Sergio Rouco
	Hometown: Miami, Fla. Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Nova Southeastern, 1987

A former Division I head coach and 25-year veteran in the coaching ranks at many levels, Sergio Rouco brought an immediate impact to the Ole Miss program after he was hired as an assistant on May 13, 2011.

In his first season with the Rebels, Rouco helped the team win 20 games and earn an NIT bid. Long known for his ability to coach defense, he helped turn Ole Miss into one of the SEC's stingiest squads in 2011-12, ranking third in the league in field-goal percentage defense (.405). Reginald Buckner was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.

Rouco served five seasons as the head coach at Florida International from 2004-05 to 2008-09, where he developed four players into All-Sun Belt Conference performers, including the 2009 SBC Freshman of the Year. In five seasons as head coach, Rouco led the Golden Panthers to a 55-94 overall record.

In his first season at the helm, Rouco guided FIU to the semifinal game of the Sun Belt Conference Championships, the longest postseason run for the program since 1998. He mentored four players to All-Sun Belt Conference status, including two-time honorees Ivan Almonte and Alex Galindo. Freddy Asprilla was the 2009 SBC Freshman of the Year.

Rouco began his college coaching career as an assistant at FIU from 1987-91, including one season under former Ole Miss head coach Bob Weltlich. Rouco returned to FIU as an assistant from 2000-03 before being hired by Billy Gillispie as an assistant at UTEP for the 2003-04 season.

Rouco was credited for much of the team's success in his one season at UTEP, which saw the Miners win 24 games and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Fla., Rouco found much success as a high school coach in his hometown, with head coaching stops at Loyola (1986-87) and Miami Norland (1991-95).

He directed Loyola to a school-record 22 wins in 1986, while he led Miami Norland to 29 wins and a No. 1 state ranking for a portion of the 1994-95 season. He boasts head coaching experience at the professional level for Club Mauricio Baez (1995) and Los Minas (1996) in the Dominican Republic, helping both squads reach the semifinals of the playoffs. In 1996-97, he was the head coach of the Trotamundos de Carabobo in Venezuela, and he returned to that country in 2010 to coach the Marinos de Anzoategui to the league finals.

He also spent three years as an associate director at the Boys & Girls Club of Miami, where his duties included supervising athletic programs, 30 employees and 8,000 youth, as well as spearheading fund-raising efforts and payroll budgeting.

A 1987 graduate of Nova Southeastern with an education degree, Rouco and his wife, Kelly, have two sons - Sergio Alessandro and Fabian.