TCU, Duke coaches embrace full-circle return to Sacramento

Coach Mark Campbell of the TCU Horned Frogs points to the bench against the Baylor Bears on Feb. 12, 2026, in Waco, Texas.

Scott Wachter

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Mark Campbell returned to familiar turf on Thursday, and he was emotional with all sorts of feel-good tears.

The TCU women’s basketball coach was back in the state capital, supervising the No. 3-seeded Horned Frogs of Fort Worth in a practice inside the 1,000-seat gym known as the Hive at Sacramento State. The preparation was for Saturday’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional 4 semifinal opener against Virginia at Golden 1 Center.

Campbell recalled the “thrill” of coaching the Hornets for two seasons during which he pulled something of a miracle, elevating the Hornets from the depths of the sport to a 25-win campaign and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023. At TCU in 2024-25, Campbell worked more magic, taking over a TCU program that went 1-17 in conference play before he assumed command.

In short, TCU was a door mat in the Big 12, the one others wiped their feet on and laughed at.

Campbell used open tryouts on campus to help fill out his first TCU roster amid a crunch of injuries, and they went 21-12. Last season, the Horned Frogs emphatically arrived with Campbell’s familiar ability to recruit and push the tempo and play fierce defense, to the tune of a 34-4 record and a trip to the Elite Eight. The momentum continued this season as TCU is back in the Sweet Sixteen with 10 new players and a 31-5 record.

Campbell shook hands and chatted it up with scores of familiar faces during the workout at Sac State, including Hornets athletic director Mark Orr. Orr hired Campbell away from Oregon, where the coach’s mastery in recruiting helped boost the Ducks to national prominence. Campbell’s top assistants at Sac State — Xavier Lopez and Minyon Moore — followed him to TCU.

Sac State is the host school at Golden 1 Center for this event, which means more familiar faces roaming the arena, including Orr, Bill Macriss, Jason Spencer, Brian Berger, Ryan Bjork and others.

Then-Sacramento State Hornets coach Mark Campbell reacts to a play in a first-round 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament against UCLA in Los Angeles. SARA NEVIS Sacramento Bee file

“It’s been a full-circle moment for our coaching staff that was here at Sac State for two years,” Campbell said Friday afternoon. “It’s been a really fun and special couple of days.”

A Bellingham, Washington native, Campbell expressed being “forever grateful” to Orr for giving him his first head coaching job. He said Sac State and TCU were “major rebuilding projects” with programs that were “absolutely buried” and that hard work and talent can lead to a rapid rise.

“My time at Sac State was priceless,” Campbell said. “I think those lessons we learned from Sac State helped us flip the program at TCU pretty quick. It’s been an awesome journey. The last five years have been an absolute blur. Haven’t really caught my breath from any of it, but I’ve loved it I’ve loved every minute.”

Duke’s Kara Lawson returns to Sacramento

Duke coach Kara Lawson also expressed gratitude in her return to Sacramento, where her No. 3 Blue Devils took on No. 2 LSU in the late game Friday at Golden 1 Center.

Lawson played seven of her WNBA seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs, including winning a championship in 2005.

She is now in her sixth season with the Blue Devils, earning ACC Coach of the Year honors this season.

“It’s a full-circle moment for me to be back here,” Lawson said. “To bring my team here for a Sweet Sixteen is a great feeling, something I’m really proud of.”

Lawson recalled some of her favorite eating spots in Sacramento — hello Mikuni sushi! — and said she is touched to be recognized and appreciated.

“It’s one of the great basketball towns we have in the country,” Lawson said. “Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve had people thanking me for winning them their (WNBA) title here.”

The Monarchs folded in 20019 after the Maloof ownership group vowed to focus all of their efforts and finances into boosting the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. The Golden 1 Center rafters include the 2005 Monarchs championship banner.

“Coach is super humble, but I think as a team, we understand that (Lawson) has played here and that she’s created an impact here,” Duke guard Taina Mair said. “So for us to come out here and play somewhere where she’s super familiar, in a place that she once called home, I think for us is super special.”

Wendale Farrow’s full circle

South Carolina is a No. 1 seed at Golden 1 and will take on Oklahoma on Saturday with a coaching staff led by the dynamic Dawn Staley, a Naismith Hall of Fame player who is in the midst of a Hall of Fame coaching career, including winning national championships in 2017, 2022 and 2024 and reaching the finals last season.

One of her assistant coaches is Wendale Farrow, who knows Sacramento well. He grew up in North Highlands and starred at Mira Loma High School of the San Juan Unified School District for coach Doug Friedman, who will be at Golden 1 on Saturday when South Carolina plays Oklahoma.

Friedman was a father figure of sorts to Farrow, whose father was not in his life growing up. Farrow lost his mother, Wendy, to the autoimmune disease lupus when he was growing up.

Farrow played at American River College in Sacramento and spent 10 years as a women’s assistant coach, reaching six NCAA Tournaments. He spent five years as an assistant at Cal and four at USC, and he is now in his first season with South Carolina.

TCU, Duke coaches embrace full-circle return to Sacramento

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