Alex Yano is in his first season at Stanford as the program's director of basketball operations.
Yano joined the Washington State staff under Smith for the 2023-24 campaign, helping guide the Cougars to a 25-10 mark and second-place finish in the Pac-12 in 2023-24. The Cougars received a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the round of 32 with a victory over Drake in the opening round. Yano was also the program’s head manager from 2020-22.
Sandwiched between his time at Washington State, Yano spent one season at Hawaii as a graduate manager. The Warriors posted 22 wins in 2022-23 including a championship in the Diamond Head Classic.
Yano is a 2020 graduate of Washington State with a degree in journalism and media production. He added a graduate degree at the University of Hawaii in 2023.