A talented mentor with a wealth of coaching experience, Sean Fernandes returns for his ninth year as an assistant coach for Cal State LA’s men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams. Fernandes has been a valuable member of the coaching staff and helped with the Golden Eagles’ jumpers, sprinters and quarter-milers in track and field as well as the runners in the cross country program.
He was named the 2024 NCAA Division II West Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for indoor track and field after helping Jonon Young win the indoor national title in the triple jump and place second in the long jump. Young set new program records in both events. In outdoor track, Young won California Collegiate Athletic Association championships in both the long jump and triple jump and was named the CCAA Field Athlete of the Meet. She finished second in the nation in the long jump.
Fernandes has been instrumental in creating a weight program for the track and field program and has been a key part of the administration for Cal State LA’s home track and field meets. He also assists with monitoring the academic progress of the teams and compiling team expense reports. Cal State LA has enjoyed great academic success during his time with the program and the men’s track and field program earned United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team honors for the first time in program history in 2023.
Since Fernandes joined the program in 2016, the Golden Eagles have earned 66 All-CCAA awards, seven CCAA All-Star awards, 32 individual CCAA championships, 100 All-West Region awards, 30 All-America awards, two individual national championships and one first-team Academic All-American in cross country and track and field.
Fernandes came to Cal State LA in 2016 after a lengthy and distinguished career coaching both track and field and football. Most recently, he was the head track and field coach and assistant football coach for defensive backs at El Camino Compton Center from 2013-15. Previously, he was the head football coach at El Camino from 2008-13.
Before joining El Camino’s staff, Fernandes was the defensive coordinator for Lynwood High School from 2005-07. He was also an assistant coach at Lynwood from 2001-04 and helped turn the program around. He was part of a staff that transformed a team that had not won more than three games in a season for 10 years into a team that recorded an 11-win season and also made the CIF playoffs three years in a row with two league championships.
Fernandes also had a pair of stints at the University of La Verne, assisting as the cornerbacks coach in 2004-05 and as the defensive backs coach in 2000-01. His secondary at La Verne was rated as the best in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and three of the four cornerbacks earned all-conference honors.
He began his junior college coaching career at Compton Community College, where he served as an assistant coach from 1998-2000. He joined Compton Community College after serving as an assistant coach in football and track and field at Dominguez High School from 1993-97. He was part of a football program that recorded a 53-10 record and won a CIF championship. The 1997 Dominguez team was ranked No. 6 in the state and No. 18 in the nation and set a program record with six shutouts in a row while surrendering only 100 points in 14 games and forcing 51 turnovers.
Fernandes also coached previously at Rancho Verde and Compton high schools.
Fernandes earned his bachelor’s degree in human services from the University of Phoenix and earned his Master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia-Irvine. He also played football for Compton College and Cal State Fullerton, earning All-Conference honors at Compton and leading the conference in interceptions at Fullerton. Fernandes also earned All-League honors and was the team’s Defensive Back of the Year at Long Beach Millikan High School.
