Aaron Landon, the 2022 GNAC Coach of the Year, has led a remarkable turnaround in short time after a last place GNAC finish in his first season as head coach of the Saints (2019-20). Since then, Landon has captured two GNAC Regular Season Championships (2021-22 & 2022-23), reached a #1 National Ranking (January 2024), and led Saint Martin’s to the third NCAA Regional appearance in program history (2023). Saint Martin’s has held a Top 25 ranking in 31 of the last 48 national polls, with an overall record of 82-36 during that four-year span. Landon is the only coach in Saint Martin’s history to win multiple Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.
In 2024 Saint Martin’s finished 21-8, reaching the postseason for a third consecutive season. The Saints were ranked top 25 in the nation for 11 weeks including the historic milestone on January 22 when Saint Martin’s reached #1 in the nation for the first time ever. The explosive Saints offense averaged over 83 points per game, the most since Saint Martin’s University joined the NCAA.
The historic 2023 campaign saw the 24-7 Saints become the fourth program in GNAC history to win consecutive GNAC regular season championships. Saint Martin’s spent nine weeks ranked top 25 in the nation. The Saints clinched the GNAC Regular Season Championship with a 15-3 record before reaching the championship game of the GNAC Tournament for the second time in program history. The Saints enjoyed a high powered offense that ranked 10th nationally in made threes per game, 17th nationally in Assists per game, and led the GNAC in scoring offense, assists, made threes and scoring margin during conference play.
In 2022 Saint Martin’s captured the second GNAC Regular Season Championship in program history after being picked 9th in the preseason poll. The Saints were among the best shooting teams in the nation, their 42.5% clip from behind the arc led the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and was fourth in NCAA DII. On the other side of the ball, Saint Martin’s limited opponents to 68.7 points per game and led the GNAC in rebounding defense.
Over the last three years Saint Martin’s has also established itself as a high achieving program academically. 18 student athletes have been named to GNAC Academic All-Conference teams over the past four years. Saint Martin’s has had 36 players named to the NABC Honors Court during that span and secured the NABC Academic Excellence Award in each of the last five seasons. Men’s Basketball has finished with the highest gpa among men’s sports programs at Saint Martin’s University for the last three years.
The 2020-21 GNAC season was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions, however in January 2021 Landon worked with school officials to schedule a dozen games against a mix of NCAA DI and NCAA DII opponents. Â
Landon faced a challenging first year in 2019-20, his young Saints finished last in the GNAC, and in March all students were required to leave campus and finish the year taking online classes due to Covid-19.Â
Prior to his arrival at Saint Martin’s, Coach Landon enjoyed a decorated career as a junior college head coach. Landon served six seasons as the head coach at South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. At SPSCC, Landon transformed a program that finished 2-22 in his first season into a three-time NWAC West Region Champion. Coach Landon was named NWAC West Region Coach Of The Year in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
From 2015-2019 the South Puget Sound Community College was a dominant force in the NWAC. The Clippers went 49-7 in the West Region and 93-26 overall in the NWAC during that time. SPSCC won three West Region Championships and advanced to the postseason every year, earning three number one seeds and two trips to the NWAC Quarterfinals. During his time at SPSCC Landon served as an Academic Advisor and instructor on campus. Coach Landon set several records during his tenure at SPSCC and departed as the programs all-time win leader with 102 wins.Â
Before Landon took over the SPSCC program in 2013, he was an assistant coach at former GNAC member Concordia University (Ore.) for two seasons. Landon was primarily tasked with recruiting and brought in a group that enjoyed the best record in program history. Before his time in Portland, Landon coached high school basketball in California at Marina High School from 2008-2011. His first college coaching experience came as an assistant at Santa Monica College in California, in 2007.Â
Landon's playing career started at Monterey Peninsula College from 2003-2005, before transferring to Division-III University of La Verne for his final two seasons. Landon holds a Bachelor degree in Political Science from University of La Verne and a Masters degree in Education Leadership from Concordia University.
