Sneed Out as Basketball Coach at CS Fullerton

John Sneed’s sometimes tumultuous four-year tenure as Cal State Fullerton basketball coach ended Monday when the school announced that his contract will not be renewed for next season.

Sneed, 43, guided the Titans to a 55-59 record and won only two of six Big West Conference tournament games. Bill Shumard, Fullerton athletic director, cited a need “for new leadership” and a belief that “someone else can take us to a higher level” as primary reasons for the change.

“Ninety-six universities received invitations to postseason play Sunday. That’s one-third of the Division I schools,” Shumard said. “Given where we’re located, the conference we play in, I don’t think it’s beyond the realm of possibility to think we can finish in the upper division of the Big West, win 18-20 games and get to postseason play.”

Sneed, whose contract expires March 31, could not be reached for comment.

Three coaches appear to top Fullerton’s list of candidates to replace Sneed: Pat Douglass of Cal State Bakersfield and Gary McKnight of Mater Dei High and UCLA assistant Brad Holland.

Douglass has led Bakersfield to five consecutive NCAA Division II tournament appearances and three trips to the national quarterfinals. McKnight has guided Mater Dei to seven Southern Section championships in 10 years.

Holland, a former UCLA and Laker player, has never been a head coach but has been mentioned as a candidate at several Division I schools.

Utah assistant Donny Daniels, a former Titan player who spent a year as an assistant at Fullerton, and assistant Mike Bokosky said they will apply for the job. Other possible candidates are UC Riverside’s John Masi and Ventura College’s Phil Mathews.

Sneed led the Titans to a 16-13 record in his first season as interim coach following the resignation of George McQuarn. The record earned Sneed a three-year contract, but Fullerton never experienced the kind of success in the following three seasons as it did in Sneed’s first.