Cevin Meador enters his third season as Chico State men’s basketball head coach in 2026–27 and his sixth season as a member of the Wildcats’ coaching staff.
Since joining the program in 2021, Meador has helped guide Chico State to continued success on the regional and national stage, including an NCAA West Regional championship, an Elite Eight appearance, three NCAA West Regional berths, and multiple All-America, All-Region, and All-CCAA honorees. During his five seasons on staff, the Wildcats have compiled an 88–56 record.
Meador made an immediate impact after taking over the program prior to the 2024–25 season. In his debut campaign as head coach, he led Chico State to a 24–7 overall record, a 19–3 mark in CCAA play, a runner-up finish at the CCAA Tournament, and the program’s third NCAA West Regional berth in four years. The Wildcats earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA West Regional and posted the program’s best overall record since 2016–17.
The 2024–25 Wildcats also set a program record with 13 consecutive victories, a streak that stretched from November 18 to January 18. Chico State’s 19 conference wins established a new program best, surpassing the previous mark of 18 set during the 2014–15 season. The Wildcats ranked among the CCAA’s top offensive teams, leading the conference in scoring at 79.4 points per game while finishing second in field goal percentage at 47.1 percent and second in three-point field goal percentage at 35.2 percent.
Under Meador’s direction, Jojo Murphy put together one of the top individual seasons in program history in 2024–25. Murphy was named CCAA Player of the Year and D2CCA West Region Player of the Year, and earned All-America honors from both the D2CCA and NABC. He also became the fourth-fastest player in Chico State history to reach 1,000 career points, achieving the milestone in 70 games. Meador also coached Isaiah Kerr to First Team All-CCAA and Academic All-District honors, while Trae Taylor led the CCAA in field goal percentage at 73.6 percent.
In 2025–26, Meador guided a transitioning Chico State team through one of the West Region’s most demanding schedules. The Wildcats finished 8–19 overall and 6–16 in CCAA play while facing four teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II West Regional: Saint Martin’s, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State East Bay, and Cal Poly Humboldt. Chico State suffered several narrow defeats against top regional competition, including a two-point road loss to then-No. 2 Cal State East Bay, a one-point road loss at Cal Poly Humboldt, and an overtime defeat against CSU Dominguez Hills.
Meador continued to develop high-level individual talent during the 2025–26 season, with Chris Holley earning First Team All-CCAA honors in his first season with the Wildcats. Holley ranked among the CCAA leaders in scoring and led the conference in assists.
Before being named head coach, Meador served as an assistant on Greg Clink’s staff and was part of one of the most successful stretches in Chico State men’s basketball history. In 2021–22, his first season with the program, the Wildcats went 22–5, won the NCAA West Regional, and advanced to the Elite Eight. Chico State followed with a CCAA Tournament appearance in 2022–23 and an NCAA West Regional semifinal run in 2023–24.
Before coming to Chico State, Meador served as an assistant coach at Lewis-Clark State College, helping lead the Warriors to a 22–2 record, a Cascade Collegiate Conference title, and a runner-up finish at the 2021 NAIA National Championships. He previously spent three seasons as the lead assistant at Cal State Monterey Bay and one season at Eastern Oregon University, where he helped guide the Mountaineers to a 24–9 record and a Sweet 16 appearance at the NAIA Championships.
A graduate of Eastern Oregon University, Meador began his coaching journey at Boise State, serving as the lead student manager for the Broncos’ Division I program. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2017.
