Ehardt is Choice as New Titan Women’s Coach

When Barbara Ehardt joined Coach Mark French’s staff at UC Santa Barbara in 1988, the women’s basketball program was struggling.

“We were one of the worst teams in the country,” Ehardt said.

Three years later, after 9-19 and 17-12 seasons, the Gauchos won the first of two consecutive Big West championships and became the conference’s dominant team in the 1990s.

But Ehardt, an assistant under French for seven years, accepted what might be an even more difficult challenge Wednesday when she was introduced as Cal State Fullerton coach. She signed a three-year contract.

The Titans were 2-25 last season and 16-64 in three seasons under Denise Curry. Fullerton has not had a winning season since 1990-91, when Coach Maralyce Jeremiah’s team was 25-8 and advanced two rounds into the NCAA playoffs.

But Ehardt said she “had a good feeling” about the Fullerton position when she heard it was open.

“I think things work out for a reason, and I think I’m meant to be here,” Ehardt said.

Ehardt, 36, was out of coaching last season after a coaching change at Washington State, where she had been an assistant for two seasons. She said she decided to concentrate on getting a head coaching job rather than take another assistant’s position.

“I had been really close on about eight different head coaching jobs, so I felt like I wanted to come back as a head coach, or I might not come back at all,” she said. “I hadn’t thought about what I might do if I didn’t coach. I had faith it would work out for me.”

She said she regards recruiting as one of her strengths. “All of us can go to an AAU tournament, and pick out the top players,” she said. “What I think I’ve been able to do is pick out the players best suited for the programs where I’ve coached.”

Ehardt said she is optimistic about Fullerton’s potential.

“Obviously we’ve got to show some improvement,” she said. “But there’s absolutely no reason why we can’t do some awesome things with this program. I’m excited about it.”

Ehardt said her playing style will put an emphasis on strong defense. “I think we’ll be a team that will play with heart,” she said.