WBCA announces class for the 17th annual “So You Want To Be A Coach” program
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in partnership with partnership with WeCOACH, announced the class for the 17th annual “So You Want To Be A Coach” program. Each participant will attend a three-day workshop during the WBCA Convention, April 3-5, in Tampa Bay, Florida. WeCOACH is a membership organization dedicated to supporting female coaches across all sports and levels.
Per the WBCA, the program aims to “increase the understanding and application of skills necessary to secure coaching positions in women’s basketball, increase the understanding and awareness of competencies necessary for success in coaching, introduce female basketball players to coaches and administrators, and raise awareness of the existing talent pool of female basketball players who have a passion and interest in coaching the game of women’s basketball.”
“’So You Want To Be A Coach’ is the longest-running education program the WBCA offers, and it remains as popular with member coaches and student-athletes today as it was when it began 16 years ago,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “’So’ is the entry point for women’s basketball players who want to coach. Because of their participation in it, more than 400 former college women’s basketball players are currently working as coaches or in some role in our sport.”
The program has graduated 874 participants in its 16-year history.
Eligibility requirements:
Qualified candidates must have exhausted their final year of basketball eligibility at a four-year institution or have graduated within the past year. In addition, the candidate’s head coach has to nominate them and must be an active WBCA member. Each participant is selected based on her academics, contributions to women’s basketball on and off the court, professional resume and a written recommendation from their head coach.
The 2019 “So You Want To Be A Coach” program class:
| Name | Institution | Division |
| Erica Balman | Monmouth University | NCAA I |
| Ali Bettencourt | Univ. of Wisconsin-Parkside | NCAA II |
| Briana Betz-White | Loyola University | NCAA I |
| Morgan Birmelin | DeSales University | NCAA III |
| Rachel Blackburn | Univ. of Nebraska | NCAA I |
| Anna Lee Bollinger | Brevard College | NCAA III |
| Megan Brown | Univ. of Southern Mississippi | NCAA I |
| Taje Burston | Coppin State University | NCAA I |
| Chrijaun Carter | McPherson College | NAIA |
| Princess Davis | Texas A&M Univ.- Commerce | NCAA II |
| Tania Davis | Univ. of Iowa | NCAA I |
| Danielle Edwards | Clemson University | NCAA I |
| Christina Ekhomu | Northern Illinois University | NCAA II |
| Mekaela Fithian-Giantonio | Nichols College | NCAA III |
| Sierra Gerald | University of Bridgeport | NCAA II |
| Destiny Graham | University of Arizona | NCAA I |
| Kelly Guarino | NJ Institute of Technology | NCAA 1 |
| Meredith Hamlet | Valparaiso University | NCAA I |
| Catherine Harrison | Middlebury College | NCAA III |
| Felecity Haven | University of Mount Olive | NCAA II |
| Kaity Healy | Seton Hall | NCAA I |
| Jace Henderson | University of Montana | NCAA I |
| Kaitlin Hogan | Birmingham Southern College | NCAA III |
| Rosemary Ilang | Longwood University | NCAA I |
| Hannah Johnson | University of Washington | NCAA I |
| Tessa Johnston | Emory & Henry College | NCAA III |
| Becca Jonas | Drake University | NCAA I |
| Paris Jones | Univ. of California- Santa Barbara | NCAA I |
| Cy Lippold | Dartmouth College | NCAA I |
| Mikayla Lopez | Augustana College | NCAA III |
| Olivia Luu | William Jessup University | NAIA |
| Darby Maggard | Belmont University | NCAA I |
| Ariel Massengale | University of Mississippi | NCAA I |
| Shannon Mathis | University of Texas at Dallas | NCAA III |
| MacKenzi Matthews | Baldwin Wallace University | NCAA III |
| Aryn McClure | Quinnipiac University | NCAA I |
| Bailey McDevitt | Linfield College | NCAA III |
| Francesca Minali | Georgia State University | NCAA I |
| Maci Morris | University of Kentucky | NCAA I |
| Abby Nakfoor | Ferris State University | NCAA II |
| Kacie O’Connor | Wayne State College | NCAA II |
| Amy Okonkwo | Texas Christian University | NCAA I |
| Julie Raeder | Cardinal Stritch University | NAIA |
| Khadaizha Sanders | Rutgers University | NCAA I |
| Laramie Schwenke | Idaho State University | NCAA I |
| Shandricka Sessom | University of Mississippi | NCAA I |
| Harper Sheets | Hastings College | NAIA |
| Madeline Simon | University of Nebraska | NCAA I |
| Jasmine Sina | St. John’s University | NCAA I |
| Kennedi Thompson | Binghamton University | NCAA I |
| Ali Trani | Univ. of North Carolina at Asheville | NCAA I |
| Alexis Uffman | Columbia College (MD) | NAIA |
| Taylor Vasa | Briar Cliff University | NAIA |
| Emily Vogelpohl | Wright State University | NCAA I |
| Destinee Walker | Radford University | NCAA I |
| Jasmyn Walker | Western Michigan University | NCAA I |
| Makayla Waterman | Ohio State University | NCAA I |
| Harlyn Wyatt | Tulane University | NCAA I |
| Isis Young | Syracuse University | NCAA I |
| Emily Ziese | Peru State College | NAIA |
