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Emerald High School has named longtime East Bay coach Ron Pangilinan as the school’s first varsity boys’ basketball head coach, amid some parental unrest regarding the hiring process.
Pangilinan comes to Emerald with over 30 years of coaching experience, most recently including a decade serving as a varsity head coach, according to Dublin Unified School District spokesperson Chip Dehnert.
Pangilinan will be a “great addition to our program”, Emerald principal Lenni Velez said.
Meanwhile, some parents contend that the site-led hiring process was not fair as school officials worked to pick the coach to lead the Aerouants’ inaugural varsity season in 2025-26.
According to Navpreet Kaur, parent of a student-athlete, the applicant pool included Jason Rockwell, former head coach of junior varsity boys’ basketball at Emerald who received an outpouring of support after a 10-day leave of absence for undisclosed reasons this past season. Rockwell coached the JV team during the new school’s first year open, with only freshman and sophomore students on campus for 2024-25.
Previously, Velez had told families via email — including Kaur — that the varsity coach selection process would be “fair and transparent”. In March, the district said Rockwell would not be the Emerald basketball coach moving forward.
To Kelvin Lei, parent of another student-athlete, the goal is not to cause problems. “We’re here for fairness,” he said.
Lei said Rockwell made high school wonderful for the basketball team.
“He’s already created such an amazing family. We can’t afford to shift,” Kaur added about the former JV coach. “We are so happy with him.”
During the recent hiring process, Pangilinan was among the 14 applicants vying for the role of varsity head coach, according to Dehnert.
His coaching experience spans Acalanes High School in Lafayette, College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, Las Lomas High School and Northgate High School in Walnut Creek, Bentley School in Lafayette and Head-Royce School in Oakland. At Head-Royce, he led the boys’ basketball team to a league championship.
Of the applicants, six were selected for an interview by staff members from across three school sites. The hiring decision was made following a round of interviews, officials said.
“The district does not play a role in school site athletic coach selection, so we have no comment to offer,” Dehnert said.
