UC Riverside

2007 & 2016 Big West Conference Coach of the Year

Head Coach John Margaritis has taken the Highlanders women’s basketball team to new heights in his 14 seasons in Riverside. As he goes into his 15th season, Margaritis continues to rewrite the UCR record books averaging 15.4 wins per season and making the postseason on six occassions (three NCAA Tournament appearances and three WNIT appearances). The Highlanders have won three Big West Tournament titles and two Big West Conference regular season title during Margaritis’ UC Riverside tenure, and he was named Big West Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2016. Magaritis was also elected to the AHEPA Sports Hall of Fame in the summer of 2016.

During his time in the Inland Empire, Margaritis helped develop Kemie Nkele into a four-time First-Team All-Big West Conference award winner, two-time Big West Player of the Year and one-time Defensive Player of the Year. Nkele and former Highlanders Seyram Gbewonyo and Katerina Glyniadaki continued their basketball careers at the professional level playing in Greece. He also developed shooting guard Brittany Crain, who became the schools all-time leading scorer and three-point shooter. Crain, also a two-time Big West Player of the Year winner, is the only player in Big West history to lead the league in scoring for three seasons and was a WBCA All-Region nominee for the NCAA Division I Coaches All-American Team.