Men's Basketball

Matthew Vargas was named head men's basketball coach at Wenatchee Valley College on August 1, 2022. Vargas previously served as head coach at Grays Harbor College from 2018-2022. In the 2019-2020 season, Vargas restored the once proud GHC basketball tradition by returning the Grays Harbor College program back to the NWAC Basketball Championship Tournament while producing multiple all-region student-athletes. Vargas has a national reputation for building up programs, exceeding graduation rates, and moving student-athletes on to four-year universities with scholarships.

Vargas received Coach of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009 for District 9 in the state of Louisiana. He led the Hammond High School Tornados to two state playoff appearances and one district championship.

In 2010, Vargas recruited multiple Louisiana high school seniors to Pima College in Tucson, Arizona where he was hired as an assistant coach. For the first time in school history, the program won the NJCAA Region 1 Championship and the team made the NJCAA National Championship Tournament. Wenatchee Valley College’s former head coach, Jeremy Harden, was the starting point guard on that 2010 team. Harden is currently an assistant coach for men's basketball at the University of Idaho.

In 2011, Vargas started an NJCAA collegiate athletic program on the Tohono O’odham Nation in Southern Arizona. Vargas served as Director of Athletics and head men's basketball coach at Tohono O'odham Community College from 2011-2017. Vargas was the NJCAA Region 1 men’s basketball chairman from 2014-2017. It was a storybook type of program build as Vargas led a college with an enrollment of just 187 students to back-to-back NJCAA Region 1 Championship games in 2014 and 2015. The TOCC program made the NJCAA Region 1 playoffs three times in the school's first 5 years of having an athletic program. The program's success led to the introduction of women’s basketball and archery at the college and provided the foundation for cross country to be introduced later on.

In 2016 and 2017, Vargas assisted with hosting logistics and coaching national teams from China and Rwanda during their summer training in the United States. He worked closely on this project with former University of Arizona standout Mo Tangara and the late legendary Lute Olson.

Matthew Vargas is the proud father of four amazing children. Abigayle lives in Aberdeen, Washington. Daimon attends Wenatchee Valley College. Luke is currently attending Wenatchee High School and Beckett attends Foothills Middle School. Vargas credits his wife Julie and all his children with any success he has ever been blessed to achieve.