University of North Alabama Women’s Basketball Head Coach Candi Whitaker has announced an addition to her coaching staff on Monday, naming Cayla Petree as the Associate Head Coach.
A National Coach of the Year recognized by the WBCA, NJCAA and Hoop Dirt from her time at South Plains, Petree joins the Lions for the 2025-26 season, bringing nearly 20 years of coaching experience. She recently served as Division I Morehead State’s women’s basketball head coach, leading the Eagles from 2021-24.
“I have known Cayla for a long time,” said Whitaker, who enters her second season at North Alabama. “I have always respected her work ethic and success, and she is an excellent recruiter and coach. She will impact our program immediately.”
Petree’s tenure with the Eagles saw improved production and growth from the program in her three seasons. Her second season in 2022-23 saw the nation’s best win percentage increase and a 10-win improvement from the previous year, ranking among the top five teams in the country for win improvement.
“I am beyond excited to join Coach Whitaker’s staff,” said Petree. “She has been someone that I have respected, admired and even tried to emulate for many years. I truly believe in her vision for our program, and I am eager to learn from someone with her passion for winning and knowledge of the game on a daily basis. The future is bright for UNA Women’s Basketball, and I am so happy to get to be part of chasing an ASUN Championship with such quality people.”
From 2022-24, the program also saw incredible improvements in its national standing, forging a 753 percent rankings increase in rebounding, a 128 percent increase in scoring, and a 114 percent increase in assists, vaulting the program to the top half of Division I in all of those categories.
While at Morehead State, she led the team to its first conference tournament win in five years, defeating UT Martin in the first round of the 2023 OVC Tournament. Petree improved the NET rating of the program by over 100 spots, going from 350th to 240th after her third season. Petree also led the Eagles to three wins over NCAA Tournament teams while producing the Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and multiple all-conference players in the OVC.
Prior to Morehead State, she held previous head coaching roles with Gulf Coast State College, South Plains College, Angelo State University and Cisco Junior College. Petree also had assistant coaching stints at New Mexico Junior College and the University of North Texas.
Petree’s journey in coaching started at New Mexico Junior College from 2005-06. From 2006-12, she earned her first head coaching role at Cisco Junior College and compiled a record of 93-61 through tenure. Petree also achieved three seasons of 20 wins or more with three trips to the regional semifinals or quarterfinals with Cisco.
She joined North Texas’s coaching staff for the 2012-13 campaign, helping sign a top-100 player in Loryn Goodwin, who went on to be named the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and a WNBA draft pick.
Petree was the head coach at Angelo State from 2013-15, where she led the Rambelles to a pair of consecutive Lone Star Conference Tournament qualifiers. Petree guided the team to an upset of the No. 8-ranked team in the country, while again showing her recruiting expertise with a freshman class that won three conference championships.
From 2015-20, Petree led South Plains College for five seasons, where her accomplishments included setting a school record for single-season wins (32) and a two-year reign for the program’s first No. 1 national ranking. She guided the program to three national tournament appearances and a 127-36 (.779) record in three seasons. Petree was named the 2020 National Coach of the Year by Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, National Junior College Athetic Association and Hoop Dirt. Additionally, she was named the Texas Two-Year College Coach of the Year.
Before her first season at Morehead State, she spent the 2020-21 season at Gulf Coast State. Petree led the team to a Florida state runner-up finish and national tournament qualifier. She led an upset over the No. 1 nationally-ranked team, which ended up being the only loss of the year for the eventual national champions.
Petree was a student-athlete herself, earning an associate’s degree at Cisco Junior College while receiving All-America and Academic All-America accolades. She went on to play at Texas Tech, graduating with a bachelor’s in exercise sport sciences in 2004 and a master’s in sport management in 2006.
She was a part of the 2002-03 Red Raider team that advanced to the Elite Eight.
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