University at Buffalo head women’s basketball coach Becky Burke has announced her coaching staff for the upcoming 2022-23 season. Joining the Bulls are assistant coaches Wyatt Foust, Candyce Wheeler and Asia Dozier and Director of Basketball and Recruiting Operations Erin Sinnott.
Foust comes to Buffalo from Murray State where he served as the Director of Basketball Operations for the 2021-22 season, helping to lead the Racers to the postseason for the first time since 2009 and just the fifth time in program history. Before joining the collegiate ranks Foust compiled a 101-15 record, good for a .877 winning percentage, at the high school level in the state of Kentucky. Foust spent two seasons at Butler Traditional High School where he led the Bears to a 41-8 record and consecutive Region 6 title game appearances.
Before Murray State he spent two seasons as the head girls’ varsity basketball coach at Murray High School where he led Tigers to a 60-7 record, back-to-back KHSAA Sweet 16 appearances in 2018 and 2019 and the 2018 “All-A” state championship. He was named Kentucky Coach of the Year by USA Today and was a two-time Region Coach of the Year.
Prior to his time at Murray, Foust spent one season at Owensboro Catholic, after spending three seasons as the girl’s head coach at Notre Dame Academy. He began his high school coaching career in 2012 as the assistant boy’s coach at Greenwood High School, after serving for two seasons as the assistant women’s coach at his alma mater, Kentucky Wesleyan
Foust graduated from Kentucky Wesleyan in 2012 with a degree in biology. He earned master’s degrees from Western Kentucky in 2014 and Georgetown College in 2019 in recreation & sport management and teaching, respectively. Foust and his wife Jenna have a son named Coy.
Burke on Foust: “Wyatt’s work ethic is second to none. His ability to identify and evaluate talent, and then form meaningful relationships in the recruiting process is something that I have been very impressed with. His energy and enthusiasm are contagious, and something that our current and future players will most certainly gravitate towards.”
Wheeler, a former teammate of Burke’s on the 2009 Final Four team at the University of Louisville, comes to Buffalo with Burke from USC Upstate where she served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons.
Prior to Upstate, Wheeler served as an assistant coach at from Bellarmine University for four seasons. In her first year with the Knights in 2016-17, Wheeler helped guide the team to an NCAA Tournament berth as well as its first back-to-back 20-win season in 12 years. Bellarmine made the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament in all of Wheeler’s four seasons with the program, including an appearance in the title game in 2018-19. Additionally, Wheeler coached five All-GLVC selections.
Before Bellarmine, Wheeler was an assistant coach at her high school alma mater, DuPont Manual, and helped lead the team to a 7th Region Championship and an appearance in the state tournament. As an assistant coach at Western Kentucky University in 2013-14, she helped the Hilltoppers to a Sun Belt Conference Title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Before that, she returned to U of L as a graduate assistant under head coach Jeff Walz in 2012-13 and helped the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament Finals for the second time in program history.
As a player at Louisville, Wheeler earned First Team All-Big East nods her senior year in 2008-09. She led the Cardinals to the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament championship game that season where she recorded a double-double against UConn and was named to the Raleigh Regional All-Tournament Team. Her junior year, she earned Second-Team All-Big East honors and was named to the Big East All-Tournament Team.
Wheeler earned her psychology degree from Louisville and was selected in the third round of the 2009 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars. She earned her Master of Health Science in the spring of 2021 from Bellarmine University. Wheeler went on to play professionally overseas in Luxembourg, Germany, and Puerto Rico. She married her husband, Gary, in May 2019 and the couple’s first child, Gary III, was born in February 2021.
Burke on Wheeler: “Candyce is one of the most loyal and genuine people I have ever met. Her ability to form relationships with our players and develop them both on and off the court is incredible. Having played for a National Championship at Louisville, and being a WNBA draft pick, Candyce brings firsthand experience that help teach our players what it takes to perform at a high level.”
Dozier comes to Buffalo from the Cardinal Newman School where she led the Cardinals to back-to-back SCISA Class 3A championships and a 33-6 overall record in her two seasons as head coach. The Cardinals went 15-5 and captured the second straight SCISA 3A championship.
Prior to Cardinal Newman, Dozier coached one season at Legion Collegiate in Rock Hill where she recorded a winning record in the program’s inaugural season and graduated three seniors who went on to play collegiately. She was also a graduate assistant at the University of Florida for one season (2016-17) under head coach Amanda Butler in which she handled breaking down game film and composing scouting reports while also helping to organize official visits.
Dozier had a stellar playing career at the University of South Carolina where she graduated with a degree in business administration with a minor in sport and entertainment management. In four years as a Gamecock, she was part of the winningest senior class in program history, helping USC amass a 121-18 four-year record and a program-best .871 winning percentage, including three SEC championships and four straight Sweet 16 appearances. A three-year team captain, Dozier finished her career ranked sixth in program history for career games played with 131. She still holds the USC single-season record for games played with 37 in 2014-15.
A native of Columbia, SC, Dozier starred at her hometown high school, Spring Valley, where she was named the 2012 South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and was a McDonald All-American nominee after leading the Vikings to back-to-back state titles in her junior and senior years.
Burke on Dozier: “Asia comes to us with an incredibly impressive playing resume, which I believe will translate extremely well into her coaching career. I’m very excited to watch her be able to relate and connect with our players both on and off the floor. Having someone who has played at the highest level, on the biggest stages, and who has won Championships is an asset to our staff and our program.”
Sinnott comes to Buffalo after serving as an intern under head coach Lindsey Whalen at the University of Minnesota during the 2021-22 season. Prior to Minnesota, Sinnott was the Director of Operations at Rising Coaches, which helps to facilitate an inclusive community for basketball coaches at all levels. Before Rising Coaches, she was a graduate assistant the marketing department at Southern Illinois University where she was responsible for planning the promotional schedule for women’s basketball, soccer, and softball.
Sinnott is familiar with the Buffalo area after playing two seasons (2017-19) at Daemen College, where she graduated with a degree in business administration. She started the first eight games as a junior before missing the rest of the season with an injury but bounced back and appeared in 21 games as a senior. Prior to Daemen, Sinnott played at Evansville where she scored 73 points in 41 games over two seasons.
Burke on Sinnott: “Erin’s energy, work ethic, and initiative are all things that within the first couple of weeks knowing her, are going to set her apart in this profession. I love the fact that she’s very familiar with the area and will be able to help us build relationships in this region. Erin is going to be a superstar in this business, and I am so thankful she has decided to come to UB!”
https://ubbulls.com/news/2022/4/19/womens-basketball-burke-announces-coaching-staff.aspx
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