SACRAMENTO -- In front of family, staff, fellow coaches, and the media, the newest member of the "Hornet Family" was introduced to Sacramento as head women's basketball coach Aaron Kallhoff was welcomed into the fold during an on-campus press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Joined by wife, Josie, and their three children Camden, Caylix, and Capri, Kallhoff was formally introduced to the public by University President Dr. Robert S. Nelsen and Athletic Director Mark Orr.

"A few years ago, I had to recruit like no other to get interest into our program," Orr said. "This time around, the interest was coming in droves from several coaches out there who wanted to be a part of Sacramento State. One name kept coming up from the very, very start, and that was Aaron Kallhoff. It was coming from WNBA coaches and front office personnel, other collegiate head coaches from around the country, and former players.

"I could tell the first time I met him, there was a connection right away. He exudes energy, passion, care for student-athletes, and player development. The dynamics of NCAA athletics in this day and age, you need a coach and a leader that can work in the current recruiting environment and he has mastered that."
 

A veteran collegiate coach with more than two decades of experience as an assistant and head coach, Kallhoff was named the seventh head coach in the program's Division I history on April 17, bringing with him a resume of coaching and recruiting success at both the Division I and junior college levels. Before spending last season at BYU, Kallhoff has spent time at Power 5 programs at Penn State (2021-22), LSU (2018-21), and TCU (2015-18), as well as a successful two-year run at Arkansas State (2013-15). Some of his recruiting classes have been among the best in the nation as he has strived to find the best and the brightest on and off the court.

"I've had opportunities to go and be a head coach, but i just didn't feel the alignment," Kallhoff said on Wednesday. "There's an alignment here with the President, the Athletic Director, and my vision. There's a lot of momentum in the women's basketball program right now and we're not going to stop. We're going to sustain the excellence, we're going to build on it and we're going to keep climbing. I took this job because that's what I want to do.

"My vision is going to be about working hard and building relationships. When we do that, the success will happen. I'm a huge relationships guy, nobody is going to work harder than me. The work is the reward. The more you put in, the bigger the things you can accomplish."
 

Among the attendees were members of the women's basketball program, who Kallhoff recognized for their commitment to staying the course throughout the hiring process following a historic 2022-23 campaign.

"These young women are amazing," Kallhoff said. "All I asked them the the first time I met them was to give me a chance and it will be worth it. I really feel like that's what's going to happen and we're going to have a lot of fun. We're going to do a lot of great things here. It would have been easy to just walk away when they didn't know who was going to coach them, maybe start somewhere fresh, but they're all in. Just like I'm going to be all in."