This is a guest post by Karaya G.

Renee Jimenez is the head coach of the Cal State Monterey Bay Women’s Basketball (CSUMB) Lady Otters, which plays out the Division 2 Conference in California. The California Collegiate Athletic Association is boasted as one of the best Division 2 Conferences in the NCAA. She is now in her third season with the Lady Otters.

Coach Jimenez has an extensive background in the sport of basketball; she played her collegiate basketball at San Francisco State University. During her time at SFSU from 2001-04, Coach Jimenez finished her career as the Gators’ all-time leader in three-point field goals. Jimenez, a two year team captain at SFSU, also set two school season records including most three-pointers made (62).

At the end of her playing career, Coach Jimenez interned for the prolific coach Tara VanDerveer (Head Coach, Stanford Lady Cardinals), after spending one year at Stanford, Jimenez then went to San Diego State University, where she was an assistant coach for three years. During her three year stint at SDSU she helped a team that compiled a record of 18-13 in the 2007-2008 season respectively, and almost made the NCAA tournament that season also. Her coaching efforts helped the Aztecs to compete in a spot in the MWC (Mountain West Conference) Championship.

After being an assistant coach at SDSU and interning for Coach VanDerveer, Coach Jimenez then took her talents to Monterey Bay to become the head coach at CSUMB. Now in her third season, she has completely changed the look of the Lady Otters. As of right now, Coach Jimenez and the Lady Otters are 14-0 overall, and 10-0 in conference play. At the end of the 2009-2010, Coach Jimenez took the Lady Otters to the CCAA Conference tournament for the first time with an overall record of 18-9 overall record and 14-8 conference record.

I chose to highlight Coach Jimenez, because having coached against her; what she has done with the Lady Otters in just three years is nothing short of amazing. She took a team, which many in conference would look over, and start preparation for their next opponent. Coach Jimenez is now sitting atop the conference, with a 14 game winning streak. Coach Jimenez took a team that posted single digit win seasons, to a team that is not posting double digit win seasons, and is knocking on the door, to yet another appearance in the CCAA Conference tournament.

Coach Renee Jimenez is definitely a coach that all should be on the lookout for, especially in Division 2 basketball. I personally believe that Coach Jimenez is the future in women’s college basketball, taking a CSUMB team that was desperate for wins, and a team that was often looked over, to a team that is on their way to becoming a powerhouse in the CCAA, and definitely top competition for all.

[note_box]Karaya G. is a native of California and has played four years of collegiate basketball, two at the junior college level (Taft Community College), and two at the division two level (CSU Stanislaus). She Graduated with a Bachelors in Physical Education and also was an assistant coach for 3 years at CSU Stanislaus. You can find her on Twitter @Jus_Kay[/note_box]

[info_box]Picture credit: arturodonate • Creative Commons Attribution[/info_box]