Washington State women’s basketball head coach June Daugherty announced the promotion of Brian Holsinger to associate head coach Wednesday.
Holsinger, who has been an assistant during Daugherty’s seven seasons at Washington State, serves as the Cougars recruiting and defensive coordinator. He has helped guide the Cougars to the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinal round twice in the last three seasons and earn a trip to the 2014 WNIT, WSU’s first postseason appearance since 1991.
“Promoting Brian to the “Associate Head Coach” title is a tribute to his dedication, outstanding work and loyalty to the Crimson and Gray,” Daugherty stated. “He is well deserving of this recognition due to the quality of coaching/recruiting he brings every day to our basketball family. The enthusiastic passion he exudes to ensure every one of our student-athletes excels on and off the court is outstanding.”
Holsinger has helped put together several nationally-ranked recruiting classes for the Cougars. The 2011 class featured the Greater Spokane League’s All-Time leading scorer Tia Presley (Spokane, Wash.), who has become a two-time All-Pac-12 selection. The 2012 class featured six freshmen from all over the country highlighted by a pair of talented players from Hawaii including three-time state player of the year Lia Galdeira who has earned All-Pac-12 recognition in each of her first two seasons. The 2014 recruiting class shaped up to be one of the Cougars most accomplished in program history, receiving praise from Blue Star Basketball as one of the top recruiting classes in the country. The seven-member class features four players from overseas including the ninth-ranked international prospect in 6-3 forward Louise Brown out of Australia, Washington 2A Player of the Year Nike McClure, Oregon 6A All-State selection Ashley Bolston and Los Angeles All-Area selection Caila Hailey.
Holsinger has helped lead the charge toward a ferocious Cougar defense, producing four Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selections in the last three seasons and seen at least one Cougar placed on the All-Defensive team in five of the last six seasons. WSU has been among the conference leaders in steals and blocks in each of the past couple seasons, posting the third-most steals in the Pac-12 last season while tying for the second-most blocks. Holsinger also recruited and helped develop former center Carly Noyes who led the conference in blocks as a freshman and left WSU as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots and games played. Galdeira led the Pac-12 in steals as a freshman and finished second in steals last season, receiving Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors both years.
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