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Xavier University Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Head Coach for Men’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning
- Email:
Matthew Flores enters his fifth season as a strength and conditioning coach under Richard Pitino, including his first as the Head Coach for Men’s Basketball Strength and Conditioning at XU. Flores joined New Mexico in 2021 after spending two seasons at Utah Valley.
Last season New Mexico recorded a 27-8 overall record and reached the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament with a first-round win over Marquette. New Mexico posted a 17-3 league record and won the 2024-25 Mountain West Conference Regular Season Championship. In the 2023-24 season, UNM finished 26-10, winning the Mountain West Championship and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.
Flores is no stranger to being on head coach Richard Pitino’s staff as he was a graduate assistant at the University of Minnesota during the 2018-19 season. That season, Pitino and his staff led the Gophers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Flores came to UNM with a vast amount of experience from high school to the professional levels. From 2015-2018, Flores was the head strength and conditioning coach at two high schools, while running his own performance business.
In 2013, Tim Grover selected him to lead Attack Athletics in Shanghai, China, where he trained gold medal-winning hurdler Liu Xiang. He helped create individualized training plans for Shanghai’s national volleyball team members for the 2014 World Cup, the Shanghai Octopus and the Shanghai Golden Age professional volleyball teams. The Golden Age professional volleyball team won two international medals.
In 2013, Flores was the senior assistant strength coach at Catalyst Sports Medicine in Wisconsin. He led multiple high school athletes to successful seasons and Division I scholarships. At the same time, he was assisting the University of Minnesota with their basketball, hockey, volleyball, wrestling, and softball teams.
Flores’ resume also includes stops at Arizona State and Portland State, where he worked with their football, basketball, wrestling, and tennis programs. Flores served in The United States Marine Corps from 2001-2006. From 2005-2006, Flores prepared his squad for their deployment to Iraq, calling it one of the most influential experiences of his life.
Flores earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise and wellness from Arizona State. He also earned a master’s degree in exercise science from California University of Pennsylvania. He is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (CSCS), National Academy of Sports Medicine (PES), USA Weightlifting (Level 1), and is also a certified speed specialist through the NASE (CSS-II).
Flores, a native of Minneapolis, Minn. is married to the former Kristin Garcia. The couple has a daughter, Eliana, and a son, Micah.
