The UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team has announced the addition of Adrian Sanders to the coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Sanders joins UCSB after spending three years on the coaching staff at Southern University, where she served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In her first season in 2018-19, she helped guide the Lady Jaguars to the 2018-19 SWAC Regular Season Championship, 2019 SWAC Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance with a 20-13 overall record and 14-4 mark in conference play. In both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns, Southern finished third in the conference regular season standings.
“We are excited to announce Adrian Sanders as our new assistant coach. Adrian’s work ethic, integrity, and commitment to the development of young women align with our core values. She brings experience in player development with perimeter players as well as success on the recruiting trail. Her energy and ability to build relationships are special. Our student-athletes are going to love working with Adrian,” said UCSB head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
“I am excited to start this new journey with the UCSB women’s basketball team. I am looking forward to being a part of everything that Coach Henrickson has in store for her program,” said Sanders.
Prior to her time at Southern, she spent one year as an assistant at Miles College in Fairfield, Ala., in which the Lady Bears finished with a 14-13 overall record and went 9-6 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The Jackson, Tenn. native spent the 2016-17 season at Southeastern Louisiana University, where she served as a volunteer video coordinator.
Before her time with the Lady Lions, she was a graduate assistant coach at Southern from 2014-16. Sanders specialized in scouting and recruiting but she was also involved in on-court instruction and the day-to-day functions of the Lady Jaguars program. In that span, the Lady Jags went 38-23 with back-to-back SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament final appearances and a berth to the WNIT in 2016.
Sanders also has coaching experience at the middle school, high school, and AAU levels.
Sanders played four years at Southern, where she amassed 950 points, 380 rebounds, 230 assists, and 125 steals. After her collegiate career ended, she served as a player/coach for the Louisiana Bayou Angels in the Women’s Blue Chip Basketball League, where her team won regional titles in 2016 and 2017.
She graduated from Southern in 2014, earning a degree in Business Marketing. She is also a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
https://www.ucsbgauchos.com/sports/w-baskbl/2020-21/releases/20210625u4v0ji
