Porterville College Director of Athletics Joe Cascio has announced the hiring of Kyle Wallace as the Pirates new men's basketball head coach for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

"We are extremely fortunate to have Coach Wallace join the Porterville Athletics family," said Cascio. "He has a tremendous coaching pedigree and proven success as both an assistant coach and head coach at this level. The future is very bright for PC Men's Basketball with Kyle at the helm."

Wallace, a former 3C2A state championship student-athlete and coach, brings experience from the high school and California community college levels.

"I feel extremely blessed, thankful, and excited to be the next head coach at Porterville College," said Wallace. "These opportunities do not come often and I thank Joe Cascio and Dr. Claudia Habib for entrusting me with this position."

Wallace comes to Porterville from southern Orange County. Last season, he coached as a member of the staff at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Prior to Santa Margarita Catholic, Wallace served as the head coach at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. During the 2021-22 season, he led the Jaguars to a 12-16 overall record and finished in fifth place out of 10 teams in the final Pacific Coast Athletic Conference standings at 9-7.

The foundation for Wallace's coaching was developed while at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo under head coach Andy Ground. Following a standout prep career at Servite High School in Anaheim, Wallace played two seasons at Saddleback, reaching consecutive California Community College Athletic Association state championship finals while winning the title in 2010.

Wallace closed out his playing career at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. He earned his bachelor's degree before returning to Southern California to begin coaching.

He teammed up again with Ground, serving as an assistant coach for five seasons at Saddleback. During that period, the Gauchos won 121 games, captured three Orange Empire Conference championships, and made two state championship game appearances. Wallace was instrumental in the Gauchos winning the 2015 state title.

Despite a late start, Wallace is excited to begin at Porterville and hit the ground running towards the upcoming season.

"The first steps or priorities are to get out and recruit," said Wallace. "We just have to go out and get the job done and bring in student-athletes that are committed to laying our foundation here at Porterville."

Wallace will look to continue the success of former PC head coach Amaurys Fermin, who stepped down after leading the Pirates to consecutive Northern California Regional playoffs appearances.

"Our goal is to put together a team of student-athletes that take care of business in the classroom," said Wallace. "On the court, we will compete, play hard, play tough, and play a brand of basketball that will make the community of Porterville proud.

"There are no secrets to success," he added. "We will grind and put in the work."