Teams hire coaches
Two new assistant coaches have been hired for Utah State’s women’s basketball program to fill vacancies, and the men’s team has also added a member to its staff.
Kristy Baker-Flores and Ryan Johnson were hired over the summer by USU women’s head coach Raegan Pebley and Don Holst was hired by men’s head coach Stew Morrill.
Holst was the head coach of the University of Montana for from 1999-2002 where he was 57-56. He has not coached since then.
He said even though he has been out of the game for a few years, the game is still the same.
“Basketball is basketball,” he said. “Every day is something new.”
Holst, who was an assistant coach under Morrill at Montana, said he is very impressed with the support the basketball program gets from the community.
“It’s not just Stew that makes this program what it is,” he said. “It’s everyone who likes USU basketball. I’m happy to be a part of it all.”
Holst said he especially likes the student involvement.
“USU has the best student support in the West,” he said. “I’m impressed with the attitude. The university is for the students, so it’s their basketball team.”
He said he is very much looking forward to seeing a game in the Spectrum with five to six thousand students.
“That is absolutely wild,” he said. “That’s what gets people up and cheering.”
Johnson spent the last year as the director of basketball operations for the women’s basketball team at Colorado State.
“It was a great experience working with the coach out there,” he said. “But the opportunity came to work with coach Pebley at USU. I’m excited to be a coach.”
Johnson said the USU program has a lot to offer as an assistant coach.
“There is a great staff here,” he said. “This program is on the rise and jumping into the Western Athletic Conference. To be a part of that is something I can’t pass up.”
Johnson said this is not the first time he has been on the same campus as Pebley.
“I first met coach Pebley when my sister played at CSU,” he said. “She was an assistant there. And I had certainly heard of her when she played at Colorado.”
Johnson’s hiring was the last of a domino effect in the women’s team coaching staff over the summer. George Brosky was promoted to fill the vacancy left by Bradley Dance, who resigned. Johnson will take the position formerly held by Brosky.
Baker-Flores was hired in May to replace Tricia Binford, who was hired as the head coach of Montana State’s women’s basketball team.
Baker-Flores was an assistant coach at Cal Poly for three years after playing there for four. While she was an assistant, Cal Poly went 35-47.
She was unavailable for comment because she is in Australia.
-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu