Astou Ndiaye-Diatta Named Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach At Utah State

Utah State women’s head basketball coach Raegan Pebley announced Thursday the hiring of Astou Ndiaye-Diatta as an assistant for USU.

“I am excited that Astou has joined our program,” said Pebley. “We are thrilled that our program has been able to attract someone of her character, experience and prominence. We have had the chance to get to know one another over the past eight months and I am confident Astou is the right fit for our program.

“Additionally, Astou is highly recommended by outstanding people in our business and I feel that she is prepared to dive into this opportunity to teach, learn and be an ambassador for Utah State University.”

Ndiaye-Diatta brings eight years of professional playing experience with her to Utah State after spending the 2007 season playing with the Seattle Storm. She was drafted to the WNBA in 2001 by the Detroit Shock in the second round and was the 22nd pick overall. She spent five years with the Shock, before spending the 2004 season with the Indiana Fever and the 2006 season with the Houston Comets.

Ndiaye-Diatta also played for the Senegal National Team at the 1998 FIBA World Championships in Germany and played professionally in the Italian League during the 2001-02 WNBA off-season. She has played in four professional leagues since the fall of 1998 as she also played for the American Basketball League for the Seattle Reign from 1997-99 and the French League from 1999-2000.

“I’m excited to be here and to work with Raegan and her staff,” Ndiaye-Diatta said. “It’s my first transition step from playing to coaching and I’m looking forward to making an impact into these athletes’ lives.”

“We are lucky to have Astou enter our program as her playing career ends and her coaching career begins,” Pebley said. “I am confident she will grow into one of the finest coaches in the country. There were many people involved in helping us recruit her to Utah State. I believe that she saw the Cache Valley and Utah State community as a great place for her family and believes in the quality of our program.”

A 1997 cum laude graduate of Southern Nazerene with a bachelor’s degree in business, she currently ranks third all-time on the career scoring list, as she scored 2,126 points for the Crimson Storm from 1993-97. Ndiaye-Diatta was named a Kodak/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association NAIA All-American as a senior and was a two-time NAIA first-team All-American. She also earned the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a senior and was the league’s Defensive Player of the Year during her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.

Ndiaye-Diatta was born on Nov. 5, 1973 in Dakar, Senegal. She and her husband, Ousman, have triplets, Boubacar, Bineta and Ndiaysse, all age five.