Ufuk Sarıca

Ufuk Sarıca — Biography

Ufuk Sarıca (born 13 June 1972 in Istanbul) is a Turkish basketball coach and former shooting guard/small forward who currently serves as head coach of Esenler Erokspor in the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He began his playing career at Efes Pilsen, where a decade on the roster from 1989 to 1999 brought five Turkish League titles, four Turkish Cups, three Presidential Cups and a FIBA Korać Cup crown in 1996. After spells with Ülkerspor, Karşıyaka and Darüşşafaka, he retired at Beşiktaş in 2004, having earned 187 caps for the Turkish national team, 98 of them at senior level.

His coaching career began as a Beşiktaş assistant in 2006, before stints leading Anadolu Efes and Karşıyaka, where he won the 2013-14 Turkish Cup, the 2014 Presidential Cup and the 2014-15 Turkish League title. A return to Beşiktaş in 2016 produced a league-final appearance, and a second spell at Karşıyaka from 2019 took the club to the 2020-21 Basketball Champions League final and the 2022-23 Turkish League final. Sarıca also coached the Turkish national team from 2017 to 2020, and has led Esenler Erokspor since 2025.