I mentioned this as a rumor last night – just wanted to pass along the release now that it has been made official…
Head Coach Niya Butts and the Arizona women’s basketball team announced the addition of Sean LeBeauf as an assistant coach to the staff on Wednesday.
LeBeauf comes to Arizona from Paris Junior College, where he served as the Director of Athletics and head coach of the women’s basketball team.
“We are extremely excited to add Sean to our staff” Arizona Head Coach Niya Butts said. “He has a lot of coaching experience on all levels. He can do it all. He is a great basketball mind, he will be an asset on both sides of the ball and he will bring a lot of talent to the University of Arizona.”
At Paris Junior College, Lebeauf led the Dragons to the single-season record for wins and a national ranking. He coached an NJCAA All-American nominee, four All-Region XIV selections, five honorable mention All-Conference selections and two Freshman of the Year nominees.
Before his four-year stint at PJC, LeBeauf served as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. from 2005 to 2009. While there, the men’s basketball team won a Southwestern Athletic Conference championship and the 2006 Historical Black Colleges and Universities National Championship.
“I am truly grateful for this opportunity,” LeBeauf said. “Opportunities such as this one do not come around often, especially one where the head coach shares your intensity. That was so evident when meeting Coach Butts. She is passionate about the game of basketball and this institution. It is not often that you see a Division I head coach carrying a backpack and a coaching packet on the recruiting trail, while moving from one court to the next. I am so looking forward to joining the Wildcat Family and helping build on an already incredible tradition.”
Prior to Southern, LeBeauf coached at Destrehan High School (1998-88) and Archbishop Shaw High School (1999-2003). While at Archbishop Shaw, he helped lead the team to back-to-back state championship appearances. His squad won the state title while going 34-6 in 2000 and finished as 2001 runners-up with a 31-5 mark.
LeBeauf began his coaching career at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, Okla., leading the girl’s basketball team to a city championship. While there, he also coached the Tulsa Rebels Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) boy’s team, leading them to a national AAU title in 1997 and a fourth-place finish in 1998. LeBeauf’s successes earned him the Sallie Mae Award, recognizing the Elementary/Secondary First Teacher of the Year.
Through his men’s basketball coaching experience, LeBeauf has coached 23 players into the professional ranks.
LeBeauf’s playing career started at Hahnville High School in Boutte, La. He went on to play basketball for the nationally-ranked team at University of Montevallo, Ala., where he earned his Bachelor’s of business administration in accounting. He started on a team that finished with three consecutive 20-win seasons.
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