Beeman Named New Women’s Basketball Coach at Hawaii

New UH women's basketball coach Laura Beeman was introduced to Maui volleyball fans Friday during intermission of the Hawaii-Nebraska spring exhibition volleyball match. Photo by Rodney S. Yap.

By Rodney S. Yap

Laura Beeman was selected as the new women’s basketball head coach at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Friday. UH Athletics Director Jim Donovan introduced Beeman at a press conference at Les Murakami Stadium and later at War Memorial Gymnasium on Maui.

Beeman boasts nearly 20 years of coaching experience on the both the collegiate and professional level. The San Bernardino, Calif., native established herself as one of the best junior college coaches in the nation before enjoying similar success as an assistant coach at USC and with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

“We are very pleased to hire a coach that has the vast experience and success that Coach Beeman has achieved,” says Donovan. “Not only does she have a personality that will fit well in Hawaii and a proven track record, Coach Beeman has extensive recruiting contacts in California which will be a huge plus for us as we head into the Big West Conference next season.”

Beeman, 43, is the eighth head coach since the program’s inception in 1974 and the third female head coach in its history.

Donovan later introduced Beeman during intermission of the Rainbow Wahine spring exhibition volleyball match at War Memorial Gym. Donovan said the school would like to return to Maui with the women’s basketball team in the future.

“It was kind of like the stars aligned a little bit and I felt this was the right position for me,” Beeman said. “We’d definitely like to make a name for ourselves immediately in the Big West and try to get into the NCAA Tournament. We want to play a level of basketball that’s enjoyable to watch, that people want to come to see us play and fans want to support these young women.”

Beeman spent the last two seasons at USC as associate head coach under Michael Cooper where they re-established the Women of Troy as a PAC-12 power. There she helped quickly revitalize the program with 42 combined wins in the last two years. In her first season, the team finished 24-13 and advanced to the WNIT Championship game. The team ultimately finished with the program’s best record in 17 years.

The Women of Troy garnered an 18-win season this past year, including a six-game win streak to finish the regular season. In just two years, Beeman coached nearly half dozen all-conference players, while also helping put together back-to-back nationally ranked recruiting classes.

Beeman and Cooper had previously worked together for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. As an assistant under Cooper that season she helped lead the Sparks to the Western Conference Finals after a one-year absence from the postseason. While with the Sparks, Beeman coached the No. 1 pick Candace Parker along with veteran All-Stars Lisa Leslie and DeLisha Milton-Jones.

Prior to her stint with the Trojans, Beeman made her mark at the junior college level where she enjoyed a phenomenally successful 15-year run as the head coach at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC). There she led the Mounties to 10 conference championships and four California Community College State Championships—including a string of three straight from 2006-08. Beeman was selected conference Coach of the Year four times and was voted the district and regional coach of the year in 2001. She led Mt. SAC to a school-best 37-1 record in both the 2007 and 2008 season. During her tenure with the Mounties, she produced 80 all-conference selections, 24 all-state selections, and 10 all-region selections. Beeman posted a 390-110 (.780) record during her tenure at Mt. SAC.

As a player, Beeman was an All-American guard at Cal State San Bernardino where she set the career, season and game assist records. She graduated in 1992 with a degree in business administration from CS San Bernardino and later earned a master’s degree in education with an emphasis on counseling from the University of Redlands. She earned a second master’s degree in education with an emphasis in physical education from Azuza Pacific University.

Laura Beeman. Photo UH Athletics.

The Beeman File

Hometown: San Bernardino, Calif.

Education

Cal State San Bernardino, 1992, Bachelor of Arts in business marketing

University of Redlands, 1994, Master’s of Education, counseling

Azusa Pacific, 1996, Master’s of Education, physical education

Playing Experience

Cal State San Bernardino, 1989-92, point guard

Coaching Experience

2010-12   USC, Assistant Coach

2008-09   Los Angeles Sparks, Assistant Coach

1994-2010 Mt. San Antonio College, Head Coach

1992-94   University of Redlands, Assistant Coach

Coaching Highlights

As a head coach …

– Won four California Community College State Championships (2004, ’06, ’07, ’08)

– Won 10 South Coast Conference Championships

– Participated in the post season in all 15 seasons

– Compiled an overall record of 390-110 (.780)

– Maintained a 96% matriculation rate for her student athletes

As an assistant coach…

– Helped lead USC to its best record in 17 years with 24 wins

– Helped lead USC to the 2011 WNIT Championship game

– Helped USC reel in two nationally ranked recruiting classes (#8 – 2010, #14 – 2011)

– Helped lead the Los Angeles Sparks to the 2008 Western Conference Finals

Has coached…

– 7 McDonald’s All-Americans

– 5 All-PAC-12 Players

– 3 Kodak All-Americans

– 2 Olympic Gold Medalists

Awards and Honors

– WBCA District 8 Coach of the Year (2008)

– Three-time South Coast Conference Coach of the Year (2000, ’06, ’07)

– Southern California Coach of the Year (2000)