New Seattle U women’s basketball head coach John Bonner had just completed his fourth season as head coach at Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills when the Toros’ 2020-21 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bonner, who hadn’t posted a winning record in his first four seasons, had unexpected time on his hands.
 
He used it wisely, reviewing how he wanted to approach his assignment. “I was able to reflect on who I was as a coach and try to do some deep diving into my soul on what I wanted our program to be about,” he said.
 
Two years later, Dominguez Hills went 31-3, winning both the California Collegiate Athletic Association and NCAA DII West Region titles. Bonner was named the CCAA Coach of the Year.
 
Two years after that, in 2024-25, the Toros won their first 27 games and finished 36-2 as the Division II national runner-up. That landed Bonner the head coaching job at Cal State Fullerton, where in his debut at the DI level this past season he guided the Titans to an 18-14 record, their first winning mark in six years and their highest victory total since 1991.
 
The 40-year-old takes charge of a Seattle U program that hasn’t enjoyed a winning campaign since 2018 and was 5-25 in its return to the West Coast Conference this past season. “The opportunity to compete in the WCC is incredible,” said Bonner, who will try to meet the challenge using the same road map that helped him so successfully navigate his past two stops.
 
Bonner earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in counseling at Fresno State, all with the intention of becoming a marriage and family counselor. He already was working in the field while attending grad school. 
 
Meanwhile, Bonner’s basketball playing career had ended in high school, but the idea of coaching the game appealed to him. His interest was piqued by the chance to coach in the Seniors vs. Staff basketball game at West Bakersfield High. 
 
“From there, I knew,” he recalled. “Basketball for me has been a thing that essentially kind of saved me. I feel most free doing that. Just as well as doing counseling and mentoring, I knew then that was what I wanted to do. I just needed to find an avenue to create that.”
 
He secured a student assistant coaching assignment at Fresno State, then became the first full-time assistant at Fresno Pacific. After six seasons with the Sunbirds, he landed the head-coaching job at Dominguez Hills.
 
“What I did is I understood the investment in players from a relational level is a lot more important than just some of the transactional things that maybe I did when I was a really young coach,” said Bonner, explaining the new approach he adopted. 
 
Bonner instituted weekly one-on-one meetings with his players that he dubbed “Weekly Tens.” Most of the time, they lasted more than 10 minutes. “It’s just to talk to the about life, career goals, anything they want to talk about that’s not related to basketball. We have enough conversations about basketball.
 
“That kind of demonstrates a higher level of care for them so between the lines we can coach a little harder and they’re willing to go just a little bit harder on the court for us. I discovered that at Dominguez and I’ve carried that on ever since.”
 
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is also known for cultivating strong relationships with his players, and it helped pave the way to winning four NBA titles. 
 
“I think every coach has a different way of approaching things based on his own personality, his own experiences, but the biggest thing is are your players connected?” Kerr said in a recent interview with The Athletic. “Are they feeling cared for? Are they enjoying coming to work every day? Because if all those things happen, they’re going to play really hard and try to do the right thing to win.”
 
Bonner won’t have Steph Curry on his roster, but Mae Norwood has confidence her son can be successful in any endeavor he pursues. She expected him to follow the path to being a family therapist and did not envision the coaching career he has carved out.
 
His ability to connect with people makes it all possible, Bonner’s mother suggested. “He’s the type that wants to get familiar with a person to see what they’re about,” she said. “He’s a listener, then he’s a talker. I’m very proud of him for the steps he’s taken.”
 
On the court, Bonner has found success with an up-tempo style fueled by pressure defense. He compared the way he likes to play with Portland, which led the West Coast Conference this past season with 20.4 turnovers forced and 11.0 steals per game.
 
“Our goal will be to disrupt and defend. We want to keep our opponent uncomfortable at both ends of the floor. We want it to be free-flowing and have a lot of passion,” Bonner said. “We want to have fun. I think the style is going to be exciting enough that people will want to come in and see it.”
 
His Fullerton team squeezed an average of 25.9 turnovers out of its opponents, thanks in part to 15.5 steals per game. The Titans ranked second nationally in both categories. In a Big West road win over Cal State Northridge they scored 36 points off 43 turnovers they created.
 
What was most gratifying to Bonner was that the Titans achieved this in his first season, largely with players he inherited. Early success led to belief and confidence, which steamrolled as the season progressed.
 
“That was pretty cool to see them create that, knowing a good amount of them didn’t sign up to play that style,” Bonner said. “If you get a team that believes in the system and they work really hard, you can find success. That’s what we did at Fullerton and hopefully we can carry that on here.”
 
Bonner will build his program in a city that has long embraced women’s sports, with professional teams in basketball (Storm), soccer (Reign FC), ultimate disc (Tempest), tackle football (Majestics) and ice hockey (Torrent).
 
“For women’s sports, there is not a better city,” said Shaney Fink, Seattle’s Vice President for Athletics. “We have more professional women’s sports teams than any other place in the country, so there’s an opportunity and almost responsibility to make sure our programs are reflecting that. I’m excited to see us not only have more success on the court, but bring more energy into the program through fans, camps and all the different ways that you can bring that community together.”
 
Bonner believes that with winning, the rest will come. “They’ll get behind that and that’s something we want to capitalize on,” he said. “We’re going to provide some excitement that hasn’t been at Seattle U for a little bit. I’m looking forward to bringing in the entire community of Seattle to put women’s basketball on the map.”
 
Bonner still is assembling a roster, scouring the transfer portal for players who fit his system. It begins with an emphasis on character and academics. 
 
“Even though we’re in the world of the transfer portal and money,” he said, “that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the culture-relationship part, right? We keep finding success with that.”