Vanderbilt head coach announced the hiring of Wendale Farrow as an assistant coach on Wednesday.
Farrow comes to Nashville after spending the past two seasons at UCLA, where he was a member of head coach Cori Close’s staff and served a variety of roles for the Bruins. Farrow was the team’s Video Coordinator, Community Service Liaison and served as an interim assistant coach for recruiting. Last season, he helped lead the Bruins to the WNIT championship.
“I am thrilled to welcome Wendale Farrow to our coaching staff,” said Balcomb. “He is a tremendous addition to our program, and he will be a great ambassador for Vanderbilt University. He has the drive and work ethic that are so important to a championship basketball program. He will inject a lot of energy and enthusiasm into this team. I am excited for our players to know Coach Farrow, and I believe he will contribute significantly to their excellence.”
Farrow — who was born in Sacramento, Calif., and played college basketball at Eastern Michigan — said he is excited about the new experiences that the Vanderbilt job presents.
“This is a great opportunity for me,” said Farrow. “I am so excited to be joining a program that already has a great foundation of success, but is also striving to reach new heights. Coach Balcomb has done great things with the program, and I look forward to being a part of that. I think this will be the perfect place, and the perfect program, for me to build myself as a young coach.”
Farrow’s responsibilities at UCLA included overseeing the team’s community service efforts and working as the scout team adviser. Farrow also served as the Camp Director, and under his leadership, the Bruins’ saw a 20 percent increase in the number of participants.
Farrow played college basketball at Eastern Michigan during his junior and senior seasons after playing two seasons at American River (Calif.) Junior College. He graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2009 and earned his Master of Arts in Educational Leadership Student Affairs from EMU in 2013.
Farrow was named to the All-Academic District team while at EMU, and was a two-year letter-winner at American River. After college, Farrow stayed on at EMU as a graduate manager from 2010-2012. He then worked as an Academic Mentor at the University of Michigan during the 2012-13 school year.
Although the move to Nashville will include numerous adjustments for Farrow — such as a new zip code and time zone — he said he is looking forward to the transition.
“There is so much to be excited about,” said Farrow. “Vanderbilt is a great academic institution, so that was very appealing for me. Also, Nashville is a gorgeous, and very diverse, city that is really growing. And most importantly, getting the chance to be a part of the Vanderbilt program, and work on Coach Balcomb’s staff, is a great opportunity for me.”
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