Sam Houston women’s basketball head coach Ravon Justice has announced the hirings of Steven Gilbert and Zavior Alvarez to the coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Gilbert joins the staff after spending the past three seasons as the head coach at Ranger College while Alvarez spent the past three seasons at Nevada, assisting with the Wolf Pack.
“I’m genuinely excited about the additions of both Steven and Zavior and look forward to having them on the sidelines with me,” Justice said.
Gilbert joined the staff after two seasons as the head coach at Ranger College. His time at Ranger followed a successful stint as the video coordinator for Syracuse in 2023–24. While with the Orange, the team posted a 24–8 record, earned a spot in the final AP Top 25 poll, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32. The program also produced a WNBA Draft selection under his tenure.
Before Syracuse, Gilbert served as an assistant coach for the LIU women’s basketball team in 2022–23. As co-defensive coordinator, he played a key role in post player development, scouting, and recruiting. His efforts helped the Sharks close the regular season with four wins in their final five games and earn a spot in the Northeast Conference Tournament.
“Steven’s ability to teach and unlock our players’ potential is particularly exciting,” Justice said. “I believe his leadership will greatly benefit our team in every aspect of the program.”
In the 2021–22 season, Gilbert was an assistant coach at Northwest Florida State College, contributing to a dominant 27–3 campaign. The Raiders were ranked No. 1 in the nation for 12 straight weeks and captured the FCSAA State/NJCAA District Championship with a decisive 81–40 victory over Indian River State College.
Gilbert began his coaching journey on the AAU circuit with Showtime Hoops (1 Family), where he led both the 12U and 17U teams. He also spent four years coaching at the high school level in Florida and New Mexico, guiding multiple teams to state tournament appearances.
His first collegiate coaching position was at Neosho County CC, where he served as lead assistant overseeing recruiting, scouting, skill development, and defense. He later took over as head coach at Colorado Northwestern CC.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Gilbert starred at Trinity Christian Academy, amassing over 1,773 points and 1,256 rebounds in his high school career. He went on to play collegiately at Webber International University.
Gilbert holds a bachelor’s degree in biological science from Florida State (2013) and a master’s degree in secondary education from Grand Canyon (2017).
Alvarez joins the staff after two seasons at Gulf Coast State College where he helped the Lady Commodores to a 42-16 overall record in that time. He worked closely with several players who earned All-Panhandle Conference honors and moved to on to four-year schools, including Clara Koulibaly to Auburn and NJCAA All-American Ja’Navia Gage who moved on to Charlotte after the 2024-25 season.
“Zavior is a young, energetic coach with valuable experience in the junior college ranks, where he focused on player development and recruiting,” Justice said. “His enthusiasm and dedication will be tremendous assets to our program.
He joined the Lady Commodores’ staff after a two-year stint at Nevada where he entered as a graduate assistant and was given the promotion to the role of Player Development prior to the 2023-24 season where he was given an active role in recruiting and on-court coaching and development. He assisted in seeing the Wolf Pack to a fourth-place finish in a highly competitive Mountain West Conference that season, finishing with a .500 overall record and a 10-8 record in conference play.
Prior to Nevada, Alvarez got his start in the coaching profession as a practice player for the UTEP women’s basketball program before being elevated to an undergraduate assistant prior to the 2018-2019 season. Alvarez assisted the Miners’ staff in all aspects of the program in his four-year stint from 2018-2022.
In his playing days, Alvarez was an All-City basketball player at Del Valle High School in El Paso. He went on to play point guard at TaylorMade Prep in Pensacola, Fla. before ultimately returning to El Paso. Alvarez followed his playing career by receiving his undergraduate degree in Business Administration with a focus in Entrepreneurship from UTEP in 2022. He then received his master’s degree in Justice Management from Nevada.
https://gobearkats.com/news/2026/7/27/womens-basketball-adds-two-to-coaching-staff
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