University of California, Merced

Jonah Cottrell is currently in his third season as an assistant coach with University of California, Merced men's basketball and has already proved to help the program in his coaching role with his tireless work on the recruiting trail.

Cottrell, the program's youngest ever assistant coach, is a UC Merced alumni and played four years under current head coach Kevin Pham from 2017-21. Cottrell was a 2X All-California Pacific Conference First Team selection and a key member of the Bobcats 2020-21 Phase Two California Pacific Conference Championship winning team. Cottrell finished his playing career ranked seventh in program history with 727 career points (8.8 PPG) and eighth with 101 assists and 77 steals. An incredible shooter, Cottrell is still ranked first in UC Merced history with a .411 three-point field goal percentage and ranks fourth with a .492 field goal percentage. The Camarillo, Calif., knocked down the fourth most three pointers overall with 117 makes.

Following his playing career, Cottrell joined the staff at Turlock High School as a boys varsity basketball assistant coach and a biology teacher.