South Plains College welcomes Cayla Petree as the new head coach for the Lady Texan basketball team. Petree joined the team on April 9, 2015, and hit the ground running.
Petree came to South Plains from Angelo State University; where she led the Belles to the LSC Tournament Championship in her first year. However, having played and coached at a junior college level before, Petree felt like South Plains was a good fit, and believes in the potential South Plains College has to compete at a national level.
"It’s all about creating this culture for success," Petree said. "We want to expand the recruiting to a national level. South Plains has resources and the commitment from the administration to go get the best."
Before her two seasons at Angelo, Petree had a year stint as an assistant at North Texas in Denton. At North Texas she coached point and shooting guards, like Loryn Goodwin, who she guided to the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year honor, and a selection on the all-conference team. Also, she was able to sign Candice Adams, an ESPN top 100 recruit.
Prior to UNT from 2007-2012, Petree spent her time as head coach rejuvenating Cisco Junior College’s program. In the two years prior to her arrival, Cisco had a 0-60 record. By her third year at Cisco, she had led the Lady Wranglers to the Region V Tournament and had three straight 20-win seasons. Petree coached 14 student-athletes to all-conference honors, and 16-student athletes that continued to play at four-year colleges.
"I try to instill in my players an attitude of, this is where I am, this is where I want to go, and this is what I have to do to get there," Petree said. "I can really use that mindset with junior college players, both academically and on the basketball court."
Prior to Cisco, Petree spent some time working as an assistant at New Mexico Junior College and for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in 2006-2007. Petree says that her experiences as a player at the collegiate level have helped her relate to players in her coaching profession.
She played for Cisco Junior College and Texas Tech University. While at Cisco she played under Ronnie Hearne, and then transferred to Tech where she was a member of the 2003 Elite Eight Team under Hall of Fame Coach Marsha Sharp.
"From the first moment I met Cayla Petree, it was obvious how much passion she had for the game of basketball," said Sharp. "The other thing I learned about Cayla was her incredible work ethic. I think that has been a major factor in her coaching success. She will bring great energy and experience to South Plains. She will be a strong contributor to every area of the college. I am really excited to be able to watch her teams play."
In 2006 she graduated from Texas Tech with a Master’s of Science in sports management, and in 2004 she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise and sport science communication from Texas Tech.
South Plains will be introducing Petree on this Wednesday, April 15 at 11:00 am in the Texan Club room on the west end of the Texan Dome.
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