Long Beach State University Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- jeff.harada@csulb.edu
Jeff Harada was named associate head coach of the Long Beach State women's basketball program in spring 2026, bringing nearly three decades of collegiate coaching experience and a proven track record of building successful programs at every level.
Harada arrived at Long Beach State after serving eight seasons as head coach at Cal State Fullerton, where he guided the Titans to six Big West Tournament appearances and helped revitalize the program. During his tenure, Fullerton produced the 2019-20 Big West Player of the Year, the 2021-22 Big West Freshman of the Year, the 2021-22 Big West Hustle Player of the Year, multiple All-Big West selections and numerous All-Freshman Team honorees. His 2019-20 squad posted a 17-14 record, the program's first winning season since 1990-91, while leading the Big West in scoring, field goal percentage and defensive rebounds.
Before taking over at Cal State Fullerton, Harada spent three seasons as head coach at Central Washington, where he led the Wildcats to three consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference postseason tournament appearances while coaching two GNAC Freshmen of the Year and seven All-GNAC selections.
Harada also served three seasons as an assistant coach at Navy, helping the Midshipmen capture back-to-back Patriot League Tournament championships, two Patriot League regular season titles and three consecutive postseason appearances, including NCAA Tournament berths in 2012 and 2013 and a WNIT appearance in 2014.
Prior to Navy, Harada was the head coach at Hawai'i Pacific, where he transformed the Sea Warriors into a conference champion. After inheriting a team that had won just two games the previous season, he guided HPU to 58 victories over four seasons, highlighted by the 2010 Pacific West Conference championship, the program's first NCAA Division II Tournament appearance and Pacific West Coach of the Year honors.
In all, Harada has been part of seven postseason appearances during his coaching career, including NCAA Division I and II Tournament appearances and a WNIT berth, while contributing to five conference regular season or tournament championships.
Harada began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Colorado, serving first as a volunteer assistant before becoming the program's director of operations. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Hawai'i Pacific men's basketball program.
A respected recruiter, player developer and tactician, Harada joined the Beach with extensive experience throughout the Big West and a reputation for developing championship-caliber student-athletes and building competitive programs.
