and strong character as valuable additions to the men’s basketball program.
“We were looking for a leader who could build something meaningful and sustainable,” said Gardner. “Griff’s passion for developing young men, his proven ability to transform programs, and his alignment with our mission make him the right person to lead Pepperdine men’s basketball.” Gardner added, “Griff Aldrich is exactly the kind of leader we need as we enter the next phase of Pepperdine basketball and look forward to moving into the Mountain at Mullin Park later this year.”
Aldrich has built a distinguished coaching career defined by program transformation, competitive excellence, and values-driven leadership across multiple levels of college basketball. His coaching career includes stops at the University of Virginia; Longwood University; and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). At each school, Aldrich helped lead program makeovers, resulting in four NCAA tournament appearances. Aldrich arrives at Pepperdine after serving as associate head coach at Virginia this past season, helping lead one of the nation’s biggest turnarounds from the season prior. Even prior to his term at Virginia, Aldrich accumulated a decorated head coaching tenure at Longwood from 2018 to 2025.
“My wife, Julie, and I are thrilled to join the Pepperdine and Malibu communities,” said Aldrich. “The opportunity to build a championship-caliber program within a university that promotes faith, academics, and excellence is tremendously exciting for our family. We cannot wait to start this new chapter in Malibu and to begin building and establishing a program that will become a source of pride for our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and fans.”
Aldrich began his coaching career at his alma mater, Hampden–Sydney College, where he helped guide the program to a perfect 24–0 regular season and a number one Division III national ranking in 1999-2000. A 1996 graduate, Aldrich was also a member of two NCAA tournament teams as a player before earning his JD at the University of Virginia.
Aldrich’s career path includes significant experience beyond the sidelines, with success in the legal and business world. He joined the Houston-based law firm Vinson & Elkins, where he eventually became a partner, advising clients on mergers and acquisitions, and capital market and private equity transactions. In 2012 he stepped away to launch his own company and later served as managing director and chief financial officer of Atinum Energy Investments, furthering his executive-level leadership experience.
While at Vinson & Elkins, he served as head coach at multiple high-level AAU basketball programs for high school players. He eventually founded the HIS Hoops program in Houston's Third Ward, where his work with students focused on faith, academics, and basketball.
After a successful 16-year career in law and business, Aldrich returned to college basketball in 2016, joining former teammate Ryan Odom’s staff at UMBC as director of recruiting and player development. There, he played an integral role in one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent college basketball history, helping guide the program from seven consecutive losing seasons to back-to-back 20-win campaigns. In his second season, UMBC won the America East championship and went on to make history in the NCAA Tournament. The Retrievers became the first No. 16 seed in the NCAA men's tournament to ever defeat a No. 1 seed, knocking off Virginia by a score of 74-54 in March 2018.
He becomes the 14th head coach in program history, taking the helm of a tradition-rich program that has made 13 NCAA tournament appearances, captured 12 West Coast Conference regular-season titles, and claimed three WCC tournament championships, most recently highlighted by a postseason run to the 2021 College Basketball Invitational title.
Learn more about Aldrich’s distinguished career and find details about an upcoming press conference formally welcoming him to Pepperdine University on the Waves' athletics website.