Commentary, Sports, Women's Basketball, Women's Sports

Women’s Basketball Coach Jeff Cammon receives five-year contract extension

Long Beach State women’s basketball is set for some familiarity for the next five years as head coach Jeff Cammon received a contract extension that will last through 2027.

Cammon has been the head coach for The Beach since 2017 but is very familiar with the program. In the past, Cammon served as an assistant from 2009 to 2014.

From 2014 to 2017, he left CSULB to serve as an assistant for UC Berkley and the University of Colorado.

After finishing the regular season in third place with a record of 12-5 and The Big West tournament approaching, Cammon’s contract could not come at a better time for him.

For Cammon, this job has always been something he believed was his destiny, as he was an assistant coach from 2009 to 2014.

When Cammon arrived back to The Beach in 2017, he would take over as the successor for his former mentors, Jody Wynn, and her husband who was an assistant on the staff, Derek Wynn.

“I feel like my destiny is for me to be the coach here, you know. I was an assistant here, I helped to kind of build the program the first time around, back when Jody and Derek were here, the wins, and then going away, and being able to come back as the head coach,” Cammon said. “I’ve always wanted to be a head coach at Long Beach, was specifically a place that I saw myself visually,”

Cammon and Long Beach State have had a lot of success together over the last five years as he has turned the program around tremendously.

In his first two years, The Beach finished third to last in conference play. In his last three seasons, the team has finished in third place three times in the regular season.

LBSU athletic director Andy Fee says that every year, the team’s goal is to win a Big West Championship, but he knows that these kinds of things take trust and time.

Fee said that this played a role in why he gave Cammon a contract extension, because the work and success the program has seen in the last five years.

“The initial goal each season is to win a championship, we want to do that we want to be the best in the Big West,” Fee said. “I think we can do that here, we can attract the right talent. Jeff’s proving that with his roster, so yeah, we think the sky’s the limit.”

Cammon said the deal between him, and the athletic department came together very easily and was something that was discussed throughout the season.

The biggest thing that Fee and LBSU president, Jane Close Conoley, told Cammon was that they wanted more than a basketball program. They wanted a place where they could develop student-athletes for the future.

“The biggest thing is, you know, being aligned with the culture, to be inclusive to [develop] young women on and off the basketball floor,” Cammon said. “We haven’t won a championship yet, and that’s the level we’re pushing towards, but we’re going in that direction.”

The support system at LBSU was another reason why Cammon wanted to stay put at The Beach. The support from the athletic department, other programs, and belief they had in Cammon was something he values.

Cammon could have coached at other programs, but for him, it did not seem like the right fit.

“To be able to do continue to do what I love to do, you know, and to know that people appreciate what you’re doing, and recognize what you’re doing. It means a lot,” Cammon said.

The growth of younger student-athletes is something Cammon is proud of, as he reflects on the time he has spent as coach of the LBSU program.

One moment that he reflected on as an all-time high was when one of his players who was a STEM major told him they received a 4.0 GPA.

“That to me is the best thing,” Cammon said, reflecting on his former players.

As a coach, Cammon encourages his players to do better and grow on and off the basketball court.

While Cammon is preparing for The Big West tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend, his and Fee’s goal for the future is to get the team better every year and win a tournament for LBSU.

“We want to go to go to a tournament this year,” Cammon said. “I think we’re in a good place, we’ve hit some hurdles, but I think it’s made us stronger and that’s the goal as we go into the offseason.”

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