CSUN Top 10 – No. 5 CSUN Appoints Five to Lead Matador Programs

From June 27 to August 1, GoMatadors.com will present its top-10 CSUN sports moments from the 2021-22 year. At No. 5, CSUN Athletics appointed head coaches across several sports over the course of 2021-22.
 

Over the course of the 2021-22 academic year, CSUN Athletics made several head coaching hires official. The newest Matador head coaches included Carlene Mitchell (Women's Basketball), Trent Johnson (Men's Basketball), Eddie Cornejo (Baseball), John Price (Women's Volleyball) and Christine Johnson (Women's Soccer).

Mitchell had the removal of the interim head women's basketball coach tag removed on Mar. 16, becoming the 14th head coach in school history. Mitchell was named interim coach in July 2021 and led CSUN to a Big West Tournament berth. Three Matadors, Tess Amundsen (second team), Jordyn Jackson (honorable mention), and Kayanna Spriggs (All-Freshman), earned All-Conference honors. Amundsen was the Division I champion in three-point field percentage (49.1%). The Matadors were 25th in Division I in steals per game as a team.

Johnson had his interim tag removed from his title on March 17, officially becoming the seventh head coach in CSUN Men's Basketball history. Johnson would take over the program on an interim basis in late July last year. Prior to the 2021-22 season, Big West coaches and media members selected the Matadors to finish in last place in the conference, however, CSUN defied those expectations to post an eighth-place finish in the league while overcoming a host of injuries and losing two starters. Under Johnson, guard Atin Wright emerged as one of the top scorers in the Big West and earned an All-Big West Honorable Mention.

Cornejo was named the 11th head coach in CSUN Baseball history and the successor to the retiring Dave Serrano on April 27. Cornejo spent three seasons on the Matadors' coaching staff including this past season as an associate head coach. In 2022, the Matadors posted a 32-22 overall record and 17-13 mark in the Big West for a fourth-place finish in the league. CSUN's third-straight winning season was the program's first since 1998 while the team notched its second-straight winning conference record for the first time since joining the Big West. Four Matadors earned All-Conference honors including three first-team selections in Kai Moody, Andrew Sojka and Blaine Traxel.  

Price was named Director of Women's Volleyball for the Matadors on June 6, and will oversee both the indoor and beach volleyball programs. Price, who is the seventh head coach in the 46-year history of the CSUN indoor program, returned to his alma mater in 2021 as an assistant coach on the indoor team. He also led the Matador beach program on an interim basis this past season (2022), leading CSUN to 17 wins which matched the program season record. With a long and storied history at CSUN dating back to 1980, Price made his presence felt in the San Fernando Valley as the head coach of the Matador men's volleyball team from 1986-1997. He amassed an overall record of 194-158 (.551) leading CSUN to a 23-10 record and a berth in the 1993 NCAA Championship match where the Matadors fell to UCLA. Price's 1991 CSUN team posted a 22-7 overall record and a No. 3 national ranking, the school's first at the Division I level.

Johnson officially became the sixth head coach in CSUN Women's Soccer history on June 22. Johnson joined the Matadors in March 2021 as an assistant coach before taking on acting head coach duties, a role she held throughout the fall and spring. In 2021, CSUN would play one of the toughest schedules in the Big West including facing five Pac-12 opponents and four NCAA Tournament teams. Under Johnson, the Matadors would defeat Iowa State in non-conference competition for the program's first win over a Big 12 Conference team since 2010. CSUN would receive two all-conference selections in Sydney Gilbert (Honorable Mention) and Ashly Torres (All-Freshman Team). 

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