Fullerton, Calif. - Head Coach Sammy Doucette of the Cal State Fullerton Titans women's basketball has announced her inaugural staff for the upcoming 2026-27 season.  The staff consists of three assistant coaches (Jason Hill, Jana Pearson, Ali Elmi), a director of operations (Meghan McIntyre), and a director of player development (Brian Brennan).

"It's no secret that the hiring of my staff took a long time," said Doucette. "Partly because of the hiring process, and partly because of how intentional I needed to be. All five of my assistants have had to grind in their careers, are culture focused, and have been a part of multiple championship winning programs. They have all won more than they've lost, either as a player or an assistant coach. I couldn't be more excited that the staff has finally come together, and I am so grateful for each of them for wanting to lead this program with me."

Jason Hill was named an assistant coach and brings a wealth of experience after working and coaching at the University of Hawai'i for the past eight seasons.

"Jason is going to add so much value to our staff with his division one experience, specifically with former Big West powerhouse, the University of Hawaii. He handled a lot of operational duties, offensive schemes, post development, film breakdown, and more while at Hawaii. Jason is very big on details, culture, and he is an extremely hard worker." said Doucette

He worked his way up the ranks for the Rainbow Wahine after beginning as a graduate manager.  He became a video coordinator before becoming an assistant coach.  He was a director of player development as well as serving as a director of basketball operations the past four seasons. While at Hawaii, he was a part of a team that made five National Postseason Appearances (2 NCAA, 2 WBIT, 1 WNIT).  They won three Big West regular season titles and two conference tournament championships. Prior to the University of Hawai'i, Hill was a student manager for the USC women's basketball team as well as a practice player.  He also served as a practice player for the LA Sparks during his time at USC.



Jana Pearson was named an assistant coach after most recently serving as the head coach of the Cal State San Marcos women's basketball program.

"Jana was the assistant at Vanguard University during my junior and senior years. I've always admired her work ethic and how much she cares about her athletes. Jana has had numerous years working as an assistant coach at the NAIA, NCAA division II, and NCAA division I levels. She's worked under two different NAIA hall of fame coaches, Russ Davis and Dale Neal, and 2x NAIA National Champion Coach Kirsten Moore. Jana is an excellent recruiter, great with team culture initiatives, and an extremely hard worker." said Doucette.  

Pearson served as the head coach for the Coyotes for the past two seasons.  Before that she was an assistant coach at Westmont College.  During her three years there she helped transition the Warriors from NAIA to NCAA Division II where they went 64-25 with two Sweet 16 finishes.  

Before coaching at Westmont, Pearson was an assistant coach at the University of Northern Colorado.  Prior to the stint at Northern Colorado, Pearson served as an acting head coach at Vanguard University where she led the Lions to a 101-25 record and four NAIA National Tournament Appearances.  She was named the WBCA NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2018. Her first full time assistant coaching job was at Freed Hardeman University in Tennessee.  During her time there, the program went 125-19 and made four NAIA National Appearances.



Ali Elmi was named a Titans Women's Basketball assistant coach and the recruting coordinator after joining the Titans from Vanguard

"Ali had over a decade of coaching and recruiting experience at multiple levels (NAIA, NCAA D3, D2, D1) He is very well known in the basketball community, especially in California. One of his roles is going to be our recruiting coordinator. He's great at building relationships with coaches and players. He is extremely genuine and will always go above and beyond. On the court he is very defensive minded and analytical." said Doucette.

He brings in 15 years coaching experience at the D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and High School levels. Most recently, Elmi was Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for Vanguard University as well as the Data Analytics Specialist and Video Coordinator for the UC San Diego women's basketball program during their first Big West Championship run in 2024/25.  Before that he was an assistant coach at the University of La Verne where his responsibilities included coordinating the defense and analytics/film breakdown for scouts. Prior to La Verne he worked as an assistant coach at Cal Poly Pomona and Hope International University.

At Hope International, Elmi was the defensive and recruiting coordinator for the Royals women's basketball program.  Before coaching in the collegiate ranks, Elmi coached at nearby Brea Olinda High School where he led the Wildcats to a 123-29 record along with one state title, a state runner-up finish, a pair of regional championships and one CIF Championship runner-up.



Meghan McIntyre was named the Director of Operations after recently graduating from the University of San Francisco and completing her fifth season as a student-athlete. 

"Meghan is very green, but she just finished playing at USF. She will make a phenomenal coach one day, and I'm very excited for her to get started here, with me. She played for me at OCC and won a State Championship on a 32-1 season. She was a player who was slept on her entire career, so she knows how to compete with edge. As a player, she was the hardest working and most liked. She knew how to communicate to her teammates, lead by example, and win." said Doucette. 

McIntyre competed collegiately at the Golden West College, Orange Coast College, Southern Oregon, and the University of San Francisco.  At OCC under Coach Doucette, she helped lead the Pirates to the 3C2A State Championship and was named the Orange Empire Conference MVP and an All-State First Team selection.  At Southern Oregon, she earned the CCC Newcomer of the Year and led them to a conference and tournament championship.  She was named an NAIA All-American her senior year at SOU and led the team to the 34-1 record and to the NAIA National Tournament Quarterfinals.  In her final year, she played as a graduate student at the University of San Francisco.



Brian Brennan was named the Director of Player Development.

"Brian was with me at Orange Coast College in the same role that he will be here at CSUF. He will oversee player development. To know Brian is to know that he is going to explain the "why", get you out of your comfort zone, and make you better. He has experience working with Kevin Kiernan (the all time winning girl's basketball high school coach in CA), and numerous college and professional athletes." said Doucette. 

Brian brings more than 20 years experience of coaching and player development at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels.  He began his coaching career in 2004 at his alma mater, Loara High School. He then coached at Cypress College and Fullerton College.  In 2011, he founded BUILD Basketball, a player development and basketball consulting organization. Through BUILD Basketball, he has worked with professional players, McDonald's All-Americans, NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, junior college, high school, and youth athletes

Brennan returned to the high school ranks as Player Development Coach at Mater Dei High School helping them capture back-to-back CIF Southern Section Open Division Championships. In 2021, Brennan joined Fairmont San Juan Capistrano as the founding Head Boys Basketball Coach while helping launch the school's Basketball Academy. After an inaugural 1–24 season, he guided the Warriors to a 16–12 record, a league championship, and a CIF playoff berth in year two, earning League Coach of the Year honors.

He joined The Orange Coast College women's basketball in 2023 as a Player Development Coach under Sammy Doucette.  During his three seasons with the Pirates, the program made three consecutive CCCAA playoff appearances, advanced to two CCCAA State Championship games, and captured the 2024 CCCAA State Championship.



The Titans will look to build on last year's team after going 18-14 overall and 13-7 in conference play and making it to the quarterfinals of the Big West Championship. Last season was the first winning season since the 1990-91 season.  The Titans have returned six players from last year's roster and added seven new signings for the upcoming 2025-26 season. 

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