UCSC Announces Jacob Murray as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
8/8/2025 8:30:00 AM | General
SANTA CRUZ, Ca. - After a national search, the UC Santa Cruz Department of Athletics and Recreation is excited to announce Jacob Murray as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Banana Slugs, bringing a wealth of experience from NCAA Division I, II, and III, along with work in professional sports.
"Throughout this process Jacob has shown an eagerness to come in and hit the ground running and is excited to be working with all of our teams to help us continue to prepare for success within the strength and conditioning space! Jacob's extensive background across a variety of different levels will no doubt help our student-athletes and campus as we continue building this program from where it started a couple years ago." - Director of Athletics and Recreation, Chris Spells.
A Southern California native, Murray began his coaching career as a high school throws coach before earning collegiate experience through internships at Cal Poly Pomona and the University of Louisiana Lafayette. He went on to serve as a graduate assistant at Ithaca College, and later as an assistant strength coach at New Mexico State University, where he contributed to the Aggies' turnaround season that culminated in a bowl victory.
In 2023, Murray joined the Washington Nationals organization, running the strength and conditioning program for the Florida Complex League Rookie team. Most recently, he served as Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he helped the men's and women's soccer teams achieve major performance gains, including their best spring results in years.
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"Throughout this process Jacob has shown an eagerness to come in and hit the ground running and is excited to be working with all of our teams to help us continue to prepare for success within the strength and conditioning space! Jacob's extensive background across a variety of different levels will no doubt help our student-athletes and campus as we continue building this program from where it started a couple years ago." - Director of Athletics and Recreation, Chris Spells.
A Southern California native, Murray began his coaching career as a high school throws coach before earning collegiate experience through internships at Cal Poly Pomona and the University of Louisiana Lafayette. He went on to serve as a graduate assistant at Ithaca College, and later as an assistant strength coach at New Mexico State University, where he contributed to the Aggies' turnaround season that culminated in a bowl victory.
In 2023, Murray joined the Washington Nationals organization, running the strength and conditioning program for the Florida Complex League Rookie team. Most recently, he served as Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he helped the men's and women's soccer teams achieve major performance gains, including their best spring results in years.
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