Matt Fonteno was hired in July 2023 to serve as UC Santa Barbara’s associate head coach, marking a return to Santa Barbara for the man who spent three years on the Gauchos’ staff from 2019 to 2021. Like he did in his previous time at UC Santa Barbara, Fonteno will work with the Gauchos’ position players and serve as the team’s offensive coordinator.
In his first season back in Santa Barbara, Fonteno led a Gaucho offense that smacked 84 home runs, two shy of the program record, and out-scored opponents 429-249 en route to The Big West Championship and hosting an NCAA Regional at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for the first time ever. Among the record 14 Gauchos who earned All-Big West honors in 2024 were eight hitters, including first-teamers Aaron Parker, Nick Oakley, Brendan Durfee and Ivan Brethowr. Justin Trimble and Jessada Brown earned second team honors while Zander Darby and Jonah Sebring picked up honorable mentions. Parker, Durfee, Brethowr and Darby all heard their names called in that year's MLB Draft, while Trimble and Brown both turned pro as undrafted free agents.
In 2025, Santa Barbara's captain, LeTrey McCollum, continued to flourish under Fonteno, enjoying the best season of his career by far. McCollum finished as The Big West batting champion with a .371 average and was a conference player of the year candidate thanks to adding six home runs and 18 stolen bases to his impressive average. McCollum also became the first Gaucho since Michael Young in 1997 to hit for the cycle and set a program record with a 50-game on-base streak. He signed with the Angels as an undrafted free agent in July of 2025. McCollum was one of five All-Big West hitters Fonteno coached that season, alongside Jonathan Mendez, Nate Vargas, Xavier Esquer and Rowan Kelly.
UC Santa Barbara went 99-33 over three seasons (the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic) in Fonteno’s first stint with the Gauchos, reaching NCAA Regionals in both full seasons. With Fonteno in charge of the offense in 2020, UC Santa Barbara climbed as high as No. 13 in the national rankings before the end of the season. Under Fonteno in 2021, the Gaucho offense scored the 18th most runs in the country, reaching the final game of the NCAA Tucson Regional while leading The Big West in home runs, slugging percentage, and stolen bases.
Fonteno has also been a prolific recruiter for UC Santa Barbara, perhaps unsurprisingly considering his father was a Major League Baseball scout for many years. Players Fonteno recruited to Santa Barbara include All-American pitcher Matt Ager, UC Santa Barbara career home run leader Broc Mortensen, and multiple former Gauchos now playing professionally. During Fonteno’s first stint working with UC Santa Barbara’s position players, seven of them were selected in the MLB Draft, three earned All-American or Freshman All-American honors, and 10 received All-Big West recognition.
After his first stint at UC Santa Barbara, Fonteno spent the 2022 season as an assistant coach at USC, then spent the 2023 campaign at Cal Poly as the Mustangs’ associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. Two Trojans earned All-Pac-12 honors under Fonteno in 2022, and three Mustang hitters earned All-Big West honors in 2023.
Prior to his first tour in Santa Barbara, Fonteno was an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s, from 2014 to 2018, helping the Gaels establish themselves as contenders in the West Coast Conference. In 2016, Fonteno helped Saint Mary’s win their first ever WCC regular season title and first ever WCC Tournament Championship en route to the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance. During Fonteno’s tenure in Moraga, the Gaels had 13 players selected in the MLB Draft, with 10 of those selections coming after Fonteno took over as recruiting coordinator in 2016.
Before Saint Mary’s, Fonteno spent a season at Nevada and four seasons at Chico State. At Chico State in 2012, Fonteno helped the Wildcats win the NCAA Division II West Region and advance to the D-II College World Series. Two of the players he recruited to Chico State went on to be selected in the MLB Draft.
Fonteno’s coaching resume also includes experience on the staffs of UNLV, Cal Lutheran, and a trio of summer ball teams: the Battle Creek Bombers (Michigan), Petersburg Generals (Virginia) and the Highland Park Blue Sox (Texas).
Fonteno graduated in 2002 from York College in Nebraska, where he was an all-conference centerfielder and led the Panthers to their first ever national ranking. He also played collegiately at College of Marin in Kentfield, California.
Fonteno and his wife Lindsey have four children, Eva, Ty, Mia and Ali.
