East Bay girls basketball coach passes away after battle with cancer

Scott Espinosa-Brown was only at Acalanes for a couple of years, but his impact will never be forgotten as he leaves behind a legendary legacy.

Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Bay Area community is in mourning. This week, the town of Lafayette and all of the Easy Bay lost a local legend, with former Acalanes High School girls basketball coach Scott Espinosa-Brown passing away after fighting prostate cancer. Espinosa-Brown was 69 years old and had been fighting the disease for nearly three years.

Espinosa-Brown created a legend for himself during his time as the head girls basketball coach at Campolindo High School, where he guided the program to three North Coast Section titles during the 1990s resulting in him being one of the most well-known coaches, not only in Contra Costa County, but in the entire Bay Area. From the start of his coaching career at Diablo Valley College all the way through his time with the Dons, he was a very well respected figure in the high school basketball scene.

After receiving his cancer diagnosis in 2022, which was Stage IV, Espinosa-Brown still continued to coach for the Dons, even guiding the team to an NCS Division II championship that same season. Possessing an undying passion for coaching, Espinosa-Brown did not allow his diagnosis hamper him from helping the girls achieve their goals.

Serving as an assistant under Acalanes head coach, Margaret Gartner, Espinosa-Brown provided the ultimate support for her and was known to go above and beyond the X's and O's of coaching; he was also known for connecting with the kids more on a personal level and was keen on making sure that he molded the athletes that he coached into well-rounded individuals.

After he began his career as an assistant coach at DVC, Espinosa-Brown coached Campolindo until 1999, when he stepped down from the role. After that, he continued to be an assistant coach on various teams, helping out at Saint Mary's College and DVC before becoming an assistant coach under Gartner once again at Carondelet. After taking a break from coaching in 2019, Gartner returned to Acalanes with the hope of bringing Espinosa-Brown back to her staff.

A coaching career that was filled with illustrious achievements, Espinosa-Brown will be missed throughout the basketball community. Initially beginning his career as a guys sports coach, Espinosa-Brown became vital in the development of the young female athletes that he coached and as a father to eight children, including five daughters, he left a mark that will never be forgotten among female student-athletes looking to find their way.