Coaching Carousel Conference Preview: Big West

The Big West has some of the longest tenured coaches in the country – turns out coaching basketball and living in California isn’t so bad. The league saw a bit of a resurgence last year with five teams winning 20+ games. There’s only one coach on the hot seat heading into this season and a handful of others who could look to make a move. Let’s dive into the conference’s coaching carousel preview.

Newcomers

Andy Newman (Cal State Northridge)

Cal State Northridge let go of Trent Johnson after two seasons, launching the school’s third coaching search since 2019. The search landed on Cal State San Bernardino head coach Andy Newman. Newman has won everywhere he’s been. In four years at CSUSB he compiled a 91-30 record with back-to-back conference titles. Prior to CSUSB, he was the head coach at the University of Texas Permian Basin, where he went 101-50 in five seasons. Newman is intimately familiar with the Big West, having spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Cal State Fullerton. Northridge hopes that Newman’s winning ways will translate to a program that hasn’t seen a winning season since 2009.

Potential Movers

Mike Magpayo (UC Riverside)

Last year, Mike Magpayo led UC Riverside to their first 20-win season in school history. In three years at the helm, he’s 51-31 overall. He has more winning seasons (3) in three years than the entire history of the program had before he got there (2). Magpayo was rewarded for his efforts with Big West Coach of the Year honors. The Los Angeles native is a disciple of the ever-growing Kyle Smith coaching tree. He’s got connections on both coasts and is one more solid season away from getting plucked by a bigger school.

Joe Pasternack (UC Santa Barbara)

In six seasons at UC Santa Barbara, Joe Pasternack is 132-53 with two Big West regular season and tournament championships. He’s won at least 20 games and 10 conference games in all but one season. The Metairie, L.A. native was involved in a handful of searches this cycle, but opted to stay in Santa Barbara for another season. That decision will likely pay dividends as the Gauchos are the presumed favorite heading into 23-24. If they can repeat as conference champions, it will be hard for athletic directors to ignore Pasternack’s success.

Hot Seat

John Smith (Cal Poly)

John Smith is 26-89 in four seasons as the head coach at Cal Poly. The school doesn’t exactly have a storied history, but winning one game in conference play twice during your tenure is hard to ignore. There were rumblings that a change could made this spring, but Smith was able to earn another season. Don’t be surprised if this is one of the first jobs available in March.

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