Mark Ozeir Trakh (born May 31, 1955) is a Jordanian college basketball coach who had been the women's basketball head coach at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
(USC) from 2004 to 2009 and 2017 to 2021. Before his first stint at USC, he was head coach at
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...
, and was head coach at
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...
before returning to USC.
Early life and education
Trakh was born in
Amman
Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and moved to the United States with his family at age 4. Trakh's grandparents are from the
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
in addition to English.
In the U.S., the Trakhs first lived in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
and
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Wanaque, New Jersey
Wanaque () is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,116, A baseball and basketball student-athlete, Trakh graduated from Lakeland Regional High School. After high school, Trakh attended
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
, before joining his family in Southern California and transferring to Fullerton College in 1977. A
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
major, Trakh was sports editor at the Fullerton College student newspaper and freelancer for the Fullerton ''News-Tribune''. In 1979, Trakh transferred to
California State University, Long Beach
California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...
(Long Beach State) to pursue a teaching credential. Trakh graduated from Long Beach State in 1981.
Coaching career
While in high school, Trakh coached junior high and youth basketball. Trakh was boys' sophomore head coach for
Western High School Western High School may refer:
Schools in the United States
*Western High School (Anaheim, California) – Anaheim, California
* Western High School (Illinois) – Barry, Illinois
* Western High School (Florida) – Davie, Florida
* Western High S ...
in
Anaheim
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
in the 1979–80 season before becoming girls' varsity head coach at
Brea Olinda High School
Brea Olinda High School is a 9th–12th grade public high school located in Brea, California. Established in 1927, the school was originally located across the street from the Brea Mall. In 1989, the school moved to its current location on the ...
, a position he would hold from 1980 to 1993. Inheriting a program that won only four games in the previous two seasons, Trakh had a 354–45 overall record with four state titles (1989, 1991–93). At Brea Olinda, Trakh also was an English teacher.
From 1993 to 2004, Trakh was head coach at
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...
. He led Pepperdine to four
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...
regular season titles (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003) and had consecutive NCAA or WNIT appearances in his final six seasons.
Trakh was head coach at
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
from 2004 to 2009, during which he had a 90–64 overall record with NCAA Tournament appearances in 2005 and 2006. Although Trakh recruited four top-12 recruiting classes, including the ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' number-one class in 2006, USC never finished above fourth place in the
Pac-10
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
in Trakh's five years and did not make any postseason tournaments after 2006. On April 8, 2009, Trakh resigned from USC.
On April 8, 2011, New Mexico State hired Trakh as head coach. Trakh's time at New Mexico State began with three consecutive losing seasons before the first of three consecutive first-place finishes in the
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
in 2015.
After six seasons at New Mexico State, he returned to USC during the 2017 offseason, replacing Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, who had resigned for unspecified reasons after the 2016–17 season.
Trakh announced his retirement from coaching on April 21, 2021.
Personal life
Mark Trakh's younger brother
Maz
Maz or MAZ may refer to:
* IATA code for Eugenio María de Hostos Airport, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
* Minsk Automobile Plant, abbreviated in Belarusian as MAZ
* Myc-associated zinc finger protein, a protein encoded by the ''MAZ'' gene
* Maz, a villa ...
is also a basketball coach; at the time of Mark's return to USC, Maz was an assistant with the NBA's
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...
.
Head coaching record
This section covers Trakh's head coaching record in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...