Our coaches are carefully interviewed and approved by the club and then provided with numerous hours of basketball skills training. In addition, every Wildcats coach is screened by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Our coaches must possess knowledge and love of basketball, but, more important, they must demonstrate a commitment to providing their players with a positive, character-building sports experience based on encouragement and respect.
Meet Our Wildcats Coaches & Trainers
Austin Hershberger
6th Grade Boys Coach
8th Grade Boys Head Coach
Austin Hershberger is a Davis High graduate (2010) who grew up playing basketball in the City of Davis, Davis Wildcats, Davis High School pipeline. He played all four years for the Davis Senior High School program, and earned team MVP and first team all-league honors his senior year, leading Davis to a playoff birth and the first winning season in a decade. Austin continued his basketball-playing career in college at MiraCosta College where he earned his associates degree, and then continued to play at Greenville University (Illinois) where he earned his bachelors degree. He continued his education at Concordia University-Irvine, earning a masters degree in coaching and athletic administration. Austin started coaching basketball upon graduating from Greenville in 2015, and has coached many levels of competition every year since. This includes as the MiraCosta College assistant coach and strength coach, Davis High School assistant varsity coach and strength coach, DHS freshman head coach, La Costa Canyon High School junior varsity head coach, Mission Vista High School varsity assistant coach and strength coach, and now the last two years with the Davis Wildcats. Coach Austin understands what it takes to be a successful basketball athlete in this area, and he is passionate about helping today’s youth experience that success.
Steve Smith
7th Grade Boys Coach
Steve Smith is a former all-conference UCD Aggie basketball player who has been coaching varsity high school basketball in the Sacramento area since 1997. He started his coaching career in 1994 as the 5th grade coach at St. James school. Coach Smith has been an elementary school teacher in the Natomas Unified School district since 1998 and has been the head varsity coach at both of Natomas two high schools. He is originally from Oakland, California where he played high school basketball at Bishop O'Dowd and participated in two state championship games in his three years on varsity. He has also worked with UCD basketball and trained athletes at the high school, college and professional levels. Steve Smith is the Davis High School Boys Varsity Head Coach, and his involvement with the Wildcats program provides invaluable guidance to our young Wildcats players on what is required to succeed as a basketball athlete in our area.
Jonathan Whitcomb
6th Grade Boys Coach
Jonathan Whitcomb is a Davis High graduate (2014) who started playing basketball at age 6 for the local YMCA where he fell in love with the game. He played 8 years of AAU basketball between the Davis Hotshots, Davis Wildcats and South Sacramento Sage, averaging 7.1 PPG and 9.5 RPG his senior year as an integral part of a national tournament level squad. Jonathan has coached the full spectrum that is youth basketball, coaching 7 years for the City of Davis with 5th/6th grade boys and girls teams followed by 6 years at Davis High School as the head assistant varsity boys coach, where he helped lead DHS to playoff appearances in 3 out of his 5 full coaching seasons. Jonathan is an expert at instilling the strong work ethic, teamwork and love for the game that defined his playing career to our very own Wildcats players and program.
Dan Gonzalez
Program Assistant Coach
Dan Gonzalez is a local basketball coaching legend. “Coach G,” as he is affectionately referred to, brings close to four decades of basketball coaching experience, with 24 of those years coming as the Davis High School boys varsity head coach from 1999-2023. Best known in Davis for revitalizing the DHS boys program through his implementation of “The System,” a style of basketball that promotes full-court defensive pressure and high-volume offensive attacks, he led the Blue Devils boys varsity team to many successes including multiple playoff births and one season that even saw DHS average the 6th most points of any high school team in the nation (86.7ppg). Coach G is also a mathematics teacher at DHS, serving in his 35th year as an educator. The Davis basketball community has gained immeasurable benefits from Coach G through the years, and our Wildcats players are lucky to experience his guidance.
TRAINER
Darius Graham prides himself in providing elite level skill set and knowledge while most importantly instilling confidence in kids both on the court and in life. He graduated from UC Davis with the following D-I era career rankings: No. 2 in assists (418), No. 6 in free throws made (200), No. 7 in threepoint field goals made (125), No. 9 in points (923) and No. 10 in field goals made (299). Graham is the third player in the program's all-time history to collect 400 or more assists.
