Adia Barnes has found her third assistant coach. After recently losing April Phillips, the Arizona head coach announced the addition of Oklahoma State assistant Ashley Davis to take over the third spot on the Wildcats' coaching staff.
Davis will join UA after six seasons in Stillwater where she helped the team reach the postseason four times with three NCAA Tournament appearances. She also made stops at North Texas, where she was briefly the associate head coach, and Georgetown earlier in her career.
The new UA assistant will give the Wildcats another connection to Texas as she is a San Antonio native who played at TCU. The Wildcats hired USC assistant Erin Grant, another Texas native, earlier in the offseason.
“I am excited to welcome Ashley Davis to our family,” Barnes said in a statement. “Ashley has worked in this business for over a decade and brings a ton of experience on the floor and on the recruiting trail. She is aligned with this program as far as her values, work ethic and integrity, and I love Ashley’s energy, enthusiasm and her desire to want to make Arizona better.
"Our student-athletes are going to love her and I have no doubt she will represent the program with a championship mentality. I saw what she did at Oklahoma State over the last six years and I know that she is a star in this industry.”
She helped coach four All-Americans, five All-Big 12 selections, three WNBA Draft picks and five 1,000-point scorers during her time in Stillwater. Davis also helped recruit and coach Braxtin Miller, who was on the Big 12 All-Freshman team and became an All-American.
“The University of Arizona is a very special place,” Davis said. “Coach Barnes is the best coach in the country and I am honored to be a part of this program. I am looking forward to building relationships with our student-athletes, alumni, the Arizona Athletic department and the Tucson community. I can’t wait to get started.”
Phillips returned to Arizona this offseason after a stint at Cal but was pulled away to Texas not long after rejoining the the Wildcats leaving an opening on Barnes' bench. Grant was hired after Jackie Nared Hairston decided to leave UA for Oregon after the season.
UA came within one basket of winning the National Championship this spring, but Barnes has had to retool her roster after losing key players Aari McDonald and Trinity Baptiste. Arizona has added key transfers this season, including Oregon's Taylor Chavez and Vanderbilt's Koi Love, while it remains in pursuit of USC transfer Endiya Rogers.
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