(TUCSON, AZ) Head women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes announced the addition of assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Tamisha Augustin and assistant coach Jackie Nared to her coaching staff on Friday. Augustin has been an assistant coach for six different programs and has proven to be a standout recruiter while Nared has worked exclusively in the Pac-12 with Washington State, Oregon and Washington.
“Today I’m excited to welcome Tamisha Augustin and Jackie Nared to our Wildcat Family,” Barnes said. “I fought hard to be able to hire these two high-character women that will bring value to our program. Tamisha and Jackie will create a dynamic coaching and recruiting duo and with these two by my side, there is no doubt we can compete with anyone.”
Tamisha Augustin/Photo Cincinnati Bearcats
Augustin last coached at Cincinnati during the 2017-18 season, where the Bearcats won 19 games and earned a bid to the WNIT. As Recruiting Coordinator, Augustin helped bring in a class which included two players who continue to earn AAC honors.
“I am excited and humbled for the opportunity to represent the University of Arizona,” said Augustin. “I want to thank the administration for giving me this tremendous opportunity. Adia is a proven winner with infectious energy and is a fierce competitor. She has been able to return this program to national recognition and what she has done is certainly praiseworthy. It is an honor to be part of something special that is on the rise in women’s basketball. The Pac-12 is a premier conference with elite coaches and we will continue to develop student-athletes at a championship level. I am beyond thrilled to become a part of the Arizona Wildcats community.”
“Tamisha brings experience and has deep, national recruiting ties,” Barnes said. “She is an elite coach, an all-star recruiter and is hungry for success. Her work ethic and attention to detail stood out to me and I knew I wanted her to be a part of our team.”
Prior to her stint at Cincinnati, Augustin coached at Minnesota where she helped groom All-Big Ten Second Team honoree Carlie Wagner and All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection Kenisha Bell while helping direct the Golden Gophers to a Big Ten Tournament first-round win over Penn State.
During the summer of 2016, Augustin was one of 14 assistant coaches from around the country chosen to participate in Advocates for Athletic Equity’s (AAE) annual “Achieving Coaching Excellence” (ACE) Professional Development Program. The program is recognized as helping to boost the careers of some of the top minority coaches in the college game.
Prior, Augustin was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at UCF from 2014-16. She oversaw a stellar 2014-15 season for Zykira Lewis, who earned all-league second team recognition, set a UCF season record with 86 three pointers and averaged 18.9 points per game. As recruiting coordinator, Augustin helped bring in a class which included two players who continue to earn AAC honors. Additionally, Augustin signed the Knights’ 2016 top-ranked recruiting class according to Dan Olson’s Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
Previously, as an assistant, she was part of one of VCU’s best seasons in program history in 2013-14. The Rams went 22-10, their sixth 20-win season ever, and earned a berth in the WNIT. Augustin was part of current Texas Tech head coach Marlene Stollings’ VCU staff that saw the Rams set program records of 75.8 points per game and 235 made 3-pointers.
Augustin spent the 2012-13 season at Marshall before joining the VCU staff. In her stay with the Thundering Herd she signed a top-100 recruit. As an assistant at South Carolina State from 2010-12, Augustin helped coach two all-conference selections in Whitney Wiley and Cabriel Duren. She also signed junior college All-American Brittany Cochran. Before getting into college coaching, she gained experience on the Nike Circuit and high school levels.
As a student-athlete, Augustin competed at Alabama A&M from 2002-06 where she was a two-time All-SWAC shooting guard and a four-time captain. An injury ended Augustin’s subsequent professional playing career after she became the first American to play for KSC-Szekszard in Hungary. Augustin graduated from Alabama A&M with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 2005. She earned a master’s degree in microbiology there in 2007, and would earn another master’s in education from Regent University in 2010.
Jackie Nared/photo University of Oregon
Nared spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Washington State under Kamie Ethridge. She had a hand in the success of Borislava Hristova and Chanelle Molina, who both earned All-Pac-12 honors while Molina was also named Pac-12 All-Defense. Hristova finished the season as the Pac-12’s third-leading scorer at 20.2 points per game while Molina scored 15.6 per game.
“I am honored and excited to continue my coaching career at the University of Arizona,” said Nared. “I want to thank coach Adia Barnes and the administration for this opportunity. I was fortunate to work alongside Adia in 2016 when our team made a Final Four run with the University of Washington. She has proven herself to be one of the best in women’s basketball, both on and off the court, including the recent success celebrated with a WNIT championship. I can’t wait to get on the basketball court with our student-athletes and become an integral part of their continued success. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to work for a world class academic institution and an elite women’s basketball program.”
“I’ve known Jackie for many years and she will be a rock star in this business,” Barnes said. “She played at an elite level, has been a part of different championship programs and knows what it takes to be the best. Her ability to develop players on the court and mentor them off the court is directly in line with the foundation of this program.”
Prior to coaching at Washington State, Nared spent the 2017-18 season at Oregon where she was the Director of Creativity and Video. Charged with creating scout film on Oregon opponents, Nared helped lead Oregon to its first-ever Elite Eight.
Nared also spent two years at Washington as the Director of Player Development prior to her stint at Oregon, which included a run to the Final Four while Barnes was an assistant coach at Washington.
In addition to her work experience in the Pac-12, Nared brings a stellar playing resume to Arizona. A two-time First Team All-WCC selection, Nared played at and graduated from Saint Mary’s College where she dominated the West Coast Conference for the Gaels. In her final two seasons, Nared led the league in scoring at 16.6 points per game as a junior and 21.8 points per game as a senior, the sixth-best scoring season in WCC history.
In addition to her collegiate excellence, Nared took her abilities overseas where she played in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland and Waregem, Belgium. She would earn Guard of the Year, First Team All-League and Import Player First Team Recognition in her two seasons playing professionally.
Courtesy of Arizona Communication Services
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