Our athletic staff is focused on success and ready to help you reach out and grab it. We're committed to helping student athletes meet their educational and athletic goals. We promise to help you be your best, on the field and in the classroom.
Helping Athletes Reach New Heights
Get to know the incredible staff behind our winning teams!
- Carl Howell, Athletic Director/Head Men's Basketball Coach
- Tricia Hilbun, Program Assistant/Women's Commissioner
Go to the individual sport page to read about the coaching staff for soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
Carl Howell
Athletic Director/Head Men's Basketball Coach
P: 253.460.4462
F: 253.460.4462
Email
B.S. Central Washington University (1991)
M. Ed. City University (2007)
Career Record 342-99 (77.6%)
Carl Howell is currently the most-winning, active NWAACC Men's Basketball Coach by percentage (77.6%). His winning percentage is second only to Gonzaga's Mark Few (79.1%) among Northwest Men's Basketball Coaches. On January 8, 2011 Howell joined a handful of Northwest coaches to win 300 games. On March 6 the Titans won their 2nd NWAACC Championship under Howell, beating Chemeketa 110-98. Howell becomes just the 3rd active NWAACC coach to win two NWAACC Titles. His 2012 team finished the season with a 26-5 record. In 2011, the Titans were the unanimous #1 ranked team in the NWAACC for the final 2 months of the 2010-11 season. They became the first team to ever go 16-0 in the NWAACC Western Region while winning their 6th region title in Howell's last 8 seasons and finished with a NWAACC best 26-3 record. The Titans once again placed high 4th at the NWAACC Tournament. This was all accomplished despite losing leading scorer & rebounder Brandon Magee for 9 of the last 10 games. In 2010 the Titans also finished in the Final Four placing 3rd at the NWAACC Tournament, while also winning their 6th NWAACC Western Region Title in 8 years. In addition the Titans had a NWAACC best record of 25-4 in 2010. Howell is in his second stint as the TCC Head Men's Basketball Coach. After completing most of his first season as the Athletic Director at Tacoma Community College, he was once again named Head Men's Basketball Coach in April 2008. In his first season back at the helm, the Titans finished 26-5 and advanced to the Elite 8, a 20-win improvement over TCC's 2007-08 team. He was the Head Men’s Basketball coach from 1993-2003 and is the school's all time leader in wins. From the 2003-04 to 2006-07 season Howell was the Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Eastern Washington University (EWU) in Cheney, WA. In his first season with the Eagles, he helped guide them to the Big Sky Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament. That EWU team was led by former TCC players Brendon Merritt (Big Sky Conference Tournament MVP), Josh Barnard, Khary Nicholas and Rachi Wortham. While at EWU, Howell recruited current Detroit Piston Rodney Stuckey who was drafted 15th overall in the 2007 NBA draft. Howell was highly successful in his first stop at TCC winning the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championship in 2002, as well as sending over 30 players onto four-year schools including 18 to the NCAA Division I level.
During his coaching career at TCC, he has coached the Titans to 342 victories, including 217 in his last eight seasons alone, for an average of 27.3 wins per year. His overall record in 14 years at the helm is 342-99 (77.6 percent). His last 8 teams have all won at least 25 games. The Titans have been nearly unbeatable at home in his tenure with a 157-13 (92.4%) record, He is the only coach to win over 26 games in a season at TCC. Besides his 2012 and 2002 NWAACC titles, his Tacoma teams appeared in 3 championship games, the semifinals 5 times and the quarterfinals on 10 occasions for a total of 13 postseason appearances. In addition, his teams won 4 straight NWAACC Western Region championships from 1998-2002, and he is the only coach in NWAACC history to have 4 straight region titles and 2 30-win seasons to his credit. In the 1999-2000 season, the Titans went 30-4 and placed fourth at the NWAACC Tournament. He led Tacoma to a runner-up finish the following season, finishing with a 28-5 record. The next season, the Titans won the NWAACC title finishing with a 30-3 record. Howell's squad beat top-ranked Big Bend 88-78 in the championship game. From Jan. 2, 2002 to Jan. 25, 2003, TCC won an amazing 37 of 38 games vs NWAACC competition. Howell was selected NWAACC Coach of the Year once, and has been the Western Region Coach of the Year 6 times. The Titans have won 6 straight NWAACC Crossover Tournaments under Howell from 1999-2003, 2008 and 2009 while winning 9 of the 12 Crossovers TCC has participated in. He was also head coach of the NWAACC All-Star Game on 6 occasions. During his tenure, approximately 70 percent of his players earned their associate degrees.
Prior to arriving at Tacoma in 1992, Howell coached at Central Washington from 1989-1992 and in 1989 guided them to a 31-5 record and a fifth-place finish in the NAIA Tournament. While at Central, he played and coached under legendary coach Dean Nicholson and the late Gil Coleman. Prior to transferring to CWU, he played basketball at Skagit Valley Community College in Mt. Vernon, WA. for NWAACC Hall of Fame coach Dave Quall.
Howell earned a B.S. in Physical Education from Central Washington in 1991 and received his Masters of Education from City University in 2007. He graduated from Morton High School in Morton, WA in 1984 where he played both basketball and football. Howell was born Oct. 26, 1965, in Silver Springs, MD. He and his wife, Jeri are the parents of two sons – Cameron (18) and Connor (14).
Tricia Hilbun
Athletic Program Supervisor and NWAACC Women's Commissioner
P: 253.566.5097
F: 253.566.5097
Email
Tricia Hilbun is TCC Athletics Program Supervisor. She is also the Women’s Commissioner for the NWAACC. She recently relocated to Washington from Alabama where her husband Ryan was training to become a Kiowa pilot with the U.S. Army. While her opportunities were limited in Alabama, she made sure she continued to pursue her dreams of working in athletics by interning at Troy University. Tricia has an extensive background in athletics including time spent with the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona State University, and most recently with two of the top college football bowl games, the Fiesta Bowl and Insight Bowl. Her knowledge of athletics is a huge asset to TCC and we look forward to having her help take TCC Athletics to the next level.
Tricia earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing from Arizona State University in 2003 and recently earned her Master’s in Business Administration with a Sports Business Concentration from Saint Leo University in May 2011. She is a current member of the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators.
Coaches
Women's Soccer: Jason Gjertsen Email:jgjertsen@tacomacc.edu
Men's Soccer: Jason Gjertsen email
Volleyball: Rachael Schurman email
Women's Basketball: Heidi Collier email
Men's Basketball: Carl Howell email
Baseball: Ryan Mummert email
