Sebastian Hernandez serves as the Head Athletic Performance Coach for the California men's basketball program. Hernandez, who is in his third season with the Golden Bears since 2023-24, coordinates collaboration with Sport Science, Performance Nutrition, and Mental Performance to deliver well-rounded support for the men's basketball program. He arrived in Berkeley in April 2023, following two seasons spent in a similar role – strength & conditioning – at Utah Valley, where he worked with Cal men’s basketball head coach Mark Madsen.
Hernandez's work with the Golden Bears was instantly felt during the 2023-24 men's basketball season, as Cal staged a 10-win improvement and earned its best finish in the Pac-12 Conference standings since 2016-17. The Cal roster was highlighted by Jaylon Tyson – who was selected No. 20 overall in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers in June 2024 following an All-Pac-12 First Team selection in March.
Cal won 14 games in 2024-25 and reached the ACC Tournament second round following a double-overtime win over Virginia Tech in the opening round; the Bears' roster featured ACC Sixth Man of the Year and All-Rookie Team selection Jeremiah Wilkinson as well as All-ACC Team honorable mention and NABC All-Pacific District pick Andrej Stojakovic.
Hernandez's leadership played a critical role in the Bears' navigation of cross-country travel for ACC competition.
Hernandez also worked with the Cal women's tennis team in his first year in Berkeley. The Bears reached the NCAA Super Regionals in May 2024 and ended the 2023-24 campaign with a 20-7 overall record and 8-2 mark in Pac-12 play.
The Wolverines’ men’s basketball team experienced immense success during Hernandez’s two years (2021-22, 2022-23) in Orem, winning 48 total games including a program-record 28 in 2022-23, along with an outright Western Athletic Conference regular-season title and NIT Final Four berth the same season.
Hernandez spent four seasons at his alma mater, Florida State, working as the assistant strength & conditioning coach for the Seminoles’ women’s basketball program. The FSU women finished all four seasons ranked in the top 25 nationally and reached four consecutive NCAA Tournaments (2017-20).
Hernandez served as a strength & conditioning intern at Miami (FL) in 2017, where he aided in the supervision and implementation of S&C for the Hurricanes’ men’s and women’s basketball programs. He was the Director of Strength & Conditioning at Freedom Christian Academy (Fayetteville, NC) for three years from 2014-16.
Hernandez is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He earned his undergraduate degree in sport management from Florida State in 2019 and later received his master’s in exercise science from Concordia University Chicago in 2020.
Hernandez, his wife Stephanie, and their son Kai are natives of Miami, Florida and currently reside in the Bay Area.
LAST UPDATED: June 4, 2025
