SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball Head Coach Renee Jimenez announced the hiring of Tina Samaniego as a new assistant coach for the Gauchos on Tuesday. The move reunites Jimenez with her longtime assistant, Samaniego having worked under Jimenez at Cal State Monterey Bay, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State San Marcos.
 
"I'm excited to welcome CT back to the family," Jimenez said. "Her intelligence, passion for the game, and winning mentality make her a perfect fit for our culture."
 
Jimenez and Samaniego have a 302-154 record when coaching together, sharing the bench for 16 seasons, first at Stanford under Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer in 2004-05, then for 15 consecutive years from 2008-2024, the duration of Jimenez's Division II head coaching career. The two coaches also played together on the 2000-01 Ventura College squad which won the California Community College State Championship.
 
Samaniego and Jimenez took Cal State Monterey Bay to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2011 to 2013, then built Cal State San Marcos into a Division II powerhouse. Samaniego helped the Cougars to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2020 to 2024, culminating in Cal State San Marcos' run to the Final Four in 2024.
 
Prior to joining up with Jimenez at Cal State Monterey Bay in 2008, Samaniego spent two seasons as an assistant at Pepperdine. And before the two coaches connected at Stanford, Samaniego had spent two years at San Francisco's Sacred Hearth Cathedral Prep and Menlo College. Samaniego graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Francisco, where she was an undergraduate assistant for the Dons' men's team for three seasons.
 
A native of Oxnard, Samaniego holds a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Arts in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sports Management from San Jose State.