Providence College first-year women’s basketball Head Coach Erin Batth announced today that Kaili McLaren will join her staff as an assistant coach and Sheana Vega has been hired as the Director of Women’s Basketball Operations.
“Kaili is a National Champion and I can’t wait for her to share her knowledge and experience with our team and staff,” Batth said. “She knows what it takes to achieve success at the highest level of our sport and for us to draw on her experience will be key to our growth. Kaili will play a critical role in the development of our post players and I’m so grateful that she is joining us in Friartown. She’s family oriented and fun to be around and I’m looking forward to working with Kaili and my entire staff as we build our program.”
McLaren spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara (2020-23) and helped the Gauchos claim their first 20+ win season since 2008-09, finishing at 21-12. UC Santa Barbara also advanced to the Big West Championship game as a No. 5 seed. In her first season with the program in 2020-21, the Gauchos posted a 7-14 record in shortened regular-season schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The team saw an eight-game improvement in the win column the following season (15-12) before eclipsing 20 wins this season.
Prior to her arrival at UC Santa Barbara, McLaren served as Director of Recruiting Operations and Player Personnel at Maryland during the 2019-20 season. The Terps finished the year with a 28-4 overall record won the Big Ten Tournament Championship. Days later, the pandemic forced the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, ending Maryland’s impressive season.
McLaren played professionally overseas for a decade in Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey and Australia. She picked up several honors along the way, including a Player of the Year and Forward of the Year award in 2011 while in the Greek league, and she was the second-leading scorer on her squad in the Israeli league in back-to-back seasons. While in Australia, she helped the Canberra Capitals to the 2018-19 league title.
Throughout her professional career, McLaren gave back to the basketball world by coaching in between seasons. She returned home to coach in the Good Counsel Girls Varsity Basketball Summer League, serving as an assistant in the 2013 season.
In 2014, she worked as a basketball trainer with ITrainedU, helping develop several future collegiate players.
From 2015 through 2018, McLaren served as an assistant coach at Good Counsel High School, her alma mater at which she earned three All-American honors and the Gatorade State Player of the Year award, seeing numerous players move on to play in college. She was also the head coach for the Player Progression Academy for youth.
McLaren played at UConn for four years from 2007-10, becoming a two-time NCAA Champion in 2009 and 2010, with both of those squads finishing with perfect seasons as well. The Huskies won three-straight BIG EAST titles during her tenure and earned a spot on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team in 2008. She graduated from UConn in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in an individualized major in Social and Technological aspects of entrepreneurship.
Providence College first-year women’s basketball Head Coach Erin Batth announced today [April 4] that Sheana Vega will join her staff as Director of Women’s Basketball Operations.
“Sheana is a great addition to our staff and I’m thrilled that she is joining us in Friartown,” Batth said. “She has a lot of experience in operations and has an incredible drive to get things done, making her an incredible asset to our program. Sheana is very relatable to the women we are coaching and will serve as an excellent role model. She will certainly impact every facet of our program.”
Vega joins the Friars after serving in the same capacity at Charlotte during the 2022-23 campaign. While with the 49ers, she coordinated alumni and donor correspondence through a weekly newsletter, team travel, oversight and supervision of team managers and photography. Using her skills in photography, she also worked diligently to help student-athletes maximize their brands and NIL opportunities.
Vega also spent one season as Director of Operations at Kent State (2021-22). As part of the Golden Flashes’ staff, Vega managed the program’s social media platforms, while also creating content through her own photography. She coordinated all aspects of team travel, managed team equipment and apparel and organized community service opportunities.
She began her career at Pitt in 2018-19 as the Panther’s Director of Recruiting Operations and was later promoted to Director of Basketball Administration (2019-21). During her three seasons at Pitt, she was responsible for alumni and donor relations and community service efforts while continuing to coordinate recruiting operations. Vega helped the Panthers ink the program’s first top-100 recruit since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) as part of their 2020 signing class.
A four-year letterwinner at Liberty, Vega helped the Flames to NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015 and 2018. She was nominated for the NCAA and Big South Conference Woman of the Year awards in 2018. Coach Batth served as an assistant coach at Liberty during Vega’s senior campaign, during which the Flames captured the Big South Tournament Championship and appeared in the NCAA’s. Vega racked up more than 250 hours of community service while at Liberty. She was an active member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), having a hand in campaigns that raised over $15,000 for the local community. During the summer of 2017, Vega traveled to Kenya with Athletes in Action, serving families in poverty, and conducting basketball clinics.
Vega completed a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice in May 2017 and added a Master of Business Administration in August 2018.
