Women’s basketball coach Steve Shaw has been removed from the team for the foreseeable future due to a revamp in the program at El Camino College.
Shaw has been at ECC for 26 seasons, was awarded Coach of the Year seven times and led the women’s basketball team to victory in the South Coast Conference five times.
Shaw said that he was shocked when he heard that he wasn’t coming back.
“I think it was April, 10, 2025, I had a zoom meeting with the Health Sciences and Interim Athletics Dean [Jeffrey Baumunk] and Interim Athletic Director [Abi Francisco]. They informed me of the decision,” Shaw said. “I never had any discussion with any of the college administrators.”
In 2005, he both won South Coast Conference Coach of the Year and led the Warriors women’s basketball team to its first-ever conference championship.
Shaw said he lost track on how many Coach of the Year awards he’s won. He last received one in 2018.
“I’m pretty sure it’s seven. I didn’t really keep track,” he said.
He also won back-to back-to-back South Coast Conference Championships from 2017-2019.
Shaw began coaching the men’s team in 1990 for five years and returned three years later for the 1998-1999 season, taking over the women’s basketball team.
Since he’s been coaching the women’s program, the team has been a regular contender in conference championships and state playoffs.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the women’s basketball team had a tough couple of seasons and only played seven games due to player injuries.
The team faced continued struggles this season, ending with a record of (4-22), but won their last two games.
Warriors guard and nursing major Marley Zermeno, 19, said Shaw always pushed her as a player.
“He’s always taught me to never give up, no matter what the score is. He’s not only made an impact on me, but the whole team,” Zermeno said. “We didn’t win much this season, but at the end of the day, he made us a big family.”
Before the pandemic, in the 2019-2020 season, the Warriors lost the South Coast Conference championship to Long Beach City College.
Shaw was a student at ECC, where he played basketball and volleyball in 1974-1976. While playing basketball, he received All-Conference Honors two times, in 1975 and 1976, and earned All-State recognition after his sophomore season.
He went on to play at California State University, Fullerton, and started in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in the Elite Eight.
Shaw was inducted into the ECC Warriors Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997 for basketball and volleyball.
The Union attempted to interview Baumunk, who is also the director of Public Safety Education, but the interview was canceled on Monday, June 2, at 8:55 a.m.
Francisco is also the senior athletic trainer and said it was a tough decision to let Shaw go.
“We didn’t want to let him go. He’s impacted both the men’s and women’s basketball programs. He also helped with the new gymnasium,” Francisco said.
She also said Shaw welcomed her when she first got to ECC.
“When I first got hired at ECC, he was one of the first people to acknowledge me,” she said.
On his staff, he had his daughter Carla Shaw, who has been coaching for 11 seasons with him.
Steve Shaw will return in the fall teaching physical education classes.
Zermeno said how impactful Shaw has also been on their lives off the basketball court.
“He taught us to be good students and how to be kind to others. He drives us to be the best we can be everyday,” she said.
Editor’s note: Misspellings were corrected and context was added for clarity on Wednesday, June 4.
