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Heredia leaves Atrisco Heritage for Rio Rancho
Steve Heredia, who accepted the boys basketball head coaching position at Rio Rancho High School on Monday, talks to his players during a timeout during a Jan. 5, 2024 game against Eldorado at Atrisco Heritage. Heredia was the Jaguars coach for four seasons.
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Steve Heredia said the list was short.
Rio Rancho was on it.
“Rio Rancho was probably one of three jobs that I would have actually considered applying for, much less accepting, in the whole state,” Heredia said. “It’s that attractive.”
And now, it’s his.
On Monday, the former Atrisco Heritage boys basketball coach jumped from the Jaguars to their former district rival, as Heredia was named Rio Rancho’s new head coach.
“Opportunity knocked,” he said.
Heredia, 48, was Atrisco Heritage’s head coach the last four seasons, and was an assistant coach under Adrian Ortega the two seasons prior to that. He also coached Centennial to a Class 4A state championship in 2015.
Heredia replaces Wally Salata at Rio Rancho. Salata was fired recently after 16 seasons. He led the Rams to a blue trophy in 2016, but Rio Rancho has not won a playoff game in six years.
Rio Rancho was 15-13 last season, a 14 seed at state and lost in the first round to Sandia.
Heredia said multiple factors worked into his decision to apply for the Rio Rancho job, including moving into a smaller district.
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“Two high schools compared to 13 in APS is a huge advantage,” he said. “Rio Rancho is growing like a weed … more and more student-athletes.”
The Rams returning a large number of players from last season was another part of the equation, he said.
“To me, it’s a ‘win now’ type of job to walk into,” Heredia said. “Might just be a matter of changing the mindset. The expectation is something I’ve always embraced. I’m not scared of expectation. It doesn’t make me nervous. I think that’s a good thing.”
Heredia returns to District 1-5A, the state’s toughest, where Atrisco Heritage used to be a member. And leaving the Jaguars, he said, was difficult.
“To be honest, it was tough to even consider walking away,” he said. “Atrisco is near and dear to my heart.”
Rio Rancho district athletic director Todd Resch said there were 18 applicants for the job and four finalists. In addition to Heredia, the district interviewed former New Mexico Highlands coach Michael Dominguez (who stepped down from that position earlier this year), former Navajo Prep head coach Matt Melvin (who led that school to a state championship in 2024), and longtime Rams assistant coach Dalon Bynum.
