Gayle Coats Returns To The NEC As An Assistant Women's Basketball Coach At Mount St. Mary's

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Mount St. Mary's University women's basketball head coach Bryan Whitten has announced the hiring of Gayle Coats as an assistant coach.

Coats returns to her Northeast Conference (NEC) roots after a four-year playing career at Fairleigh Dickinson. A 2007 graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson, Coats comes to the Mount after serving as an assistant coach at UNC Greensboro last season. In her one year with the Spartans, Coats assisted with recruiting, scouting, game preparation, practice planning and player development along with serving as the team's academic liaison.

"I am extremely excited to add Gayle to our staff," said Whitten. "I have known Gayle for a few years and have always admired her work ethic. The name of the game is recruiting and Gayle does an excellent job in that area. Having been a former recruiting coordinator, she knows effort it takes to land top prospects and will be an invaluable addition to our staff. She is also good with X's & O's, player development, and scouting as well. We are looking forward to Gayle's contributions to our program."

Prior to her time in Greensboro, N.C., Coats started in the collegiate coaching ranks at Longwood University for four seasons. Serving as the recruiting coordinator in her time with the Lancers, Coats coached and recruited one All-Independent first-team selection, two All-Independent second-team selections, an All-Newcomer and two players that received honorable mention. In her first season, the Farmville, Va., program went 16-13 to notch the program's best win total in its Division I era.

"I am thrilled about the opportunity to work for Coach Whitten and Mount St. Mary's University," said Coats. "I have known him for a few years and always been impressed with his work ethic, knowledge of the game, and his vision for the program. I am very excited to learn from him and his staff."

She also served as the Assistant Video Coordinator during the 2007 season for the WNBA's New York Liberty. With the Liberty, Coats assisted with the scouting reports of the opponents and with film exchange. She also served as an AAU coach for three teams from 2002-2007 and was the basketball trainer/assistant strength coach for the U-Turn Sports Performance Academy.

A four-year letterwinner at Fairleigh Dickinson, Coats helped the Knights to NEC Tournament berths in her freshman and senior campaigns. Coats appeared in 92 games with 38 starts, 219 points 127 rebounds, 148 assists and 87 steals in her career. She averaged 5.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team in assists (71) and steals (39) in her senior campaign. A co-captain and a member of the NEC Academic Honor during her tenure in Teaneck, Coats graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2007 with a 3.5 grade-point average.