Wildcats bring back April Phillips, add USC’s Erin Grant to coaching staff – Arizona Daily Star

On Wednesday afternoon, Arizona’s women’s basketball coach announced she had hired Cal’s April Phillips and USC’s Erin Grant to the coaching staff. The two replace Tamika Augustin and Jackie Nared-Hariston, who coached alongside Barnes and lead assistant Salvo Coppa in this year’s national championship game. Augustin is headed to Mississippi State, and Nared-Hairston is expected to land at Oregon.

Barnes said in a news release that she instantly knew both were right for the program. The Wildcats are weeks removed from their first-ever Final Four appearance.

“Right now we have a tremendous amount of momentum at Arizona, and I knew we needed to hire the best coaches in the country,” Barnes said in a press release. “After running a national search, I knew that April Phillips and Erin Grant were the best women for the job.

“I love working with coaches that are former players because they will bring different experiences, and both April and Erin will bring that to the table. I believe we have the best staff in the Pac-12 that will take us to the next level to bring home a national championship.”

Phillips was part of the UA’s staff that won the 2019 WNIT Championship. Phillips had served as recruiting coordinator and coach for Cal, helping bring in back-to-back top-10 recruiting classes. Prior to her first stint at the UA, Phillips spent two years at Loyola Marymount, was an assistant at University of New Haven and a graduate assistant at Georgia. She was a two-time member of Women’s Basketball Coaches Association “30 Under 30” list.

Phillips’ connection to Barnes runs deep. Phillips played at Xavier for coach Kevin McGuff (now at Ohio State) and assistant coach Mike Neighbors (now at Arkansas). McGuff gave Barnes her first opportunity to coach, at Washington; Barnes stayed with the Huskies when Neighbors’ replaced him in Seattle.

Phillips began her coaching career at Seton Hall as coordinator of basketball operations under Anne Donovan, a women’s basketball legend who coached Barnes with WNBA’s Seattle Storm.

“When we needed to hire another assistant coach, April was the first person that came to mind,” Barnes said. “I know her, I trust her, and we have a very good relationship.

“April and I both chose Arizona twice and we are thrilled to have her back a second time. She is the best recruiter on the West Coast and one of the best in the country, but she is much more than just a recruiter. April is a very talented coach with a great basketball mind, and she is going to take us to another level.”

Grant spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at USC. She helped bring in a top-10 recruiting class this past November, and has been integral in steering top transfers to the program.

“Erin is a fantastic addition to our staff,” Barnes said. “Her player development stands out to me, she is a great recruiter, and overall a very talented coach. Not only was Erin an All-American and a professional, she is one of the best players to come out of the state of Texas, and her experiences on and off the court will be incredibly valuable for our program.

“Who she is and what she stands for directly aligns with our family at Arizona, and I can’t wait to get started with her because the future is extremely bright.”

Grant’s coaching career has taken her to UT Arlington, Memphis, New Mexico and her alma mater, Texas Tech. As a professional player she was MVP of the Swedish championship with Stockholm 08, and played one season with the Houston Comets in the WNBA. During her All-American college career at Texas Tech, she was a two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection, the 2003 Big 12 co-Freshman of the Year, and a three-time All-Academic First Team honoree.

Both Augustin and Nared-Hairston had been with Arizona for two seasons.

Nared-Hairston is expected to fill the spot left vacant when Oregon assistant Mark Campbell took the head coaching position at Sacramento State. She was on Ducks coach Kelly Graves’ staff during the 2017-18 as the Director of Creativity and Video.

Prior to joining UA, she spent one season at Washington State as assistant coach and was with Washington as Director of Player Development for two seasons.

Former UA assistant Morgan Valley has joined the UConn staff as an assistant. Valley is a former UConn player who won three national championships during her college career. The opening was created when Shea Ralph was named head coach at Vanderbilt. Valley left Arizona two years ago to become head coach at Hartford.

USC coach Mark Trakh announced his retirement. He coached nine years and two stints with the program.

The Atlanta Dream, which drafted Aari McDonald last week, has parted ways with president and general manager Chris Sienko.