With more than a decade’s worth of experience on the sidelines with the UC Davis women’s basketball program, Associate Head Coach Joe Teramoto enters his 20th season with the Aggies in 2025-26, serving as the team’s “defensive coordinator” and focusing on post player development, while working with all facets of the program.
Teramoto joined the UC Davis staff in June of 2006, and has helped guide the program to perennial postseason success as the Aggies have extended their season with NCAA Tournament (2011, 2019, and 2021) or Women’s National Invitation Tournament berths (2008, 2010, 2012, 2017, and 2018) in eight of the school’s 17 Division I campaigns.
Over the last seven years, UC Davis has won 134 games — including three seasons of 20-or-more wins as well as 25 victories and the program’s second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2019, taking on second-seeded Stanford in the first round. Prior to that, the Aggies racked up 28 wins (a program Division I record and the second-highest single-season total in school history) and advanced to the “Elite Eight” of the WNIT — the furthest any Big West school has advanced in that tournament — in 2018, and made an appearance in the WNIT “Sweet 16” following a 25-win season in 2017.
In conference play, UC Davis has been the “queens of the court,” posting a 55-9 league record during its back-to-back-to-back-to-back title run.
Working on developing UC Davis’ inside presence, Teramoto has helped produce some of the top post players in school history, including four-time All-Big West selection — and 2019 Big West Player of the Year — Morgan Bertsch, who became the first Aggie ever to be drafted by a WNBA team in 2019 when she was selected in the third round (29th overall) by the Dallas Wings.
Bertsch, who led the team in scoring during all four of her collegiate seasons, finished her career by setting 11 new career marks — including the most points ever by a UC Davis basketball player, male or female — 11 single-season records, and four more single-game records.
Meanwhile, Paige Mintun, who led the team in both scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (4.5 rpg) as the Aggies posted 21 wins and claimed their first Big West regular season crown in 2011, paced the Aggies in scoring in each of her final three seasons, Alyson Doherty was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team in her debut, followed that up with three all-conference honors, and ranks seventh on the school’s all-time scoring list, while Celia Marfone finished among the top 10 in the Big West in rebounding in each of her final three collegiate seasons and is tied for sixth all time in career rebounds with 682.
In addition, Ellen Porshneva (2004-07), who became the 12th Aggie to score 1,000 points for her career and ranks ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,251 points, along with Big West Conference Freshman of the Year Lauren Juric (2009-12), were two other posts that flourished under Teramoto’s tutelage in the program’s Division I infancy.
At the defensive end, Teramoto has helped put together some of the stingiest defenses in school history, including the 2019 squad which led the Big West in scoring defense (57.0 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.339), and three-point percentage defense (.273), while ranking No. 27, No. 5, and No. 16, in the nation in those categories, respectively.
UC Davis has led the league in scoring defense in three of the last four seasons and field goal percentage defense in each of the last four years, with the 57.0 ppg allowed in 2018-19 the lowest for a league leader since UC Santa Barbara allowed just 52.9 ppg in 2012-13, and the .339 field goal percentage defense the lowest in the history of the league. His defenses have allowed fewer than 63 points per game 10 times in his previous 14 years.
Prior to his arrival at UC Davis, Teramoto served as an assistant coach at Saint Mary’s from 2003-06. During his three years with the Gaels, he was involved in all aspects of the program and primarily worked with post players.
Teramoto graduated from Cal Poly in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a minor in biotechnology. He earned his master’s in educational leadership, also from Cal Poly, in 2007. While still in high school and college, Teramoto spent three seasons coaching junior high basketball before moving up for three seasons at San Luis Obispo HS. As the varsity coach in 2002-03, the Tigers finished 22-3 overall and 12-0 in the Pac-5 League.
A native of Concord, Calif., Teramoto prepped at Ygnacio Valley HS where he competed in basketball, water polo, tennis, and swimming, earning 10 varsity letters and graduating as the only student in Warrior history to be named Athlete of the Year and valedictorian in the same year.
Teramoto married UC Davis head coach Jennifer Gross in 2010 when they were both assistants on former coach Sandy Simpson’s staff. The couple has a son, Joshua, and a daughter, Amelia.
