California women's gymnastics head coach Geralen Stack-Eaton announced a new hire Tuesday, naming Rich Stenger associate head coach.
 
Stenger comes to Cal with over 30 years of coaching experience that spans NCAA, elite and Junior Olympic development levels. Most recently he spent the last 11 seasons at the University of Minnesota alongside his wife, Stack-Eaton.
 
"We're excited to officially announce Rich as the final addition to our coaching staff," Stack-Eaton said. "After 11 years of working together at Minnesota, this next step feels like a natural progression. Rich brings exceptional technical expertise and coaching ability, along with a wealth of experience in both the developmental and elite levels of the sport."
 
In Stenger's tenure at Minnesota the Gophers made three NCAA Championship appearances, won a Big 10 championship and reached the NCAA Regionals every season. He helped guide the program to 30 NCAA All-America honors, 43 WCGA regular-season All-America selections, 14 NCAA Regional event titles, 46 All-Big Ten honors, 21 Big Ten individual event titles, five Big Ten and WCGA Regional Gymnast of the Year awards, and two AAI award winners.
 
Serving primarily as the bars coach, Stenger oversaw technical development on all four events and played a key role in performance innovation. He developed and implemented strength, flexibility and leadership programs and was instrumental in recruiting strategy and relationship building with local clubs.
 
"I'm incredibly excited to be joining Cal women's gymnastics—one of the nation's premier programs at one of the world's top universities, both athletically and academically," Stenger said. "Cal's unwavering commitment to excellence, empowerment and athlete-first leadership aligns perfectly with my core coaching values. My philosophy is rooted in building confidence, fostering growth and igniting the passion within each athlete. There's no question that something special is happening in Berkeley, and I'm truly honored to join this elite, world-class coaching staff that's leading the way. I can't wait to contribute my energy, experience and dedication to help drive this program's remarkable legacy forward. Go Bears!"
 
Stenger also helped produce one of the top gymnasts in program history, Mya Hooten. Hooten is a nationally lauded competitor who made four NCAA Championship appearances and tallied 15 All-America honors, five All-Big-Ten selections, six Big Ten event titles and a program-record nine perfect 10s in the floor exercise.
 
Prior to joining the Gophers, Stenger worked with the Twin City Twisters in Champlin, Minnesota, where he served as an optional and elite coach from 2007-2017. He worked alongside Cal assistant coach Seth Helland for a period of that time. Stenger was an assistant coach at Roseville High School in Roseville, Minnesota, from 2005-2009 and a team coach at Roseville Gymnastics Center from 1994-2006.

Stenger received his Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from St. Cloud State in St. Cloud, Minnesota.