Mark Madsen completes Cal staff after hiring Jarred Jackson as assistant
Mark Madsen has officially completed his first coaching staff at Cal. The new Bears head coach announced the hiring of one of his former staff members at Utah Valley on Tuesday with Jarred Jackson introduced as the fifth and final assistant in Berkeley.
"My family and I are both honored and thankful for the opportunity to reunite with Coach Madsen and to be welcomed into the Cal family," Jackson said in a statement provided by the Cal basketball program. "I have seen firsthand Coach Madsen's ability to teach the game at the highest level, develop young men and lead his staff, all while treating everyone with dignity and respect.
"I'm extremely excited to get to work alongside this amazing staff as we bring Cal back to its winning ways."
Jackson heads to the West Coast after spending last season on the women's basketball staff at Coastal Carolina. Prior to that, he was alongside Madsen in Orem helping to turn around the Wolverines as an assistant coach.
"I'm thrilled to reunite with Jarred in Berkeley," Madsen said. "Jarred's on-court player development and advanced knowledge of the game played an instrumental role in the large amount of success we experienced together at Utah Valley. His coaching philosophies and ability to build impactful relationships with student-athletes will elevate our program's culture. It's great to welcome Jarred, his wife TyJha and their son Jace to Bear Territory."
The new Cal head coach has now completed his five-man coaching staff headlined by associated head coach Adam Mazarei who made his way to Berkeley from Vanderbilt after the season. Matt Scherbenske (Texas Tech), Amorrow Morgan (Chicago Loyola) and Ken Moses (Utah Valley) are the other three assistant coaches joining Jackson on Madsen's first staff with the Bears.
Teams are now allowed to carry five assistant coaches clearing the way for Madsen to expand the Cal coaching staff.
The new Cal staff has already been working to rebuild the roster in Berkeley by adding several transfers already this spring including standout Texas Tech wing Jaylon Tyson on Tuesday. In addition to Tyson, the Bears have added transfer commitments from big man Fardaws Aimaq (Utah Valley/Texas Tech) plus guards Jalen Cone (Virginia Tech/Northern Arizona), Keonte Kennedy (Xavier/UTEP/Memphis) and Mike Meadows (Eastern Washington/Portland).
Madsen has been tasked with turning around a program coming off its worst season after former head coach Mark Fox guided the Bears to a 3-29 record last season. The new Cal head coach led Utah Valley to 28 wins and an NIT semifinals appearance last season.