Thursday, March 30, 2017
by Alaska Anchorage Media Relations

ATLANTA (Mar. 29) – University of Alaska Anchorage associate head coach Shaina Afoa was honored Wednesday as a member of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s second annual Thirty Under 30 list, recognizing her as one of the top up-and-coming coaches at all levels of college basketball.

One of just six NCAA Div. II coaches to earn the prestigious honor this year, Afoa has been with head coach Ryan McCarthy’s staff for the past five seasons, helping build a program that has gone 133-26 during their tenure, including a DII-best 97-7 record over the last three campaigns.

A graduate of Anchorage’s Dimond High School and a former three-sport athlete at Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Central Washington, Afoa has also been a part of UAA’s three straight GNAC regular-season and tournament titles, along with a trip to the 2016 National Title Game.

“Shaina excels at her role in every facet of her job, and she’s extraordinarily deserving of this honor,” McCarthy said. “Whether it’s bench coaching, skill development, recruiting or overseeing academics, I know our program can rely on her. We would certainly not have had the success we’ve accomplished without Shaina’s contributions.”

Afoa gives the Seawolves a Thirty Under 30 honoree for the second consecutive season, joining assistant coach Alysa Horn, who made the inaugural list.

2017 WBCA Thirty Under 30 Honorees
Name, Position, Institution
Shaina Afoa, associate head coach, Alaska Anchorage

Courtney Boyd, associate head coach, Wisconsin Parkside

DeAudra Brown, assistant coach, Seward County Community College

Chelsea Carlisle, associate head coach, UC San Diego

Jessica Cavaco, assistant coach, Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham

Brittany Christian, assistant coach, Northwest Kansas Technical College

Lauren DeFalco, assistant coach, Seton Hall

Kathryn DeWitt, head coach, Dordt

Erin Dickerson, associate head coach, Towson

Megan Dzikas, assistant coach, Saint Leo

Alexandria Fuller Simmons, assistant coach, Mississippi

Danielle Gratton, assistant coach, Missouri-Kansas City

Shaun Gunnell, assistant coach, Rio Grande

Hana Haden, head, coach, Harris-Stowe State

Neil Harrow, assistant coach, Troy

Cody Hartzler, assistant coach, Baldwin Wallace

Aaron Horn, assistant coach, South Dakota

Jacie Hoyt, assistant coach, Kansas State

Olivia Lett, assistant coach, Chicago

Amanda Patton, assistant coach, West Florida

April Phillips, associate head coach, Loyola Marymount

Kris Seigenthaler, assistant coach, Auburn-Montgomery

Kyley Simmons, assistant coach, Sioux Falls

MaryLynn Skarzenski, head coach, Mitchell

Kylene Spiegel, head coach, Lawrence Tech

Kimberly Stephens, head coach, Glenville State

Adam Tandez, assistant coach, Northern Illinois

Morgan Toles, assistant coach, Kent State

Cetera Washington, assistant coach, Western Michigan

Caitlin Wetmore, assistant coach, North Carolina-Greensboro