Kaleb Canales was introduced on April 3 as the new head coach of the Weber State men’s basketball program. Canales becomes the 11th head coach in the team’s Division I history and brings with him nearly twenty years of NBA coaching experience.
The appointment is significant for Weber State, which aims to build on its basketball tradition with a leader who has worked at both collegiate and professional levels. Canales spent last season as associate head coach at Troy, where he helped guide the team to a Sun Belt regular-season and tournament championship, resulting in an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Canales began his coaching career in 2001 as a high school assistant before moving to UT Arlington for the 2003-04 season. There, he contributed to a Southland Conference title win. His NBA journey started in 2005 with the Portland Trail Blazers as a video intern, progressing to video coordinator and then assistant coach by 2009. In 2012, he served as interim head coach for Portland over a span of 23 games and became recognized as the first Hispanic head coach in NBA history.
Following his time with Portland, Canales held assistant coaching positions with several teams including five seasons with the Dallas Mavericks (2013–18), two years with the New York Knicks, and one season with the Indiana Pacers. In addition to these roles, he was named associate head coach of the Texas Legends in the NBA G League in 2023 and also led Canada’s Calgary Surge.
Canales has participated actively in international programs such as Basketball Without Borders and has served since 2021 as associate head coach for Mexico’s Men’s National Team. He holds degrees from UT Arlington (Kinesiology) and Virginia Commonwealth University (Sports Leadership). He is married to Cristi and they have two children.
