In this week's coaching conversation, South Florida head coach Jose Fernandez joins the Basketball Podcast.to share insights on zone offense, relationships and practice.
Fernandez has carved out a 25-year head coaching career at South Florida with multiple accolades. He is the program’s all-time winningest coach, has claimed American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors twice in 2018 and 2021, and has led the Bulls to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and secured four Conference Championships, including two Conference Tournament Championships (2020-21 & 2024-25) and two Regular Season Titles (2020-21 & 2022-23). Fernandez's influence extends beyond his program, as he is set to become the WBCA President from 2025-27. His coaching has produced nine WNBA Draft Picks and Signees, and twenty-four of his former players are competing professionally worldwide.
Fernandez has also demonstrated success against top-tier competition, with twenty wins against top 25-ranked teams. He has also achieved considerable consistency, with fourteen straight nineteen-win seasons and twelve twenty-win seasons. During the 2024-25 season, he recorded his 485th career victory. Under his leadership, South Florida won the 2008-09 WNIT Championship, defeating the Kansas Jayhawks.
Throughout his career, Fernandez has recruited and coached over forty all-conference players, two Associated Press Honorable Mention All-Americans, three members of the USF Athletics Hall of Fame, two AAC Players of the Year, two AAC Newcomers of the Year, four AAC Freshmen of the Year, one AAC Defensive Player of the Year, one AAC Most Improved Player, and seven WNBA draft picks. His contributions to the sport were further recognized with his induction into the Sports Club of Tampa Bay's Hall of Fame on June 8, 2022.
This year Fernandez will return to USA Basketball for his second assistant coaching stint with USA Basketball as an assistant for the 2025 Women's U19 National Team. He previously served in the role for the 2024 Women's U18 National Team and was also a court coach at the 2018 USA Women’s U18 National Team Trials.