EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Silver Waves Media released its 7^th Annual 100 Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches and GMs list, on the list included three UC Santa Barbara men's basketball coaches, Brandon Cyrus, Brian Eskildsen and Derek Glasser.
 
Entering his second season with UC Santa Barbara, Brandon Cyrus has helped the Gauchos to a 30-19 record while contributing to the development of Second Team All-Big West selection Stephan Swenson and Honorable Mention standouts Kenny Pohto and Cole Anderson during the 2024-25 season.
 
Before joining the UCSB staff, he spent three years coaching at the grassroots level, mentoring and training over 300 youth athletes and building a foundation in relationship-driven development. His coaching focuses include rebounding, player development, and culture building, while prioritizing high daily standards for student-athletes and supporting holistic growth as young men on and off the court.
 
Brian Eskildsen is now in his third season with the Gauchos and lands for a third time on a Silver Waves Media list. He was most recently named 2022 Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistants and earned the same recognition in 2020.
 
Before joining the Gauchos, Esklidsen was most recently at Georgia Tech, where he was a member of the staff for one season. During that time, he helped the team earn a spot in the second round of the ACC Championships. Prior to that, Esklidsen was on staff at Harvard University for eight seasons. During that time, he assisted the Crimson to three Ivy League Championships, an NCAA tournament appearance and two NIT berths. Eskildsen played a crucial part in recruiting and developing nine All-Ivy League players. Before his time in Cambridge, Esklidsen was on staff at Rice, Stanford and New Orleans.
 
Dereke Glasser now adds 100 Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches recognition to his resume. Previously, he has been named NXT Up Mid-Major Rising Assistant Coaches and a 2022 Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches. Now in his fourth season in the Blue and Gold, Glasser has played a key role in one of the most successful stretches in program history. He helped lead UC Santa Barbara to the 2023 Big West regular season and tournament championships, an NCAA Tournament appearance, and a school-record 27 wins. He oversees scouting and game planning for an offense that ranked among the nation's top 80, while mentoring standout guards including Ajay Mitchell, the Big West Player of the Year and four All-Big West selection. Under his guidance, at least one Gaucho guard has earned All-Big West recognition each season.

Glasser has also been instrumental on the recruiting trail, helping secure high-major transfers such as Miro Little, Aidan Mahaney, Colin Smith, Ben Shtolzberg, and former five-star talent Yohan Traore. He also played a key role in landing four-star recruit Zion Sensley, the highest-rated recruit to commit to the Gauchos, and most recently helped bring in four-star recruit Michael Simcoe. Glasser's recruiting prowess doesn't stop there, as he also brought in 2025-26 Preseason All-Conference selection Jason Fontenet II.

Prior to UCSB, Glasser spent two seasons at Rice in the same capacity. He contributed to Rice's first stretch of three consecutive 15-win seasons since 2006. The Owls' 2021–22 offense finished in the top 50 nationally in nine statistical categories. All in all, across his five seasons at UC Santa Barbara and Rice, Glasser has coached and developed five NBA players: Trey Murphy, Drew Peterson, Quincy Olivari, Miles Norris, and Ajay Mitchell.