Renee Jimenez was named the UC Santa Barbara head women's basketball coach on April 17, 2024.
Jimenez has 16 years of head coaching experience under her belt, accumulating a 288-164 record in that time. In her first season with the Gauchos, she posted an 18-13 record, the first coach since Lindsay Gottlieb to win at least 18 games in her first season leading Santa Barbara. Four of Jimenez's Gauchos earned All-Big West honors in 2024-25, including Skylar Burke receiving the conference's Hustle Player of the Year Award.
Prior to arriving in Santa Barbara, she spent the last eight seasons leading the Cougars of Cal State San Marcos, taking that program to new heights during her tenure. During the 2023-24 season, Jimenez led the Cougars to the NCAA Division II Final Four with an upset over No. 1 Gannon University. CSUSM posted an overall record of 27-7 and a conference record of 18-4, winning the CCAA Regular Season and Tournament titles. Since taking over for the Cougars, Jimenez has been named as the CCAA Coach of the Year three times, led her team to the NCAA Tournament three times, and made it to the CCAA Tournament Championship game three times. She has also coached 42 All-CCAA athletes over these eight seasons, including a D2CCA All-American and CCAA Player of the Year.
Prior to her time with the Cougars, Jimenez spent two seasons at fellow CCAA institution Cal State San Bernardino. During that time, she completely flipped the script for the Coyotes. She went from a 9-16 record to a 19-9 record, setting up CSUSB for success before her departure. She began her head coaching career at Cal State Monterey Bay. During her five seasons with the Otters, she revolutionized the program, creating a winning team after just one season. She won a CCAA Regular Season and Tournament Championship while earning three NCAA Tournament bids. She also earned her first CCAA Coach of the Year accolade in her third season at Monterey Bay.
Jimenez is a 2004 graduate of San Francisco State University, where she played three seasons for the Gators and became the school's all-time leading 3-point scorer. Her coaching career began at Stanford (2004-05), where she served as a video coordinator for Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer. After leaving Stanford, she spent three seasons (2005-08) as an assistant coach at San Diego State.
| Team |
Year |
Record |
Postseason/Honors/Notes |
| Cal State Monterey Bay |
2008-09 |
11-15 (6-14) |
|
| Cal State Monterey Bay |
2009-10 |
18-9 (14-8) |
|
| Cal State Monterey Bay |
2010-11 |
27-4 (20-2) |
NCAA Second Round, CCAA Regular Season Champions, CCAA Coach of the Year |
| Cal State Monterey Bay |
2011-12 |
21-9 (15-7) |
NCAA First Round, CCAA Tournament Champions |
| Cal State Monterey Bay |
2012-13 |
20-9 (15-7) |
NCAA Second Round |
| Cal State San Bernardino |
2013-14 |
9-16 (8-14) |
|
| Cal State San Bernardino |
2014-15 |
19-9 (14-8) |
|
| Cal State San Marcos |
2015-16 |
7-18 (5-15) |
NCAA DII & CCAA Debut |
| Cal State San Marcos |
2016-17 |
13-12 (10-10) |
CCAA Tournament Semifinals |
| Cal State San Marcos |
2017-18 |
8-18 (8-14) |
|
| Cal State San Marcos |
2018-19 |
18-10 (14-8) |
CCAA Tournament Semifinals |
| Cal State San Marcos |
2019-20 |
25-5 (18-4) |
CCAA Regular Season Co-Champions, CCAA Tournament Runner-Up, NCAA West Regional Appearance, CCAA Coach of the Year |
| Cal State San Marcos |
2020-21 |
N/A |
Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Cal State San Marcos |
2021-22 |
24-4 (19-1) |
CCAA Regular Season Champions, CCAA Tournament Runner-Up, NCAA West Region Quarterfinalist, CCAA Coach of the Year |
| Cal State San Marcos |
2022-23 |
25-6 (18-4) |
CCAA Tournament Champions, NCAA West Region Runner-Up |
| Cal State San Marcos |
2023-24 |
27-7 (18-4) |
CCAA Regular Season Champions, CCAA Tournament Champions, NCAA West Region Champions, NCAA Final Four |
| UC Santa Barbara |
2024-25 |
18-12 (12-8) |
|
| Total |
16 seasons |
288-163 (.639) |
| Assistant Coaching Record |
| Team |
Year |
Record |
Postseason/Honors/Notes |
| Stanford (Video Coordinator) |
2004-05 |
32-3 |
NCAA Elite Eight, Pac-10 Regular Season Champions, Pac-10 Tournament Champions |
| San Diego State |
2005-06 |
4-25 |
|
| San Diego State |
2006-07 |
12-16 |
|
| San Diego State |
2007-08 |
18-13 |
|
