MOSES LAKE — Dallin Spencer was named the new head coach of men’s basketball at Big Bend Community College, Vikings Athletics announced in a statement. For Spencer, this is an opportunity he’s been chasing for a while now, he said.  

“It feels a little surreal,” Spencer said. “I've been wanting to be a college head coach since I was probably about 15 or 16, old enough to kind of comprehend what having a lifelong job and career is, but I'm really excited to be a part of the Big Bend family.” 

According to BBCC Athletics, Spencer brings a dynamic mix of collegiate, high school, and AAU coaching experience, along with a strong commitment to the academic and personal success of student athletes. Prior to his arrival at Big Bend, Spencer spent time at Southwestern Oregon Community College and Wenatchee Valley College as an associate head coach.  

At SWOCC, Spencer helped guide the program to a Top 10 NWAC ranking and a number two regional seed in the conference tournament, BBCC Athletics wrote. Serving as the team’s defensive coordinator, he engineered one of the top defensive units in the league, ranking among the best in efficiency and rebounding. Off the court, Spencer played a key role in fostering academic excellence, supporting a team GPA of 3.64 and multiple All-Academic honorees. 

Prior to coaching at SWOCC, Spencer was at WVC. There, he contributed to all aspects of the program, including scouting, recruiting coordination, practice planning, and operations, BBCC Athletics stated. He helped produce All-Region and collegiate-level talent while maintaining a 3.62 team GPA and a strong culture of accountability, as well.  

“Dallin is exactly the kind of leader we were looking for,” said Benjamin Griffin, Athletic Director at Big Bend Community College in their statement. “We’re excited about the vision he brings through his leadership, commitment to culture, and ability to develop student-athletes on and off the court.” 

Those same standards of game and academic success are something he plans to bring with him to the Vikings program, he said.  

“I see the firsthand benefits of having a high GPA, or even just a solid GPA, especially because going to the four-year level grades are everything these days,” Spencer said. “I've just found that having those higher grades and those higher GPAs, you're more prepared, to where then basketball can just kind of be at the forefront of your mind when it's time to play.” 

As he’s moved throughout the Pacific Northwest, Spencer has grown familiar with the Vikings athletics program, which helped attract him to the role, he said.  

“It attracted me because there's history there that kind of hasn't been there for a while, and I want to be able to bring a program and restore it back to what it used to be,” he said. “It's a spot where you can get the right kids to. I think there's a good mix of fun to have as a college student, as well as just work, go to class and go to practice.” 

While success on the court is important, he puts an emphasis on helping his players reach the four-year colleges.  

“The hope is to turn kids into the four-year player they want to be. That's kind of the goal of a junior college coach, is to help kids learn and grow,” he said.  

When it comes to the hardwood, Spencer wants his Vikings to be the team that can outrebound and out-work their opponents any given night.  

“We're going to be a very disciplined, tough team that focuses on rebounding and playing as a team,” the coach said. “Develop the talent to where when we play, we can put guys in situations where they can showcase their abilities on the floor, get out and run, shoot a lot of threes, a lot of pick and rolls. It’s going to be a well-balanced get out and run attack.” 

While Spencer holds the same goals as most programs of winning records and deep postseason runs, he also has a few other boxes he’d like to check off in year one.  

“I want to have the highest GPA team on campus, and in the conference. And wins, I want to get 10 to 15 and make the playoffs,” he said.  

Between now and the start of the season, Spencer will be focused on establishing a coaching staff and building connections with the Moses Lake community.  

“There's going to be a lot of learning experiences,” Spencer said. “I want to get the community involved as much as possible. I want it to be an environment that’s fun for everybody to come watch and enjoy, and the kind of team that's going to embody kind of the town.” 

    Dallin Spencer (right) talks with a player during a game at Wenatchee Valley College, where he was an associate head coach. Spencer emphasized building a winning program while maintaining a focus on academic success at Big Bend Community College.