Since I’ve come aboard as an editor on the sports desk in the fall of 2023, CSUN has seen plenty of coaching turnover.
CSUN athletic director Shawn Chin-Farrell has overseen five head coaches make their CSUN debuts since arriving in Northridge from Cal State San Bernardino in October 2022. Although it’s way too early to judge, Chin-Farrell has made promising hires to try and revamp the CSUN athletics department.
One of the biggest decisions Chin-Farrell has made up to this point was finding a replacement for outgoing men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson in the spring of 2023. He didn’t look far as he turned to his old employer and named CSUSB coach Andy Newman as CSUN’s new coach. It’s the second time that Chin-Farrell hired Newman as he was the athletic director who brought him aboard to San Bernardino.
The move paid dividends as last year the men’s basketball team had a breakout year in Newman’s first season at the helm. He directed the Matadors to a 19-15 season, their best season since 2007-08 when CSUN finished 17-14.
With CSUN jumping out to a 6-2 record this season, Newman has shown that he has the ability to be the one to bring the Matadors back to relevancy, something that hasn’t been seen since the legendary tenure of Matadors coach Bobby Braswell. Safe to say, Chin-Farrell made the right decision bringing Newman to CSUN.
It was a busy spring and summer for Chin-Farrell. Just this year alone, the women’s basketball, volleyball, and soccer teams have all seen new head coaches named to lead the programs.
CSUN women’s soccer head coach Gina Brewer replaced Christine Johnson, who resigned at the end of the 2023 season. Johnson led the Matadors to only seven wins in her three years at the helm. Brewer came from UCLA after spending the season as an assistant coach, but was previously a head coach at Division II Hawai’i Pacific from 2011-19.
Brewer was hired during the spring of 2024 and immediately went to work. She led CSUN to their best record since 2019 as the team finished with a 5-11-3 record. Throughout the season, Brewer and her coaching staff oversaw the rapid development of multiple players, such as Yoshi Rubalcava and Cailey Jackson.
The team played more competitively compared to years prior, including being on the brink of making the postseason for the first time since 2019, before being eliminated from contention in the last game of the season in their 3-0 loss to UC Davis on Oct. 31. It will be interesting to see how the team will look after she gets a full offseason to work on the program.
At the end of the indoor volleyball season in 2023, Director of Women’s Volleyball, John Price announced his retirement. With his announcement, Chin-Farrell was tasked with replacing the longtime CSUN volleyball coach.
Six months later, Aquiles Montoya, an assistant coach from Portland State, was named the new CSUN women’s volleyball coach. Montoya has led the Matadors back on the right track and trending up despite finishing the season with a 10-19 record. CSUN finished eighth in the Big West and had the most wins since 2019, when the team finished with a 12-16 record.
Chin-Farrell had to make another tough decision after women’s basketball coach Carlene Mitchell led the Matadors to a 16-43 record in two seasons. At the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, Mitchell was let go and the hiring process brought Angie Ned to Northridge. Ned was an assistant coach at California Baptist. Chin-Farell has shown a lot of faith in Ned by giving her her first opportunity to lead a college program.
It would be inappropriate to comment on Ned’s performance as the Matadors are just six games into their season, however she will have to build from scratch as the team returned only two players from last year’s roster.
An athletic director could get hired and fired based on head coaches’ performances. Through two years as the head of the CSUN athletics department, Chin-Farrell has navigated the Matadors through tough times by making solid hires that have brought life back to their respective programs.
