Stephen Moss, who has been the interim coach of the OUAZ women’s basketball team since September, had the “interim” removed from his title, Director of Athletics Kevin Steele announced today.
Steele stated about his decision, “Steve took over as interim head coach in less than ideal circumstances. He did not let his circumstances dictate his attitude or his desire for excellence on and off the floor from his student-athletes. He went on to guide his program to the best record in the short history of OUAZ women’s basketball, and he is showing incredible abilities to attract talented young ladies with high character to build the future for the program. He has shown a desire to better himself as a man first and a basketball coach second. Because of these attributes and many others, he has proven that he deserves to be the head coach of our OUAZ women’s basketball program. It is with great pleasure that I lift the interim tag from his title. I fully expect Steve and his program to continue to strive for spiritual, emotional, academic and basketball excellence.”
“I truly appreciate our Athletic Director, Kevin Steele, for showing confidence and faith in me that I can be the person who can lead this program to the next level. I want to build a basketball culture at OUAZ with great kids on and off the court. A program where players can discover their identity in Christ and their purpose in the community,” Moss said of the move.
Moss officially takes over the program after guiding the Spirit to a its best season in program history in 2019-20. Along with the 12-14 overall record, OUAZ went 5-13 in the Golden State Athletic Conference and were in postseason contention through the season’s final weekend. The results led to the program’s first-ever all-GSAC selection in freshman Natasa Radovic.
Prior to being named interim head coach, Moss spent two seasons as the Spirit’s lead assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In that role, he recruited many of the student-athletes on the current roster and he has announced several signings for the 2020-21 season.
Prior to coaching at OUAZ, Moss spent two years as the girls’ varsity coach at Bella Vista Prep. That tenure included winning the 2019 AWBL Championship. He spent three seasons coaching at Xavier College Prep and went 38-16 in two seasons as the head coach of the varsity squad.
Moss played collegiately at Bowie State University where he was named All-CIAA as a junior and Senior. He helped the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Division II Final Four as a senior. After being drafted by the Idaho Stampede in the 2003 CBA Draft, Moss decided to play professionally abroad for five years in Kosovo, Germany, Portugal, Chile, and China.
The Phoenix native, and Brophy College Prep grad, is the father of two daughters Alana and Vanes. Alana just completed her sophomore season on the women’s basketball team at Brown University.
https://ouazspirit.com/news/2020/3/24/moss-officially-named-ouaz-womens-basketball-head-coach.aspx
