FAYETTEVILLE — Gus Argenal, a two-year men's basketball assistant at Arkansas, was announced Wednesday as the new head coach at Cal State San Bernardino.
It is Argenal's first head coaching job since he was at Cal State East Bay for four seasons from 2013-17. He has coached in various capacities for 19 years following his playing career at Cal Davis.
Cal State Bernardino competes in the same conference, the California Collegiate Athletic Association, as Cal State East Bay.
Argenal joined Eric Musselman’s staff at Arkansas in 2021 and recently completed his second season with the Razorbacks. He reconnected in Fayetteville with Musselman, who he coached the 2017-19 seasons as an assistant under at Nevada.
Musselman congratulated Argenal on Twitter, writing, “Congrats @CoachArgenal on being named head coach of the @CSUSBMBB! @csusbathletics got an awesome leader. Big things ahead for the Yotes basketball program!"
In a press release, Argenal called it an "incredible opportunity" to coach the CSUSB program. The Coyotes went 31-4 and played in the Final Four of the NCAA Division II Tournament earlier this year.
"I could not be more excited to be a part of a campus community that gives its student-athletes an elite collegiate experience," Argenal said. "Coyote basketball has a storied tradition of winning in the [CCAA] and on the national stage; my goal is to build an incredible culture of winning, in and out of the classroom through hard work, brotherhood, and passion. My team will be aggressive and attack on both sides of the ball utilizing a position-less style that takes advantage of mismatches and plays with great pace for 40 minutes."
"Gus embodies what I'm looking for to lead our men's basketball program," CSUSB athletics director Shareef Amer said in a press release. "He has a proven track record of supporting student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, on the court, in the community, and as people. His experience graduating student-athletes while coaching at a national level will position him well to build a strong championship culture in our men's basketball program."
During Argenal’s two years at Arkansas, the Razorbacks reached the Elite Eight and Sweet 16. Arkansas compiled a 50-23 record with him on staff.
With his departure, it will be the fourth offseason in as many years for Musselman and the Razorbacks to fill an assistant coaching position.
Argenal joins Chris Crutchfield (2019-20) as the second assistant under Musselman to depart for a head coaching job. Crutchfield left for a head coaching job at East Central (Okla.) University, and is now the head coach at Nebraska-Omaha.
Other assistants who left include Corey Williams (2019-21), who departed for an assistant job at Texas Tech and is now at Auburn; David Patrick (2020-21) who left for an associate coaching job at Oklahoma and is now the head coach at Sacramento State; and Clay Moser (2019-22) who stepped away from coaching briefly before becoming an assistant for the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League.
CORRECTION: A previous version stated Argenal was hired as a head coach for the first time. It has been corrected.