New College of Florida

Coach Cruz enters his fourth season as head coach of the New College of Florida women's basketball program, having built the Mighty Banyans from the ground up as the program's first head coach.

Since the program tipped off its first game in October 2023, Cruz has developed the Banyans' first generation of record-holders. CiCi Moore finished her career as the program's all-time leader in points (783), rebounds (487) and assists (205) and became NCF's first All-Sun Conference honoree when she earned Second Team recognition in 2024-25. Tatiana Jackson and Halle Shelt hold the program's career records in steals (97) and 3-pointers made (111), respectively. Sania Thomas was named Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Week in November 2025. Off the court, the program has produced five Academic All-Sun Conference selections over the past two seasons.

Ahead of the 2025-26 season, Cruz added assistant coach CiCi Moore and graduate assistant Marissa Brown to a staff that also includes returning assistant coach Cristina Reyes, building out the program's infrastructure as it continues to grow within The Sun Conference.

Cruz came to New College after serving as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Warner University, where he helped the Royals earn their first winning season in nine years and their most conference wins in six years. He also recruited back-to-back First Team All-Conference selections in 2022 and 2023 and back-to-back Freshmen of the Year in 2022 and 2023.

Before Warner, Cruz spent four seasons (2017-21) as head coach at Cape Coral High School, compiling a .748 winning percentage and leading the program to an Elite Eight appearance in 2020. He posted 20-plus wins in three of his four seasons, won district championships in 2018 and 2020 and captured a conference championship in 2018. His teams made four consecutive district championship game appearances and earned four consecutive regional playoff berths. Cruz was named District and Conference Coach of the Year in 2018 and was a Dairy Farmers of America Coach of the Year finalist in 2020.

Cruz's coaching career began in 2011. He served as an assistant coach with the Cape Coral High School boys' varsity team from 2015-17, helping guide the Seahawks to a 16-8 record, an eight-game improvement, while laying the groundwork for the program's Final Four appearance the following season.

Cruz holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Western Governors University. A native of New York City, he grew up with his two siblings.

Record as a Head Coach