 | This articleis missing information about his college career. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on thetalk page.(March 2022) |
 Farokhmanesh in 2011 | |
| Colorado State Rams | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| League | Mountain West Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1988-04-16)April 16, 1988 (age 37) Ogden, Utah, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2010:undrafted |
| Playing career | 2010–2014 |
| Position | Shooting guard /point guard |
| Number | 5 |
| Coaching career | 2017–present |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 2010–2011 | SAM Massagno |
| 2011–2013 | WBC Raiffeisen Wels |
| 2013–2014 | SPM Shoeters Den Bosch |
Coaching | |
| 2014–2016 | Nebraska (GA) |
| 2016–2017 | Nebraska (Dir. of Player Development) |
| 2017–2018 | Drake (assistant) |
| 2018–2024 | Colorado State (assistant) |
| 2024–2025 | Colorado State (associate HC) |
| 2025–present | Colorado State |
| Career highlights | |
Ali Fredrick Farokhmanesh (Persian:علی فردریک فرخمنش, born April 16, 1988) is an American former professionalbasketball player and current head coach of theColorado State Rams men's basketball team.
Farokhmanesh was born inOgden, Utah to Mashallah Farokhmanesh and Cindy Frederick, thenvolleyball coaches for theWeber State Wildcats.[1] He spent much of his early life inPullman, Washington, where his parents coached theWashington State Cougars women's volleyball team.[2]
As a child, he played both basketball and volleyball, but lost interest in volleyball, considering it to be too much of a feminine sport.[a][1]
In 2004, he moved to Iowa and attendedWest High School inIowa City after his parents took a job coaching theIowa Hawkeyes.
Farokhmanesh initially received no scholarship offers. Wishing to eventually play at theDivision I level, he enrolled atIndian Hills Community College in 2006, but left after one season in the hopes of obtaining awalk-on position atIowa. Iowa was uninterested. He considered quitting basketball after being rejected, but eventually decided to transfer toKirkwood Community College, where he intensified his training routine significantly. While at Kirkwood, he led the team in scoring and assists, and caught the eye of Division I coaches after a 35-point performance against his former club Indian Hills.
Farokhmanesh subsequently received 15 scholarship offers, ultimately choosing to join theNorthern Iowa Panthers. He helped the Panthers clinch a spot in the2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament by beatingIllinois State to win theMissouri Valley Conference. The Panthers lost toPurdue in the first round.[1]
Farokhmanesh gained nationwide fame in the2010 tournament, when he hit a crucial three-point shot to help UNI upset top-overall seedKansas in the second round.[4]
Farokhmanesh played a total of 69 college games in two years and started all of them.[5] His heroics in 2010, which came two days after hitting the game-winning three-point shot againstUNLV in the first round, led to an appearance on the cover ofSports Illustrated.[6]
After going undrafted in the2010 NBA draft, Farokhmanesh signed a deal to play forSAM Massagno Basket, anLNB Division A team based inMassagno, Switzerland.[7][8]
In 2011, Farokhmanesh signed with the Austrian teamWBC Raiffeisen Wels. His contract was renewed in June 2012.[9] Farokhmanesh averaged 13.7 points per game in Austria.
On August 14, 2013, Farokhmanesh signed withSPM Shoeters Den Bosch in theNetherlands.[10] In April, Farokhmanesh won theDBL Sixth Man of the Year award.[11]
In 2014, Farokhmanesh stopped playing professionally, becoming a graduate assistant atNebraska.[12] In 2016, head coachTim Miles promoted him to director of player relations and development.[13]
On April 28, 2017, Farokhmanesh joined the Drake men's basketball program as an assistant coach forNiko Medved.[14] On March 26, 2018, he followed Medved to become his assistant atColorado State University.[15]
On March 26, 2025, Colorado State named Farokhmanesh head coach, following Medved's departure toMinnesota.[16] He became the 21st head coach in school history.[17]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado State Rams(Mountain West Conference)(2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025–26 | Colorado State | 12–10 | 3–8 | ||||||
| Colorado State: | 12–10 (.545) | 3–8 (.273) | |||||||
| Total: | 12–10 (.545) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
Farokhmanesh is of European andIranian descent. His father, Mashallah, was born inBorujerd and was a member of the Iranian men's nationalvolleyball team, before immigrating to the United States in 1977, where he played for professional teams and eventually became a coach.[18]
Mashallah married Ali's mother, Cindy Frederick, who became the head coach for the women's volleyball team at theUniversity of Iowa in 2004. Before moving to Iowa, Fredrick was the head coach of theWashington State University's women's volleyball team for 15 years, where she had a record of 278 wins and 192 losses. Cindy and her husband briefly coached atLuther College.[19] As of 2014, Cindy and Mashallah coached theUNLV women's volleyball team as head coach and assistant coach, respectively.[20][needs update]
Farokhmanesh is married to the formerIowa Hawkeyes volleyball player Mallory Husz.[21] They have three sons and a daughter.[22]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic, which caused the cancellation of the2020 NCAA tournament and all NCAA-sponsored spring sports and also led to most U.S. universities going to online-only instruction, the Farokhmanesh family re-created his famous NCAA tournament shot in an emptyMoby Arena on the 10th anniversary of the UNI–Kansas game. The shot was captured for a web video that Colorado State posted on its official athletics Twitter account.[23]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | FG% | Field goal percentage |
| 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game |
| PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high | Led the league | |
Regular season
| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 |  SAM Massagno Basket | LNBA | 30 | 33.9 | .543 | .480 | .865 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 19.5 |
| 2011–12 |  WBC Raiffeisen Wels | ÖBL | 36 | 29.3 | .497 | .497 | .761 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 13.6 |
| 2012–13 | WBC Raiffeisen Wels | ÖBL | 32 | 34.7 | .505 | .415 | .828 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 13.7 |
| 2013–14 |  SPM Shoeters Den Bosch | DBL | 35 | 26.0 | .506 | .376 | .818 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 9.8 |