Stacy Clinesmith, former WNBA veteran and Spokane native, has been hired as an assistant women’s basketball coach, Gonzaga University head coach Lisa Fortier announced Friday.
“Stacy was a standout player at every level, and she has quickly become a standout coach,” explained Fortier of the Mead High School graduate. “She has been able to transfer her knowledge of the game as a player into developing guards as a coach, which is not a skill many high level players can ever perfect. Stacy brings tons of energy and enthusiasm, and does a tremendous job of creating relationships with recruits and in the community.”
Clinesmith joins Jordan Green as members of Fortier’s coaching staff.
“I am so very excited to be coming home to Spokane and to the incredible support surrounding Gonzaga,” stated Clinesmith. “I am ecstatic to be a part of this Gonzaga basketball family and the incredible tradition they have built. I believe in Lisa and her vision, and am looking forward to doing big things in my hometown with this incredible staff, team and community!”
Clinesmith comes to Gonzaga after three seasons as an assistant coach at Santa Clara University. During her time with the Broncos, she coached two All-WCC honorees, an All-Freshman team player and five WCC All-Academic honorees.
In her first season with Santa Clara she helped the squad get off to their best start in program history and, as the guard coach, mentored Alyssa Shoji, who set the West Coast Conference all-time single-season 3-point field goal record (99).
Clinesmith began her career in the collegiate ranks serving as Oregon State University’s Director of Basketball Operations in 2008-09 and went on to become the assistant coach at Central Washington University in 2010-11.
“Stacy is familiar with the WCC and has experience in scouting and preparing for our league opponents,” stated Fortier. “As a Spokane native, she helped put the Greater Spokane League (GSL) on the map early as a northwest power conference, and I have the confidence that she is going to be instrumental in helping our program to achieve all of our future goals.”
Before hitting the coaching ranks, Clinesmith enjoyed a record-setting basketball career. She was tabbed the Washington State 3A Player of the Year while at Mead and went on to become one of the most accomplished guards to every play at UC Santa Barbara.
Clinesmith led the Gauchos to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and earned All-Big West First Team honors three times, starting with her sophomore season, and was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team as a rookie. The Gauchos won the Big West Tournament titles in each of her four seasons and Clinesmith was tabbed the Big West Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2000.
After her collegiate career, Clinesmith was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs in the second round of the 2000 WNBA Draft and spent two seasons playing for Sacramento before joining the Detroit Shock in 2002. She went on to play with the Springfield Sprint of the National Women’s Basketball League (NWBL) and the Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico.
Clinesmith graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. She has been a certified strength and conditioning coach since 2004.
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