List of managers of Asian heritage in sports leagues in the United States and Canada

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The following is a list of general managers, head coaches, and assistant coaches of Asian heritage in sports leagues in the United States and Canada, including the Big Four, other professional leagues and the collegiate NCAA. Some of the appointments listed below made into the list of Asian-American firsts.

Existing Asian coaches reflect that problems of race and sports especially "Asian stereotypes exist at all levels of basketball", which contributes to a factor why there has been a lack of Asian coaches in NCAA basketball.[1] The Asian Coaches Association is the most prominent association representing the causes of Asian basketball coaches.[1]

Women of Asian heritage coaching men's teams in particular encounter stereotypes. In 1998, Kim Ng recalled "she has been treated with kid gloves since being named an assistant GM with the Yankees."[2]

List[edit]

† denotes women coaching or overseeing a men's team.
Name Title League Club From Until Notes
Dave Yanai Head coach NAIA / NCAA D-II Basketball Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros and Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles 1977 2005 [3]
Erik Spoelstra Assistant coach NBA Miami Heat 1997 April 2008 Filipino descent from mother's side[4][5]
Kim Ng † Asst. General Manager MLB New York Yankees March 1998 2001 [6][7]
Kim Ng † Asst. General Manager MLB Los Angeles Dodgers 2002 March 2011 [8]
Erik Spoelstra Head coach NBA Miami Heat April 2008 present * First Filipino head coach[4][5]
Don Wakamatsu Field manager MLB Seattle Mariners November 2008 August 2010 First field manager of Asian descent in Major League Baseball[9][10]
Rich Cho General manager NBA Portland Trail Blazers July 2010 May 2011 First Asian G.M. in Big Four leagues[11]
Rich Cho General manager NBA Charlotte Hornets June 2011 February 2018 [12]
Norm Chow Head coach NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Hawaii Rainbow Warriors December 2011 November 2015 [13]
Matt Okada Associate Head Coach NCAA D-II Basketball Dominican Penguins August 2021 present * [14][15]
Asami Morita Head Coach NCAA D-II Basketball Westminster Griffins May 2023 present * First full Japanese head coach of an NCAA or four-year program [16]
Jonathan Yim Player Development Coach NBA Portland Trail Blazers 2013 2021 [17]
Shenton Wai Asst. coach NCAA D-I Basketball UTSA Roadrunners June 2015 March 2016 [18][19]
Dave Roberts Field manager MLB Los Angeles Dodgers November 2015 present * First field manager of Asian heritage to lead team to the World Series
Jeff Hironaka Head coach NCAA D-II Basketball Seattle Pacific Falcons and Colorado Christian Cougars 2002 March 2020 [20][21]
Bobby Webster General manager NBA Toronto Raptors June 2017 present* Japanese descent from mother's side; only NBA G.M. presently* of Asian heritage[22]
Natalie Nakase † Asst. coach NBA Los Angeles Clippers August 2018 present * [23]
Don Wakamatsu Field manager (interim) MLB Texas Rangers September 2018 October 2018 [24]
Mike Magpayo Head coach NCAA D-I Basketball UC Riverside Highlanders July 2020 present * First NCAA Division I head coach of Asian heritage[25]
Rex Walters Assistant Coach NBA Basketball New Orleans Pelicans 2020 present * First NCAA Division I half-Japanese (half German) player for Northwestern University and University of Kansas Final Four Team (1992-1993) and a draft pick of New Jersey Nets in 1993 NBA Draft. Coached San Francisco Dons, assistant coach with Detroit Pistons.[26]
Kim Ng † General manager MLB Miami Marlins November 2020 present * First female G.M. (irrespective of ethnicity) in Big Four leagues[27]
Marcus Freeman Head Coach NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Notre Dame Fighting Irish December 2021 present * Korean descent from mother's side. First NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision head coach of Korean heritage[28][29]
* denotes present up to December 2021

See also[edit]

Terminology

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Wong, Alex (2020-10-09). "Erik Spoelstra and the lack of Asian coaches in the NBA". Andscape.
  2. ^ "Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois on March 22, 1998 · Page 42". Chicago Tribune. 1998-03-22. University of Chicago graduate Kim Ng says she has been treated with kid gloves since being named an assistant GM with the Yankees. 'People used to apologize for swearing in front of me – until they realized I probably swear more than them,' she said.
  3. ^ Hughes, Chris (March 9, 2005). "Cal State L.A. Head Men's Basketball Coach Dave Yanai Retires" (Press release). Cal State Los Angeles. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Riley Steps Down, Spoelstra Named Head Coach". NBA.com. April 28, 2008. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Spoelstra First Filipino NBA Head Coach". Inquirer.net. May 3, 2008. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
  6. ^ Olney, Buster (1998-03-04). "Woman Will Be Yankee Executive". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27.
  7. ^ "Expos' Loria gets OK to buy Marlins". Chicago Tribune. 2001-12-06.
  8. ^ Shaikin, Bill (2011-03-08). "Kim Ng on leaving Dodgers: I still want to be a GM". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ "Mariners make Don Wakamatsu MLB's first Asian-American manager". NyDailyNews.com. November 19, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  10. ^ "Mariners fire Wakamatsu, name Brown interim manager". TheOlympian.com. August 9, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Ziller, Tom (July 19, 2010). "Portland Trail Blazers Name Rich Cho General Manager". Fanhouse.com. Retrieved July 19, 2010.
  12. ^ "Hornets to Not Extend Contract of GM Rich Cho". Charlotte Hornets. February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  13. ^ Wire, S. I. (November 2015). "Hawaii fires head coach Norm Chow". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
  14. ^ "Okada Joins Broncos' Coaching Staff". Cal Poly Pomona Broncos's official website. 2014-08-11.
  15. ^ "Matt Okada - Assistant Coach - Men's Basketball - Men's Basketball Coaches - Cal Poly Pomona Athletics". Cal Poly Pomona Broncos's official website. 2020.
  16. ^ "Morita Named Westminster College Head Women's Basketball Coach". Westminster Griffin's official website. 2023-05-10.
  17. ^ "Jonathan Yim | Video Coordinator/Player Development Coach". Portland Trail Blazers. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
  18. ^ "Shenton Wai, Assistant Coach at University of Texas at San Antonio". The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  19. ^ "Paving the Wai". Melbourne East Basketball Association, Australia. 2015-08-20.
  20. ^ "JEFF HIRONAKA, Head Men's Basketball Coach". Colorado Christian Cougars's official website.
  21. ^ Hinkel, Stephen (2020-03-09). "Cougars Part Ways With Men's Basketball Coach Jeff Hironaka". Colorado Christian Cougars's official website.
  22. ^ Golliver, Ben (November 19, 2019). "Raptors GM draws on mixed upbringing in building team's post-Kawhi Leonard identity". Washington Post's official website.
  23. ^ "How Their Success Began At Home". Rafu Shimpo. August 15, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  24. ^ "Rangers Fire Manager Jeff Banister After Four Seasons: Bench coach Don Wakamatsu will serve as interim manager for the remainder of the season". SI.com. September 21, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  25. ^ Giongco, Mike (July 4, 2020). "Filipino coach Mike Magpayo makes US NCAA Division 1 history". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  26. ^ Odeven, Ed (July 1, 2017). "Walters lands spot on Pistons staff". Japan Times. Retrieved Jan 2, 2021.
  27. ^ Wine, Steven (2020-11-13). "Miami Marlins make Kim Ng the 1st female GM in MLB history". CBC News. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  28. ^ Brice, John (15 October 2021). "Marcus Freeman: 'The Gold Standard' Notre Dame assistant driven for success". Footballscoop. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  29. ^ "Marcus Freeman". Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website. 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
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