Meet Jeff Cammon, Saint Mary’s New Head Women’s Basketball Coach
He’s Big West Coach of the Year and just led Long Beach State to a 20-win season, including 15 wins in a row. With the Gaels, he hopes to build on the program’s past successes and take it to another level.
The news broke March 29: Saint Mary's College Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Mike Matoso announced Jeff Cammon as the Gaels’ new Head Women's Basketball Coach. Cammon comes to SMC after six seasons as head coach at Long Beach State.
This past season, Cammon was named The Big West Coach of the Year after leading the Beach to their first 20-win season since 2016–17. They won 15-straight games from January 12 to March 2, the longest in Big West action this season. The team's 17 Big West wins were the most conference victories since 1988–89. Cammon's teams are coming off back-to-back WNIT appearances.
"We are thrilled to announce Jeff Cammon as our new head women's basketball coach. His résumé speaks for itself with the success that he's had here in California and everywhere he's been at the NCAA level," said Matoso. "We welcome him into the Gael family and are excited for the future of the program under his leadership."
“The Saint Mary's women's basketball program has previously experienced great success and I truly believe we can build on that and take it to another level,” says new head coach Jeff Cammon.
As a team, the Beach ranked in the Top 10 nationally in steals per game (11.5) and turnover margin (6.1). Cammon was the Beach's first Big West Coach of the Year since Mary Hegarty in 2005-06.
"I'm very excited to join the Gael family. The Saint Mary's women's basketball program has previously experienced great success and I truly believe we can build on that and take it to another level. Randy Bennett has done such a great job of building an amazing culture with the men's program and my belief is that in time, we can create something just as special," Cammon said. "I want to thank Mike Matoso and the entire Saint Mary's administration for this opportunity."
Winning Streaks and Player of the Year
In his time as Head Coach at LBSU, Cammon's players have received a slew of Big West accolades. He's coached 16 All-Big West players, five All-Defensive players, two Best Defensive Players, a Newcomer of the Year, and this past season coached the Big West Player of the Year in Torri Harris.
"I'm truly grateful for the wonderful time spent at Long Beach State and for all the amazing people that have poured into my family's lives over the last six years," Cammon said. "Long Beach is a special place and I never thought I would leave. However, this incredible opportunity was presented to me, and I felt it was the right time to take on this new challenge."
Long winning streaks have been a frequent occurrence in his stint as head coach of Long Beach.
Along with this past season's 15-game win streak, his team began the 2021–22 season on a seven-game winning streak for the program's best start to a season since 1985–86. The Beach went on to boast a 19–9 overall record en route to earning a No. 3 seed in The Big West Conference Tournament after putting together a 12–6 league mark and earned an at-large bid to the 2022 WNIT.
In a shortened 2020–21 season, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Cammon's Beach squad went on a 10-game winning streak, which at the time was the program's longest such streak since the 1987–88 season. Long Beach State earned a No. 3 seed in the Big West Tournament after finishing 12–9 overall record and 11–7 in Big West Conference action.
Golden Bears and Buffaloes
Cammon was part of former Long Beach State head coach Jody Wynn's first coaching staff at the Beach, spending five years with LBSU. During his first stint with the Beach, Cammon was instrumental in the team's turnaround. He served as an assistant coach for Long Beach State from 2008–14, before returning to the Beach as head coach in 2017.
In 2012–13, Long Beach State made its first postseason appearance in over 10 years, earning a selection into the WNIT. In each of Cammon's five seasons as an assistant at Long Beach State the Beach reached the Big West Tournament.
Cammon left LBSU to join the coaching staff at Cal, where he helped lead the Golden Bears to the 2014–15 Pac-12 Conference Championship game as well as to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. During his time in Berkeley, Cal posted a 40–27 record.
His final stop as an assistant coach before returning to LBSU was at Colorado, where he once again played a big part in a major turnaround. Doubling the team's win total from a season earlier, Colorado went 17-16 overall and started the season 10-0, including a win over a ranked Kentucky team. The Buffaloes also picked up a win No. 24 California on the road, the first away win over a ranked opponent for CU since 2007.
Prior to coaching at the Beach, Cammon spent two years as the head girls' varsity coach at Bishop Alemany High School in Mission Hills, Calif., where he also taught history.
He also coached on the men's college basketball side as an assistant at Kentucky Wesleyan, Chaffey CC and his alma mater, Alcorn State.
A three-year starter at point guard with the Braves, Cammon was the team captain for two years and led Alcorn State to three conference championships and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Cammon graduated from Alcorn State in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in political science, and then completed a master's degree in physical education two years later in 2005.
READ MORE: This story as it originally appeared at SMCGaels.com
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