University of Central Arkansas Athletics

   Matt Scherbenske is beginning his 6th year as an assistant with the Bears. Scherbenske played high school basketball at the perennial number one high school program in the nation, Oak Hill Academy, under Hall of Fame Coach, Steve Smith. While At Oak Hill, Scherbenske played with future All-Americans and NBA players, Nolan Smith, Ty Lawson, and Michael Beasley. He helped the team to a 40-1 record and a #2 USA Today ranking at the end of the season, while shooting 48% from three point range on the year.  After playing at Oak Hill, Scherbenske played one year at Oral Roberts University under Coach Scott Sutton and then transferred and played with the Kentucky Wildcats.

   While at Kentucky, Scherbenske played with more than 10 NBA draft picks, and also made the SEC All-Academic Team. After college he did an internship with NBA skill trainers Mike Procopio and Tim Grover, and helped work out many NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, Dwayne Wade, Anthony Davis, and Gilbert Arenas. He was Head Coach at Christ Prep Academy (2010-2011) and led the team to a regional championship. During that period of time he was also an assistant coach for the AAU KC RUN GMC team.
 
Scherbenske then served as a graduate assistant at Cal Berkeley in the PAC-12, under Hall of Fame Coach, Mike Montgomery.  After his internship year, he served as a DOP at the Citadel under Chuck Driesel, but after three months, he was invited by Coach Montgomery to be the video coordinator for the Cal Bears, of which he served for 2 years. During his time at Cal, Scherbenske helped the Bears reach two NCAA Tournaments, and assisted with the development of NBA draft picks, Allen Crabbe and Jabari Bird.
 
While at UCA, Scherbenske has played a pivotal role in helping turn the UCA program around. In 2017-18, the Bears had a record breaking season and won the most games in Bears D-1 history and also won their first post season game ever, an overtime thriller at Seattle. For the first time in the school's history, the Bears have also gone to the Southland Conference Tournament three years in a row.
 
During his tenure at UCA, Scherbenske has been actively involved in recruiting, player development, scheduling, and game planning. He worked closely with Jordan Howard, who was the Southland Conference Freshman of the year, and his senior year was selected as the Southland Conference Player of the Year. During his senior year, Howard was the third leading scorer in the nation, and was selected to the Reese’s All Star Game.
 
Scherbenske has also distinguished himself as a tenacious recruiter for the Bears. In 2018, Scherbenske was ranked as the #57 best recruiter in the nation, out of 1400 Division one coaches, on 247 Sports. Scherbenske helped recruit three 3 star players to UCA to include,  Khaleem Bennett (Sunrise Academy), Jaxson Baker (Brophy Prep), and Eddie Kayouloud (Oak Hill Academy).  In 2018, UCA's recruiting class was ranked 107th in the nation on 247 Sports, the highest of any Southland team.
 
 Scherbenske graduated with a 3.49 GPA and degree in Business from the University of Kentucky. He is single and lives in Conway.