Fresno State Athletics
Players Mentioned
The McCarthys
5/7/2026 6:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State women's basketball team has jumped out to great success under new head coach Ryan McCarthy.Â
Bulldogs' finished the 2025-26 campaign seventh in the Mountain West after being selected ninth in the preseason poll. They tacked on their third consecutive season with eight conference wins and earned a quarterfinal appearance in the Mountain West Championship.
The credit for the team's success can't just be given to McCarthy himself, the players he recruited made an impact, as well as the talented group of assistant coaches that he hired. Among the group of assistant coaches is McCarthy's wife, Jenna McCarthy. Some may avoid working with their spouse, but for Jenna and Ryan, their relationship allows them to be great partners on and off the court.
Ryan played basketball at Northwest Nazarene from 2002-06. He then moved on to play professionally in Germany with Tus Bramsche (2006-07), that same year he went back to Northwest Nazarene to start his coaching career. McCarthy quickly moved up the ranks from an assistant coach in 2007 to associate head coach in 2011.Â
In 2012, he began his tenure at University of Alaska Anchorage. "I got the job at UAA about 3 days before school started. Our first recruiting class was three intramural players so that we could play five-on-five in practice," McCarthy said.
In 13 seasons under McCarthy, the Seawolves produced six All-Americans, three GNAC Players of the Year's and have seen seven players ascend to the professional ranks. As a program, under McCarthy, UAA posted victories over nine NCAA Division I teams and holds an 11-8 NCAA DII tournament record. It was through UAA where Ryan would eventually meet Jenna.
Jenna was a stand out basketball player at Butler University from 2010-12 before transferring to Florida Gulf Coast for her final two seasons. She eventually transitioned to the coaching staff at FGCU, and coached there for four seasons.
The pair met at a recruiting tournament in Chicago and were long distance from Florida to Alaska for a year before they decided to get married.
"It was a little hard at first, especially with the darkness in Alaska. I can do the cold, the darkness was a big transition for me," Jenna said, "I'm very happy to be in California with the sunshine."
For the first four years of their relationship, they didn't coach with each other. Eventually, Jenna decided to join the staff at UAA in 2024. After winning a championship together in 2025, they understood how the dynamic could be with each other on the court.
Before coming to Fresno State for the 2025-26 season, both Jenna and Ryan had heard of the Pride of the Valley in their own ways. Jenna had enjoyed watching players like Brook Walling and the Cavinder twins.
"I knew about how successful they were here. So just seeing that it can be done at a high level here was a big reason that we wanted to take this position and be on staff here," Jenna said.
For Ryan, he remembers being a senior in high school when Jerry Tarkanian came to Fresno State, and enjoyed the swagger that Tark brought to the Bulldogs.
"They had guys at that time who would wear the big baggie shorts and stuff, and "Skip to My Lou" (Rafer Alston) was a main guy on the AND1 tour and played for Tark. He ended up playing a decent career in the NBA," Ryan said.
Eventually, Ryan took the head coaching position for the 2025-26 season, and he brought Jenna on with him as an assistant coach, citing her success as a player and a coach.
The Bulldogs saw lots of new players under Ryan, three of which were awarded All-MW honors. Emilia Long earned an All-MW honorable mention, Jaisa Gamble earned an All-Defensive team recognition and Ava Marr secured All-Freshman honors.
"It's part of our culture; relentless work ethic, competitive in everything that we do and and really just playing as hard as we possibly can for 40 minutes. I think that's a separator a lot of times," Ryan said.
The McCarthy's have settled into the Valley, building a new home in Fresno. Together they have brought a new fire to Fresno State women's basketball, giving the program a bright future.
"It's been amazing to be able to see the community come out and everybody's been so kind and welcoming," Jenna said. "They care. And that's what I love about it, is how much people care here."