| Rick Cabrera | |
| Current Title: | Head coach |
| Current Team: | Northwestern State |
| Current Conference: | Southland |
| Birth Date: | 4 December 1976 |
| Birth Place: | Spring Valley, New York, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | 1994–1996 |
| Player Team1: | Vincennes |
| Player Years2: | 1996–1998 |
| Player Team2: | Tennessee Tech |
| Coach Years1: | 1998–1999 |
| Coach Team1: | Volunteer Christian (TN) (assistant) |
| Coach Years2: | 1999–2001 |
| Coach Team2: | Tennessee Tech (GA) |
| Coach Years3: | 2001–2002 |
| Coach Team3: | Miami Killian HS (FL) (assistant) |
| Coach Years4: | 2002–2004 |
| Coach Team4: | Keystone College (assistant) |
| Coach Years5: | 2004–2008 |
| Coach Years6: | 2008–2012 |
| Coach Team6: | Chattanooga (assistant) |
| Coach Years7: | 2012–2017 |
| Coach Team7: | Tennessee Tech (assistant) |
| Coach Years8: | 2017–2019 |
| Coach Team8: | Austin Peay (assistant) |
| Coach Years9: | 2019–2021 |
| Coach Team9: | Arkansas State (assistant) |
| Coach Years10: | 2021–2023 |
| Coach Team10: | Tallahassee CC |
| Coach Years11: | 2023–present |
| Coach Team11: | Northwestern State |
| Overall Record: | (NCAA) (NJCAA) |
| Championships: | 3x Region XIX Regular Season (2005-07), Region XIX Conference Tournament (2005) |
Rick Cabrera is an American basketball coach who is the current head coach of the Northwestern State Demons men's basketball team.[1]
Cabrera played two seasons at Vincennes University, a NJCAA institution from 1994 to 1996 where he was teammates with future NBA players Shawn Marion and Tyrone Nesby before transferring to Tennessee Tech for his final two years of college.[2] [3]
After college, Cabrera spent a year coaching high school before rejoining the Golden Eagles staff under Jeff Lebo as a graduate assistant from 1999 to 2001 and was on staff for two OVC regular-season titles. After another one-year stint in the high school coaching ranks, Cabrera became an assistant coach at Keystone College where he spent two years before becoming the head coach at Lackawanna College. In four years he guided Lackawanna to a 100–29 record as well as three regular season titles and two conference tournament titles.[1] In 2008, he'd return to the NCAA Division I coaching ranks with Chattanooga, followed by another stint at Tennessee Tech, along with Austin Peay and Arkansas State.[4] [5]
In 2021, Cabrera returned to the junior college ranks as a head coach with Tallahassee Community College where in two seasons he guided the team to a 52–16 overall record, including an appearance in the NJCAA Division I national semifinal in 2023.[6] [7]
On March 22, 2023, Cabrera was named the 11th head coach in Northwestern State men's basketball history, replacing Corey Gipson who departed for the head coaching position at Austin Peay.[8] [9]
Cabrera's father, Hugo was a 10th round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1976 NBA draft and represented the Dominican Republic in various international competitions.[10] [11]