University of Maine head women’s basketball coach Amy Vachon has announced the hiring of assistant coach Gadson (Gaddy) Lefft.
“I am thrilled to announce that Gadson Lefft is returning to her alma mater and joining our staff as an assistant coach,” Vachon says. “In Gaddy’s two years at Maine, she made a huge impact on and off the court in our program and community. Gaddy understands what it is like to be a student-athlete at UMaine and what a special place our university is. Her work ethic, high standards, and willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed makes her a perfect addition to our program.”
Prior to rejoining the Black Bears, Lefft spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach on former Black Bear point guard Missy Traversi’s staff at Army. During that one-year stint, Army finished 16-13 overall with a 10-8 mark in Patriot League play.
“I am overjoyed to be returning to the University of Maine to join the Women’s Basketball staff,” Lefft says. “I want to thank Coach Amy for this unique opportunity to work with her and her outstanding coaching staff. As a player at Maine, I was always impressed by the ability of the coaches to prepare and develop players to consistently achieve at the highest level, regardless of what adversity the team faced. I look forward to helping the Black Bears in pursuing yet another America East championship. Also, I would like to thank another former Black Bear, Missy Traversi, and West Point for giving me my first coaching opportunity. I will always cherish my time at West Point and wish Coach Traversi and her staff much success in the future.”
She spent the 2020-21 season as a student assistant coach and an assistant in UMaine’s compliance department. In 2020-21, the Black Bears finished the shortened season with a 17-3 overall mark and advanced to the America East title game.
Lefft, who joined the University of Maine in the fall of 2019, played one season for the Black Bears where she appeared in 16 games. Lefft tallied a season-best seven points in Maine’s game against Northeastern.
Before attending UMaine, Lefft spent three seasons at the University of Delaware where she appeared in 20 games with two starts during her senior year, leading the team with a 45.7-percent mark from the floor. While at Delaware, she earned two selections to the Colonial Athletic Association Academic Honor Roll.
She began her collegiate career at Clemson where she competed in 21 games for the Tigers, again leading her team with a 46.3 field goal percentage.
Prior to her collegiate career, played two seasons at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School (2012-14), helping to lead the Highlanders to the school’s first-ever SCISA State Championship title as a team captain. Lefft scored over 1,000 points and pulled down more than 750 rebounds while at Heathwood. For her accomplishments, the 2013-14 SCISA AAA Player of the Year and two-time All-State selection was selected to compete in the South Carolina vs. Georgia All-Star Game. Lefft also competed at Clover High School and spent a post-graduate year playing for Phillips Academy where she averaged 14.1 points sand 6.5 rebounds.
A native of Lake Wylie, S.C., Lefft participated in the 2021 NCAA Emerging Leaders Seminar in Indianapolis. She was appointed to the Patriot League Diversity and Inclusion Conference Committee in 2021 and also led, developed, and implemented a yearlong, three-part program for diversity, equity, and inclusion awareness at UMaine.
Lefft, who graduated from Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Political Science, earned her Master of Arts in Global Policy from the University of Maine in 2021.
