Judge alumni earn gold stars in the classroom and on the court

Intermountain Catholic

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Brandon Veltri

SALT LAKE CITY — Carroll College men’s basketball coach Brandon Veltri was named the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 22-8 season and a runner-up finish in the Frontier Basketball Conference Tournament. Carroll College is in Helena, Mont.

"This season we played really well and we appeared in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. We finished 23-10," said Veltri, in his second year as head basketball coach for Carroll College. "It’s nice to be recognized by your peers and the other coaches you respect. It was a nice surprise. I owe it to our outstanding staff of Brock Veltri, my twin brother and associate head coach, and assistant coaches Sol Jones and Ryan McDermott. Those guys put in a ton of hours."

It’s hard to talk about Brandon without talking about Brock. They graduated from Judge Memorial Catholic High School in 1997, and went to Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Washington, for two years. Brandon then transferred to the University of Utah, where he graduated in 2001. He and Brock each received a master’s degree in athletic administration from Idaho State University; Brock in 2001 and Brandon in 2002.

Brandon started his career at Carroll College in the fall of 2003, as the assistant coach under Hall of Fame head coach Gary Turcott. He was associate head coach from 2008 to 2009. In his first year as head coach, he led the Saints to a 13-16 overall season and a fourth-place finish in the Frontier Conference.

While at Judge Memorial, Veltri played basketball for then- head coach Jim Yerkovich, who retired in 2010 after 44 years.

"Brock and I went to Kearns-Saint Ann Elementary School and I was influenced greatly by the teachers and administration there and then on to Judge Memorial," said Brandon. "The people there were also very influential in my life, not only the teachers, but the coaches: John Colosimo and Jim Yerkovich."

Veltri cited Yerkovich’s "We" program and philosophy, in which the group is greater than the individual, as a strong influence on him.

"Brandon and Brock are both exemplary people to have as teammates," said Yerkovich. "They were always thinking of the team first and themselves second."

"They were a joy to have in our basketball community," said Dan DelPorto, Judge Memorial head basketball coach, who was the assistant coach at the time the twins played for the Bulldogs. "They were good players, coachable and fun to be around. They were both good football players as well."

"They both were good players who loved the game of basketball and identified with coaching as something they would like to do because they wanted to have the game in their life in the future," said Yerkovich.

The success Brandon has had at Carroll College has come from surrounding himself with good people, he said.

"I really think we’ve done that from our coaching staff all the way down to our players," said Brandon. "My assistant coaches are outstanding. Brock and I met Sol Jones at Peninsula, and Ryan McDermott was a student at Carroll when I first arrived in 2003. Those guys are extremely hard workers, really knowledgeable about basketball and great mentors for the teams. They put in a lot of time and work well with our players. They love teaching the game of basketball.

"Our players are outstanding, hard workers who buy into what we’re trying to teach; they see the bigger picture. They are great students in the classroom, on the court and they are great ambassadors to our institution."