June 12, 2008
SAN DIEGO - Renee Jimenez, an assistant women's basketball coach at San Diego State the last three seasons, has been named the head coach at Cal State Monterey Bay, Aztec head coach Beth Burns announced Thursday. Jimenez becomes the first full-time head coach and the sixth overall in Otter basketball history.
"It is with great pride and pleasure that I can announce that our former Aztec assistant coach, Renee Jimenez, is the new head coach at Cal State Monterey Bay," Burns said. "Coach Jimenez has been with us since our arrival at SDSU, and has been an integral part of our building process. As we move forward to the championships in our future, she will always be a key part of our foundation. I sincerely appreciate the commitment to excellence, hard work and loyalty to our program and myself that Renee has shown. I am thrilled that she has this opportunity in front of her and gets a chance to coach in the same league that she excelled in as a player. She has represented San Diego State with pride and class, and will do the same at CSUMB. I know all of our Aztec friends and fans will join us in wishing her all the best of everything, with our thanks."
A native of Ventura, Calif., Jimenez was a part of the San Diego State coaching staff that led the Aztecs to a 15-game improvement in the win column in just three seasons, including an 18-13 mark and a spot in the Mountain West Conference Championship game in 2007-08.
Jimenez came to The Mesa in May 2005, after serving as an intern for the women's basketball team at Stanford in 2004-05, where she was the team's video coordinator.
A 2004 graduate of San Francisco State with a bachelor's degree in liberal studies and kinesiology, Jimenez played three seasons for the Gators from 2001-04, finishing her career as the school's all-time leader in three-point field goals and season record-holder in three-pointers made (62). She also competed for one year at Ventura College, helping the Pirates to the 2001 state junior college championship.