Columbia women’s basketball has announced the hire of alumna Nicole Stephens ’24CC as the team’s Scouting & Player Development Assistant.
In her role, Stephens supports women’s basketball scouting, player development, and player personnel operations. Her duties include roster coordination, recruiting database organization, transfer portal tracking, and compiling player development data, progress reports, and program analytics.
“We are ecstatic to have Nicole back home,” Lavine Family Head Coach of Women’s Basketball Megan Griffith ’07CC said. “Along with her deep knowledge of our system and culture, Nicole brings a strong desire to learn and teach. She has always wanted to pursue coaching and I’m thrilled she gets to start that journey with us as an alum. She will be a tremendous mentor for our younger players and a huge asset on staff.”
Additionally, Stephens plays a key role in day-to-day operations and team logistics. She assists in implementing player development activities—including scheduling workouts, film sessions, and skill-development resources—while helping manage practice and game-day logistics, equipment setup, travel preparation, and internal program materials.
Stephens played for Griffith and the Lions from 2020-2024 as a student at Barnard College. She had an impactful collegiate playing career with the Lions, helping guide them to their first two Ivy League Championships (2023, 2024), the 2023 WNIT Championship Game (2023) and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance (2024).
Stephens went on to play two graduate years at Dayton (2024-26), where she earned Academic All-Atlantic 10 honors, received Preseason All-Atlantic 10 honors and earned the Dayton Athletics “Most Outstanding Leader Award” at the 2026 R.U.D.Y.S.
Stephens earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Barnard College in 2024. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Education and Human Services from Dayton in 2026.
Tagged with: Ivy League
