Reedley College

Dr. David Santesteban (pronounced: Santa-stay-bawn) enters his 6^th season as the Director of Athletics. As a local product of Fresno State, FCC, and Hoover High School, Santesteban brings over 30 years of experience to Reedley as a student-athlete, coach, PE Instructor, and athletic administrator. In addition to his duties as AD, he serves in several capacities for the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A), Northern California Football Conference (NCFC) and Central Valley Conference (CVC).

Dr. Santesteban is in his second term as a member of the 3C2A Management Council. He serves as the sport representative for soccer and an at-large member of the Gender Equity Committee.  He serves the NCFC as a member of the Executive Committee and is the President for the Valley FB Conference. He also serves as the sport representative for soccer and tennis, and is on various committees for the CVC. 

Since his arrival, the Tiger Athletic Department has seen several major facility upgrades.  We have completely renovated our gymnasium; which included a new floor, new backboards, VB nets & poles, Wall-of-Champions updates, lighting, and roof. Our tennis courts were re-surfaced. The newly completed weight room is likely the most modern and comprehensive fitness centers in the state. We also renovated three of our racquetball courts into our Olympic-Lifting Center. In addition, we have plans in the works for a softball field renovation and a complete re-build of our track/soccer field.

“We’re so grateful for these long overdue upgrades.  Our student-athletes deserve the very best and we hope that we can continue to complete our facility plan in baseball, equestrian, tennis, and locker room modernization”.

Dr. "S" is proud of his roots in the Valley..."It was a nice homecoming after 22 years away from home to be able to serve in SCCCD at Reedley College. It was an absolute blessing and I hope I can fullfill all of the goals that we've set to better serve our student-athletes". As an All-Conference selection with the 1987 and 1988 Fresno City College Men’s Soccer team, Santesteban then transferred to Fresno State, where he played for legendary Head Coach Jose Elgorriaga and won consecutive Big West Championships and two NCAA Playoff appearances during the 1989 and 1990 seasons. He graduated from Fresno State with a Bachelors and Masters degree in Physical Education. He played soccer in the USISL for the Santa Cruz Surf and the San Francisco Bay Diablos. He was part of the San Jose Oaks SC that won US Open Cup Regional Championship in 1995. He also spent extended time training with CA Osasuna of La Liga in Pamplona, Spain.

Upon returning to the US, Santesteban moved to the Land of Enchantment, where at the University of New Mexico, he obtained his PhD in Sport Administration, and was also an Assistant Coach for the Men’s Soccer Team (NCAA Div-1). From 2000-2003, Santesteban was the Head Coach and Physical Education Instructor at Southwestern Oregon Community College. The Lakers made the Northwest Athletic Association of Community College playoffs in two of his three seasons.

Santesteban was named Athletic Director and Head Men’s Soccer Coach at San Jacinto College in Houston in 2004. In his eight years there as head coach, the Coyotes achieved numerous #1 national rankings, one National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) runner-up finish in 2006, and three Final Four appearances. SJC won five Region 14 Championships and four Mid-South District titles. Santesteban won four NJCAA District Coach of the Year awards and coached two NJCAA Players of the Year, while also seeing many of his players transfer to NCAA and NAIA schools, then play at the professional level, including Major League Soccer (MLS). He also served the NJCAA in numerous National Committee roles, including the National Chair for Soccer in the NJCAA, as well as All-America Committee Chair for Junior Colleges with the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America). 

Santesteban left San Jacinto in 2012 after an invitation from US Soccer to become a Technical Advisor for the United States Soccer Federation, which included duties as an Assistant Coach for the Boys’ U14 and U15 national teams. He was part of a staff that got to coach some very talented youth that would go on to become stars in the world stage--Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Jonathan Gonzalez, Reggie Cannon, Alex Zendejas, Weston McKinney to name a few.

From there, Coach Santesteban went to the University of the Virgin Islands and led the men’s soccer team to an appearance in the Final Four. As Interim Athletic Director, he guided the department into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). 

Santesteban returned to the Central Valley in 2016, and served as the Technical Director of the California Odyssey Soccer Club, the most successful youth soccer club in the Fresno Area. He additionally spearheaded the clubs’ return to the United States Soccer Development Academy, the highest level of youth soccer in the country. 

At Reedley College, Santesteban will oversee 12 sports, five on the men’s side, and seven women’s programs.

Santesteban, who is fluent in Spanish, has three daughters, Gabi (25), Mikaela (22) and Eliana (19). He is the son of Dr. Ignacio Santesteban, who taught Spanish at Fresno State for 30 years.