Courtesy of Cal State Fullerton Athletics Media Relations • Photos by Carlos Delgado
Former USC associate head women's basketball coach Daron Park was formally introduced as Cal State Fullerton's next women's basketball head coach, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced in a press conference Wednesday afternoon in Titan Gym.
"I am very excited to add a coach of Daron's caliber to our staff," Donovan said. "His experience at some of this country's premier collegiate programs will be of tremendous benefit to our program going forward and will help build a winner here at Cal State Fullerton."
Park becomes the Titans' 10th head coach in the program's 44-year history, after spending last season as the associate head women's basketball coach at USC. He has spent nine seasons coaching at the Division I level, appearing in seven NCAA tournaments, taking three trips to the Elite Eight, and securing one WNIT bid during that span. Park's teams have collected an overall record of 219-85 (.720), with only one of them posting a losing season record.
He replaces former head coach Marcia Foster, who led the Titans to an 11-22 overall record, a 5-13 conference mark, and a trip to the Big West Tournament Semifinals in 2012-13.
"I am honored and humbled to have been chosen as the next head coach at Cal State Fullerton. I want to thank President Mildred Garcia, Dr. Berenecea Johnson Eanes, and Athletic Director Jim Donavon for entrusting me with this truly amazing opportunity," Park said. "The energy and enthusiasm surrounding Titan athletics right now is incredibly contagious, and from the moment I set foot on campus I knew this was the place for me."
"I am excited to begin this journey with Cal State Fullerton, and look forward to our program representing the campus community in a positive way in everything that we do."
Before coming to coach at Southern California in 2012, Park spent a year as California's associate head coach, and under tutelage of Lindsey Gottlieb, guided the Golden Bears to a 25-10 overall mark and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2008-09 season.
Park earned his first associate coaching job in 2009, where he served as an associate head coach at Louisiana Tech for two seasons (2009-11), helping to lead the Lady Techsters to two consecutive 20-win seasons and two straight NCAA Tournament berths, including the school's first WAC Tournament Championship since the 2005-06 campaign.
During the 2007-08 season, Park served as the interim head coach at the University of Maryland, where he led the Terrapins to a 33-4 overall record and a 13-1 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference, including a trip the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight round. He also was an assistant coach on Maryland's 2008-09 ACC regular season and tournament championship team. The Terps made a run to the Elite Eight that year as well.
Over his two years there, he helped guide Maryland to two Top-5 national rankings and two No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Before arriving at Maryland, Park recieved his Division I start as an assistant at Utah from 2004-07, where he helped guide the Utes to a 72-29 overall record, a Mountain West championship, two NCAA Tournament appearances, and a trip to the Elite Eight in his three years there.
Park also owns head coaching experience, as he served as the head coach at NAIA Westminster College for four years (2000-04) during which time the program sported 30 Academic All-Frontier Conference recipients and eight Academic All-Americans. Park began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Westminster in 1999.
The Great Falls, Mont. native earned his Bachelor's degree in Health Enhancement from Montana State in 1994.
Park now becomes the first male head coach in Cal State Fullerton women's basketball history.