Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Announces Departure Of Head Women’s Basketball Coach Amy Wright To Alabama
4/30/2026 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Beach to conduct national search as Wright accepts associate head coach position with the Crimson Tide
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State Athletics announced today that Head Women's Basketball Coach Amy Wright has accepted an associate head coach position at the University of Alabama, concluding her tenure leading the Beach program.
Wright departs Long Beach State after three seasons at the helm, where she guided the program to back-to-back appearances in the Big West Championship tournament in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
"On behalf of Long Beach State Athletics, I want to thank Coach Wright for her years of leadership, hard work, and commitment to our student-athletes," said Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Smitheran. "We wish Amy nothing but success in this next chapter of her coaching career. This is an important moment for Long Beach State Women's Basketball, and we are energized by the opportunity to identify a new leader who will elevate our program and position us for sustained success. Our women's basketball program has a proud history, great potential, and we will embark on a national search immediately to advance Beach Basketball."
In her first season, Wright led Long Beach State to a semifinal appearance in the Big West Championship tournament and coached three players to all-conference recognition. Jada Crawshaw earned All-Freshman Team honors, while Sydney Woodley was named to the All-Defensive Team and received Honorable Mention recognition alongside Casey Valenti-Paea.
In the 2024-25 season, Long Beach State led the conference in team scoring, highlighted by Savannah Tucker's First Team All-Big West selection as the league's leading scorer at 18.45 points per game in conference play. The Beach also produced three All-Big West selections, while Mykelle Richards and JaQuoia Jones-Brown earned All-Freshman Team honors.
Academically and individually, the Beach continued to excel in 2025-26. JaQuoia Jones-Brown earned All-Big West Honorable Mention recognition while Kennan Ka added CSC Academic All-District honors. Long Beach State also placed five student-athletes on the Big West Winter Academic All-Conference Team, including Jones-Brown, Ka, Christy Reynoso, Tairat Samuel-Afolabi, and Haley Wright.
A national search for Long Beach State's next head women's basketball coach will begin immediately.
Wright departs Long Beach State after three seasons at the helm, where she guided the program to back-to-back appearances in the Big West Championship tournament in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
"On behalf of Long Beach State Athletics, I want to thank Coach Wright for her years of leadership, hard work, and commitment to our student-athletes," said Executive Director of Athletics Bobby Smitheran. "We wish Amy nothing but success in this next chapter of her coaching career. This is an important moment for Long Beach State Women's Basketball, and we are energized by the opportunity to identify a new leader who will elevate our program and position us for sustained success. Our women's basketball program has a proud history, great potential, and we will embark on a national search immediately to advance Beach Basketball."
In her first season, Wright led Long Beach State to a semifinal appearance in the Big West Championship tournament and coached three players to all-conference recognition. Jada Crawshaw earned All-Freshman Team honors, while Sydney Woodley was named to the All-Defensive Team and received Honorable Mention recognition alongside Casey Valenti-Paea.
In the 2024-25 season, Long Beach State led the conference in team scoring, highlighted by Savannah Tucker's First Team All-Big West selection as the league's leading scorer at 18.45 points per game in conference play. The Beach also produced three All-Big West selections, while Mykelle Richards and JaQuoia Jones-Brown earned All-Freshman Team honors.
Academically and individually, the Beach continued to excel in 2025-26. JaQuoia Jones-Brown earned All-Big West Honorable Mention recognition while Kennan Ka added CSC Academic All-District honors. Long Beach State also placed five student-athletes on the Big West Winter Academic All-Conference Team, including Jones-Brown, Ka, Christy Reynoso, Tairat Samuel-Afolabi, and Haley Wright.
A national search for Long Beach State's next head women's basketball coach will begin immediately.
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