A sideline veteran with coaching experience at nearly every level, Assistant Coach Matt Klemin is in his 16th season as a member of the UC Davis women’s basketball coaching staff in 2026-27, focusing his efforts on skill development, working with the Aggies’ guards, opponent scouts, and helping coordinate the program’s recruiting efforts.
As the Aggies have adjusted their recruiting efforts to reflect the modern world of college athletics, Klemin has led the way in that rebranding, focusing more on bringing in transfers to shore up the team year after year.
Notable recent transfers brought in by Klemin have included 1,000 point scorer Tova Sabel, former UC Irvine Anteater Victoria Baker, and Manhattan University Jasper Tegan Young.
Klemin joined the UC Davis sidelines prior to the 2011-12 season, and has helped guide the program to perennial postseason success as the Aggies have extended their season with NCAA Tournament (2019, '21) or Women’s National Invitation Tournament berths (2012, 2017, 2018, 2026) in nine of his seasons on the sideline, while laying claim to five consecutive Big West Conference regular-season titles (2017, '18, '19, '20, '21) and.Big West tournament crowns in 2019 and 2021.
UC Davis has posted 282-177 record during his 15-plus campaigns with six seasons of 20 or more wins including a current streak of three in a row (2023-24, '24-25, '25-26). The team has also been to a pair of NCAA Tournqaments after winning Big West Tournament titles under Klemin's watch (2019, '21). The Aggies racked up 28 wins (a program Division I record and the second-highest single-season total in school history) in 2017-18 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 2017-18. UC Davis began a string of three straight seasons with 25 or more wins with a 25-8 mark in 2016-17.
In conference play, UC Davis has posted a 168-83 record during Klemin's tenure.
With his assistance, guards Samantha Meggison (2011-12) and Cortney French (2012-13) earned All-Big West Conference honors in his first two seasons, while later helping Kelsey Harris rank among the nation’s top three-point shooters during her two seasons as an Aggie, eventually finishing No. 3 in the nation while setting school and conference records in numerous three-point categories in 2014-15.
Sydnee Fipps, a three-time All-Big West Conference first team selection who led the team in scoring for three consecutive seasons, finished her career as the No. 2 scorer in the program’s history with 1,636 points, and stands among the top 10 in seven other categories entering the 2018-19 season. She has played professionally overseas in Portugal and Australia, earning WSBL All-Star honors with the Lakeside Lightning in the latter.
Recent graduates Pele Gianotti, a three-time All-Big West selection, and Rachel Nagel, who earned second team honors as a senior, reached the 1,000-point milestone in 2017-18 and both finished among the top 20 in the history of the program in scoring as well as numerous other categories, while guard Kourtney Eaton set the program’s career record for assists — a mark that also ranked seventh in Big West history upon her graduation in 2019.
Gianotti embarked on a professional career after graduation, signing with a club in Germany, who Nagel returned to her hometown to coach her high school’s varsity team before undertaking graduate school.
Prior to the Aggies, Klemin spent five seasons as an assistant coach in Southern California, spending two years at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California, one season at Azusa Pacific, and two more campaigns at Cal Baptist University in Riverside, California.
A 2004 graduate of Cal Poly, Klemin also spent two seasons as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations for the Mustangs’ women’s team from 2004-06, helping them to the second round of the conference tournament in his second year.
As an undergraduate, Klemin began his coaching career as an assistant varsity coach and junior varsity head coach at San Luis Obispo HS, while also holding positions at the AAU and middle school levels, as well as an instructor at a number of summer camps.
Klemin earned his bachelor’s degree in graphic communications and added a master’s degree in education administration from Cal Poly a year later. He and his wife, Lindsay, were married in 2014, and the couple resides in Sacramento with their son, Wyatt, and daughter, Harper.
