New Mexico State women’s basketball head coach Mark Trakh announced changes to his coaching staff Monday with the promotion of Aarika Hughes to the program’s second assistant position and the hiring of Stacey Nichols as the Aggies’ third assistant coach.
During her first season with NM State as an assistant, Hughes helped departed senior forward Tabytha Wampler break into the 1,000-point club during the 2011-12 campaign. As a former guard/forward, she mentored the Aggies on the floor in practice as well as games.
Off the court, Hughes handled game-related duties for the Aggies as the staff’s opponent contact. Hughes has also been a vital recruiter for the program since her arrival in the Mesilla Valley last summer.
Hughes replaces former Aggie assistant Jamie Shadian who left the staff to pursue other opportunities at a Division I basketball program.
Hughes is very familiar with new Aggie assistant Stacey Nichols. The two are close friends and were former high school teammates at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore. Both went on to play collegiately at Pac-12 schools, Hughes at USC and Nichols at Oregon State.
The pair only lost five games in three years at Southridge and claimed the 4A state title as seniors while ranked No. 6 nationally by USA Today. Together they completed an undefeated 29-0 season as juniors and won the state title while finishing No. 22 in the rankings.
Nichols joins the Aggie coaching staff after one season as an assistant coach at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla. She joined the Raiders’ women’s basketball program in June 2011. Nichols’ primary responsibilities at NFSC involved recruiting, game evaluation, scouting and working with the Raider post players.
Prior to her hire at NFSC, she helped organize the Essence Girls Basketball on the Bayou Tournament in New Orleans. She served as a liaison to the tournament director while helping numerous high school and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teams register and check into the tourney.
Stay with HoopDirt for the latest college basketball coaching news and rumors.
