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Head Coach Mark Campbell

Mark Campbell, an eight-time conference champion coach, was named the eighth head women’s basketball coach in TCU athletics history on March 21, 2023, and completed his first season at the helm in 2023-24.

Campbell facilitated a 13-game year-over-year win improvement – the largest of any Power Six conference program – in his first year in Fort Worth. TCU finished with a 21-12 overall record and earned its first postseason berth in five years, advancing to the second round of the WBIT. Under Campbell’s direction, TCU broke six school records, including 3-pointers (312), season assist average (16.7) and consecutive wins (14), and was one of only two teams in the country to finish the season ranked in the top-10 nationally in 3-pointers, 3-point percentage and 3-point percentage differential. Campbell also led TCU to its earliest AP top-25 ranking in 13 years and ascended the Horned Frogs as high as 22nd in the NCAA NET Rankings.

He previously served two seasons as head coach at Sacramento State, where he guided the Hornets to their first-ever Big Sky regular season and tournament championships and first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Campbell came to northern California following a seven-year assistant coaching tenure at Oregon, where he became widely regarded as the nation’s best recruiter. While in Eugene, Campbell was responsible for the recruitment of three top-10 picks in the 2020 WNBA Draft in Sabrina Ionescu (No. 1), Satou Sabally (No. 2) and Ruthy Hebard (No. 8). He also assembled the No. 1 overall recruiting class in 2020, a group that included five players who were both consensus top-25 talents and McDonalds All-Americans.

Career Coaching Highlights

  • Facilitated a combined 35-game year-over-year win improvement in three seasons as a head coach
  • Responsible for the recruitment of and coached 11 WNBA Draft picks, including five first round selections; Sabrina Ionescu (No. 1, 2020), Satou Sabally (No. 2, 2020), Nyara Sabally (No. 5, 2021), Ruthy Hebard (No. 8, 2020) and Sydney Wiese (No. 11, 2017)
  • Eight-time conference champion coach
  • Winningest first-year head coach in TCU women's basketball history
  • Staked TCU to a 14-0 start to the 2023-24 campaign and the longest winning streak to begin a season in TCU basketball history
  • Pioneered Sacramento State to a school record 25 wins and the institution's first NCAA Tournament appearance in men's or women's basketball in 2022-23
  • Coached four players to six combined conference player of the year accolades at Oregon and Sacramento State
  • Developed Sabrina Ionescu into a two-time Wooden Award and Wade Trophy winner in 2019 and 2020
  • Assembled the No. 1 and No. 3 overall recruiting classes in 2020 and 2016, respectively, at Oregon
  • Guided Oregon to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including a trio of Elite Eight appearances from 2017-2019 and the program’s first-ever Final Four in 2019

TCU (2023-Present)

Since the moment he was hired, Mark Campbell has restored TCU women’s basketball to national relevance.

After inheriting a TCU program that went 8-23 (.258) prior to his arrival, Campbell orchestrated the greatest turnaround season in college basketball, leading the Horned Frogs to a 21-12 (.657) overall record in 2023-24. Under Campbell’s guidance, TCU enjoyed the largest year-over-year win improvement and win percentage increase (.399) of all Power Six conference programs, leading the country in both metrics among teams with a first-year head coach. The Horned Frogs ranked third and fourth, respectively, across the national ranks in winning percentage differential and year-over win total. Campbell was one of only four head coaches to more than double his team’s overall win tally from 2022-23.

Known for facilitating rapid rebuilds, Campbell more than lived up to his reputation. Campbell led TCU to its first postseason berth in five years, as the Horned Frogs received a No. 3 seed in the WBIT and advanced to the second round of the inaugural event. Campbell sparked the program renaissance by leading TCU to its best start to a season in school history. TCU won 14 straight games to begin the year, running the table in nonconference play for the second time ever and setting a program record for consecutive victories. Along the way, Campbell became the first TCU head men’s or women’s basketball coach to break into The Associated Press poll in year one on the job. TCU cracked the AP top-25 on Dec. 18, 2023 – its earliest appearance in 13 years – and attained a season-high ranking of 23rd the following week. Campbell also guided TCU to its best-ever NCAA Net Ranking, as the Horned Frogs ascended as high as 22nd in the tables after ending the 2022-23 season tabbed No. 131.

TCU broke six school records in 2023-24, setting new all-time marks for 3-pointers (312), season assist average (16.7), season rebounding defense (34.2), 3-point attempts (862) and consecutive wins (14). The Horned Frogs also notched the second-most assists (551) in a season in program history. Individually, Madison Conner knocked down a school record 100 threes in Campbell’s spread pick-and-roll offense. Conner became the fifth Big 12 player to reach triple figures in threes in a season while TCU produced the third-highest 3-pointer per game average (9.5) in conference history.

Under Campbell, Conner and Sedona Prince became the top-two scorers in the Big 12 and the nation’s highest-scoring tandem as the only duo in the country to average 20 points per game apiece. Both players garnered postseason all-conference accolades despite missing significant time due to injury, with Conner tabbed to the All-Big 12 second team. Prince was one of 10 centers named a Lisa Leslie Award finalist – the first TCU player to achieve the milestone – and was selected to the Wooden Award Midseason Top-25 Watch List, joining All-American alumnae Sandora Irvin and Helena Sverrisdottir as one of three Horned Frogs to receive Wooden Award consideration. Anchoring Campbell’s spread pick-and-roll, Prince was the lone women’s basketball player who averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks per game during the regular season.

Ticket demands and community interest in TCU women’s basketball bloomed amidst the Frogs’ record-setting first year under Campbell. A total of 44,806 fans packed the purple bleachers over 20 home games, constituting a 55 percent increase in total fan attendance from the previous season. Campbell’s squad also helped inspire a 102 percent increase in student attendance. TCU finished with a 16-4 record inside Schollmaier Arena – its second-most home wins in a season – and drew its largest home crowd in 11 seasons when 4,754 spectators saw TCU face Incarnate Word on Nov. 15, 2023.

Campbell couped the nation’s No. 11 overall and the Big 12’s top-rated transfer class in the 2023 recruiting cycle according to the On3’s Team Transfer Portal Index. TCU signed three players featured in World Exposure Report’s expanded top-100 player rankings in Prince (No. 25), Conner (No. 66) and No. 92 Agnes Emma-Nnopu. Campbell’s six-player transfer class included a pair of consensus five-star talents in Prince, who was graded the No. 8 overall prospect in the class of 2018 by ESPN.com, and Jaden Owens, the nation’s 13th-best talent and No. 3 point guard prospect in 2019, along with four-star guards Conner and Emma-Nnopu.

Sacramento State (2021-23)

After inheriting a 3-22 team, it took Campbell just two seasons to take the Hornets to the NCAA Tournament. Campbell led Sacramento State to a school record 25 wins and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history in 2022-23. The Hornets won a share of their first Big Sky regular season championship and first Big Sky Tournament title. The 25 victories marked the first 20-win season in program history and were also the most ever by a Sacramento State men's or women's basketball team.

Campbell facilitated an 11-game year-over-year win improvement in each of his two seasons at the helm. Sacramento State's 14 wins in its first season under Campbell were tied for the nation's seventh-best turnaround.

During his two years with Sacramento State, in which he produced a 39-24 record, Campbell coached four players to All-Big Sky honors. Included in that total were Conference Most Valuable Players Lianna Tillman in 2021-22, the first Hornet to win the honor in the program's history, and Kahlaijah Dean in 2022-23. The Hornets also had the Big Sky Newcomer of the Year recipient in each of the last two seasons in Isnelle Natabou in 2021-22 and Dean in 2022-23.

Oregon (2014-21)

Campbell spent seven seasons at Oregon with the last six as associate head coach. Campbell helped lead Oregon to three straight Pac-12 regular-season titles, two Pac-12 Tournament championships and six NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 2019. He worked with Oregon's guards, created the Ducks' defensive game plan and was the team's lead recruiter.

Campbell was responsible for recruiting Ionescu, one of the most decorated players in the sport's history. Ionescu was joined in the top 10 of the 2020 WNBA Draft by teammates Satou Sabally (No. 2) and Ruthy Hebard (No. 8), both of whom Campbell also played a huge role in bringing to the Ducks.

Regarded as the one of the nation's elite recruiters, Campbell brought high level talent each year to Oregon. Campbell was the lead recruiter in the hunt for Ionescu, who was the top-ranked guard in the country and No. 4 overall recruit. It helped Oregon net the nation's No. 3 ranked class in 2016. Campbell was then instrumental in Oregon landing its first-ever No. 1 ranked recruiting class in 2020, bringing in five players who were consensus top-25 recruits and McDonalds All-Americans. Campbell was also key in signing top international players, including Berlin, Germany, native Satou Sabally, considered the top international forward in the 2017 recruiting class, and her younger sister, star power forward Nyara Sabally, in the 2018 class.

Campbell and the Ducks advanced to the program's first-ever NCAA Final Four in 2019 while repeating as Pac-12 regular-season champions and totaling a school-record 33 wins for the second year in a row. For the first time in his career, Campbell tutored a player to national player of the year honors as Ionescu was named both the Wooden Award and Wade Trophy winner.

In 2018, Campbell helped guide the Ducks to a second straight Elite Eight appearance and the program's first Pac-12 regular-season championship since 2000. The Ducks also captured their first Pac-12 Tournament title in program history behind a championship game record 36 points from Ionescu in a 20-point win over Stanford. Ionescu earned her first of three straight Pac-12 Player of the Year awards and became the Oregon's first first-team All-American since 1982.

Oregon's rise to prominence began with the 2016-17 season, when Ionescu and Hebard burst onto the scene as true freshmen and helped Oregon secure its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2005. A No. 11 seed, Oregon beat No. 2 seed Duke on its home floor in the second round. The Ducks kept their magical run going with another upset over No. 3 seed Maryland to reach the first Elite Eight in program history. Ionescu went on to earn ESPNW and USBWA national Freshman of the Year honors.

Prior to Oregon (2005-10)

Prior to joining Oregon, Campbell served on the staff at Oregon State. Beginning as an assistant coach, he was promoted to associate head coach for the 2013-14 season. Campbell proved instrumental in the recruiting efforts of the Beavers. He was an integral part of turning around a program that went from 9-21 in 2010-11 to an NCAA Second Round appearance in 2014.

Before heading to Corvallis, Campbell spent two seasons with the men's program at Saint Mary's. He was the team's director of operations before becoming an assistant coach under Randy Bennett. Preceding his stint at Saint Mary's, Campbell spent the 2007-08 season as an assistant coach for the Pepperdine men's program under Vance Walberg.

From 2005-07, Campbell coached at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Ore., helping the Cougars to the 2007 Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Championship.

Playing Career (2000-04)

Campbell played at Cal Poly and Clackamas CC before transferring to Hawai`i for his final two seasons. He guided the Warriors to an NCAA Tournament bid in 2002 and NIT appearance in 2003. Starting all but one game, he is the winningest two-year player in Hawai`i's history and led the team to a school-record 27 victories in 2001-02. He was a WAC all-defensive team pick as a senior and was a two-time WAC all-academic selection. In June 2016, Campbell was inducted into the Clackamas Hall of Fame. In 2012 and 2013, Campbell was selected to attend Nike's renowned Villa 7 Consortium, which brings together university athletics directors and the country's elite assistant coaches in an effort to prepare the next generation of college basketball head coaches.

Personal

Campbell earned a degree in liberal studies from Hawai`i in 2004, adding a master's degree in education from George Fox in 2006. He is a native of Mt. Vernon, Wash. Campbell and his wife, Ashley, who played basketball at Vanderbilt, have two daughters, Maley and Makay.