Charmin Smith Signs New Five-Year Contract

BERKELEY – Currently leading the California women's basketball team through one of the best seasons in recent history, head coach Charmin Smith has signed a new five-year contract, Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton announced Wednesday. Smith, who is in her sixth year leading the Golden Bear program, is now signed through the 2029-30 season. Her new contract replaces the extension that she signed following last season.
 
In addition to retaining Smith for five more years, the new deal includes a commitment from campus to ensure that the women's basketball program has the adequate resources to stay competitive within the Atlantic Coast Conference and nationally. Highlighted among those terms is significant support in revenue sharing with student-athletes as part of the proposed NCAA House Settlement, as well as facility improvements.

"We are excited to make this significant commitment to Charmin and our women's basketball program," Knowlton said. "The development of our program under Charmin's leadership is undeniable, and the team's accomplishments this season has our entire Cal Athletics community thrilled about the future. We are dedicated to giving Charmin and the program the resources needed to continue to compete at the highest level."
 
After a 2023-24 season in which the Golden Bears had multiple Pac-12 weekend sweeps, won their most overall and conference games since 2018-19, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament and set a program record for 3-pointers in a season, Smith has taken the program to another level this year.
 
Under her guidance this season, Cal has won 25 games for the first time since 2012-13, maintained an Associated Press Top 25 ranking for eight straight weeks (reaching as high as No. 18), set a program record for home wins in a season (16), defeated multiple ranked teams and advanced to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Bears also broke last season's program record for 3-pointers, which now sits at 294 and ranks 11th nationally and eighth on the ACC's all-time single-season list.
 
Picked to finish 14th in the ACC preseason poll, Smith led the Bears to a seventh-place finish in the conference after navigating the toughest travel schedule in the nation. Smith landed several portal transfers that helped this year's team become one of the most dynamic in the country and finish the regular season as one of only six teams in the nation to have five players average 10+ points per game. The Bears have one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, including the nation's best duo in All-ACC Second-Team selection Ioanna Krimili and one the country's most improved players in sophomore Lulu Twidale. The two finished in the top 10 in the country for 3-point makes and combined for more than any other pair in the NCAA.
 
Next season, Smith will welcome a second-consecutive Top 25 (ESPN) recruiting class that features two ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100 players in McDonald's All-American Aliyahna "Puff" Morris (No. 24) and Taylor Barnes (No. 70) along with Grace McCallop and Isis Johnson-Musah.
 
"First off, I want to thank Jim Knowlton for staying with me and believing in me," Smith said. "This agreement is a testament to our entire coaching staff that helped put together one of the most exciting seasons in recent memory. I appreciate that Jim sees the value in investing in women's basketball through revenue sharing and a new locker room for our program. I'm really excited about the future of our program which wouldn't be possible without Jim's dedication to prioritizing our needs."
 
The Bears are expected to receive an at-large bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Cal is hosting a March Madness Selection Show watch party Sunday beginning at 4:30 p.m. PT in the field club at California Memorial Stadium.