Carlene Mitchell’s new chapter: scouting, strategy and stability at Cal Poly
This is a cross-published piece with Mustang News, more information can be found here.
Twenty-six losses in a row and three losing seasons with Cal State Northridge (CSUN) left Cal Poly women’s basketball assistant coach Carlene Mitchell with a lot to think about.
Mitchell had reached a low point in her coaching career, parting ways with CSUN shortly after the 2023-24 season. Even with the tough season, she learned to have a more open mind to new play styles and techniques within basketball.
“It was tough,” Mitchell said. “There were a lot of life lessons that you don’t want to learn through losses.”
Some of these lessons included having an open mind to change, like adapting the offense and defense to be better suited for three-pointers. According to Mitchell, teams like the Golden State Warriors and players like Caitlin Clark have changed the game.
“You can’t stay stagnant in your thought processes of how to do things, because what worked 20 years ago is not going to work in today’s society.”
Despite recent struggles, Mitchell still had a large resumé that caught the attention of Cal Poly.
Former teammates reunited
When her former Kansas State teammate and Cal Poly women’s basketball head coach Shanele Stires told her there was an open spot on her coaching staff, she knew her next stop would be in San Luis Obispo.
In the 2024 offseason, Mitchell joined Cal Poly to reunite with Stires.
“To have [Mitchell] with me at Cal Poly is a dream come true,” Stires said on GoPoly. “She understands people, teamwork and is an excellent collaborator.”
Mitchell also has nothing but praise for her former teammate, as the two are very familiar with what the other brings to the table.
“As a person, [Stires] is such an awesome person to work for and be around you, and you want to be around people you care about,” Mitchell said. “She is such a hard worker and she’s doing great things with this program, so I just wanted to be a piece of that.”
With the pressure of being a head coach released, Mitchell returned to her role as an assistant coach, a part she played for 18 years before landing a head coaching job.
Mitchell has coached at many levels. She was an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky of the WNBA in 2017-18, she served in the Women’s Korean Basketball League (WKBL) as a technical advisor and spent 10 seasons at Rutgers as an assistant.
For Buchean Hana Bank in Korea, Mitchell was brought in to design plays for and help develop their post players.
She also has experience in the Big West, leading UC Santa Barbara as head coach to a Big West championship during her tenure from 2011-15.
Preferred coaching style
Despite spending time at the helm of Big West programs, Mitchell says she prefers being behind the scenes and has been the most comfortable in the assistant coaching position.
Under Stires’s staff, Mitchell embraces her technical role in scouting opponents and advising players about plans before they step on the court for practice or a game.
From her experience coaching professional basketball, she sees the game slower and from a wide perspective.
“Living on my computer, technical things like scouting breakdowns, that stuff is fun to me, it’s like playing a video game.”
In terms of coaching style, Mitchell’s calm demeanor is complementary to the other coaches at Cal Poly.
While Stires and associate head coach Samba Johnson both bring energy and intensity to every practice and game, Mitchell presents a more laid-back approach.
Players such as senior guard Annika Shah appreciate the balance of coaching styles that Stires and Mitchell bring to the program.
“It’s nice to have a coach that’s more mellow and talks to you differently because in different moments you might want that instead of high energy all the time,” Shah said.
Although she saw limited success as a head coach, Mitchell provides consistency in her approach to practice and games, caring for players as people first.
Her goal at Cal Poly is to help the players grow as people on and off the court and help guide the next generation of coaches, including assistant coach Njeri Nelms.
“At some point, there’s really nothing left for me to prove,” Mitchell said. “It’s more [about] what I can give back.”
