Coach Citlalli Gurrola is a San Diego native who’s excited to share her knowledge of basketball as Southwestern’s newest Associate Head Coach for the Lady Jaguars’ program. 

 

Prior to being hired at Southwestern College, Coach Gurrola formerly coached at Lincoln High School located in San Diego, CA for the 2024-2025 season under the title of assistant coach. She also spent time as an assistant coach coaching for her Alma Mater, Mount Miguel High School located in Spring Valley, CA for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. Gurrola also has experience coaching AAU travel basketball in the offseason for the Elite Basketball Organization working alongside her former high school coaches in helping young women develop their game of basketball. 

 

Gurrola is no stranger to the women’s basketball scenery in San Diego as she has made a name for herself as a former player. Gurrola attended Mater Dei Catholic from 2015-2017 where in her sophomore season, she helped the Crusaders earn their first Division 1 CIF San Diego Section Title against San Marcos with a thrilling score of 55-54. Gurrola then transferred to Mount Miguel High School for the remainder of her high school years. In her junior year at Mount Miguel, Gurrola made a huge impact averaging double digits numbers almost every game with a 40% 3pt average. Gurrola helped the Lady Matadors earn their first CIF SDS Open Division Title against Mission Hills (50-49) and giving Mount Miguel their best record in school history with 30 wins and 2 losses. Gurrola earned Second Team All-Grossmont Hills League honors in her first year with the Matadors. In the following year, Gurrola exceeded her previous season with more accolades. As the second leading scorer in her senior season, Gurrola averaged 17.0 points per game, shooting 43% from the three point line. Gurrola broke Mount Miguel’s record for most 3 pointers in a game with 12 threes against Santa Fe Christian. Gurrola then achieved a milestone of scoring 1,000 career points in her high school basketball career along with earning First Team All-Grossmont Hills League, First Team All East County Sports, Second Team All-CIF San Diego Section, East County’s Best 3pt Shooter Award, and being selected on the 2019 San Diego Allstar Team. Gurrola as well earn her spot on the San Diego Union Tribune’s All-Academic Team both her junior and senior years with a grade point average of 3.8 and graduating with honors from Mount Miguel High School. 

 

Gurrola continued her basketball career at the collegiate level playing Division I at UNLV. In her two years playing for the Lady Rebels, Gurrola averaged a 50% 3pt average from the 3pt line. After her sophomore season, Gurrola decided to enter the transfer portal where she ended up playing at the junior college level for NJCAA D1 Miles Community College in Miles City, MT for the 2021-2022 season. In her tenure at Miles Community College, Gurrola averaged 13.0 points per game and 2.1 rebounds. Coach Gurrola earned her Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies from the institution. For the remainder of her college basketball career, Gurrola committed to play at Division III Whittier College in Whittier, CA. Gurrola averaged 9.0 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game and averaged 38 minutes per contest. At the end of her junior season, she earned the Whittier College’s Newcomer of the Year award in 2023. In Gurrola’s senior season with the Poets, she averaged 11.0 points per contest, shooting 34% from three making her top 10 in the SCIAC conference rankings for 3pt percentages. Gurrola graduated from Whittier College in May 2024 earning herself a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. 

 

In her spare time outside of coaching, Gurrola shares her knowledge of the game hosting mini basketball camps for elementary students at César Chavez Elementary. Gurrola loves spending time with her family and friends, lifting weights or going for runs, and of course watching both NBA and WNBA basketball matches.