LMU Head Coach, Aarika Hughes, has expanded her staff for the 2024-2025 women's basketball season with five new additions. The team welcomes Brooke Atkinson, Amanda Delgado, Lindsey VanAllen, Tyler Rosen, and Ruben Rodriguez.
 
Atkinson joined LMU after spending one season as assistant coach at Cal Poly, where she helped lead the Mustangs to a fifth-ranked finish (13-7) in The Big West. Before Cal Poly, Atkinson spent two seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Wyoming. In her first season at Wyoming (2022-2023), she helped the Cowgirls secure a second-place finish in the Mountain West and a Women's NIT appearance. The following season, the Cowgirls finished third in the conference with an 11-7 and went to the WNIT again.

Before her tenure at Wyoming, Atkinson served as the head coach for the New Mexico State Aggies for five seasons, where her leadership was instrumental. She earned WAC Coach of the Year honors in the 2017-2018 season after leading the Aggies to their fourth consecutive WAC regular-season title. The next year, NMSU won the regular-season and tournament titles, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to her time at NMSU, Atkinson was an assistant coach at Colorado State for three seasons, during which the team won three consecutive Mountain West championships. She also spent three seasons at South Dakota, leading the Coyotes to three postseason appearances, including their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014. Additionally, Atkinson was an assistant coach at NMSU for eight seasons post-graduation.

Atkinson began her playing career at Western Nebraska Community College before transferring to Wichita State in 2000. She graduated from Wichita State in 2003 with a degree in elementary education and later earned a master's degree in educational curriculum from NMSU in 2008.
 
"Brooke brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the court and will impact the program immediately," says Coach Hughes. "Her recruiting ties reach from the West Coast to the Midwest to overseas. Brooke understands how to understand and connect with every kind of person, and that's huge. I'm happy we got her!"
 
Delgado joins LMU with an extensive background in creative content. She has significant experience as a graphic designer, photographer, and marketing coordinator. From 2016 to 2019, Delgado served as the director of basketball operations at UC Irvine. Before her tenure at UC Irvine, she was the director of basketball operations at New Mexico State, where her responsibilities included scheduling team activities, organizing community service events, managing social media, and handling video exchange.
 
Delgado played four years at the University of Oregon, spending three years under the guidance of NBA and WNBA Champion Paul Westhead. She concluded her collegiate career with 452 points, 131 rebounds, and 40 steals. A native of Las Vegas, NV, Delgado graduated with a degree in digital arts.
 
"Amanda is a well-decorated player and understands the elite experience," says Hughes. "She is multi-talented and has an infectious personality that I know our team will love. Her basketball background, coupled with her skill set, makes her a perfect fit for this position."
 
VanAllen joins LMU as the new director of basketball operations. VanAllen comes from the West Coast Conference office, where she served as the Men's and Women's Basketball Operations Intern. 
 
Prior to her role with the conference, VanAllen played basketball at Santa Clara University. In her senior year, she earned First Team All-WCC honors and became the 27th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points.
 
"I'm extremely excited about adding Lindsey to our staff, "says Coach Hughes. "Her familiarity as an athlete in the WCC, her passion for serving others, and her phenomenal work ethic will enhance the experience of our student-athletes and program. We are fortunate LMU is Lindsey's start of an incredibly bright future in this business."
 
Rosen is one of the newest graduate assistants from Fresno, Calif. Rosen graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in sports management in the spring of 2024. While at Michigan, he was the women's basketball team student manager, then became the head manager of the team from 2022 to 2024. On top of being the head manager, Rosen was also a sports management program peer facilitator, helping incoming sports management students transition into the program.

At LMU, Rosen will be working towards getting his master's in entrepreneurship and sustainable innovation. "I'm honored to be a part of Coach A's staff," says Rosen. "I'm incredibly excited to contribute to the culture and grow with the program. I look forward to working with the team and seeing what the future holds."
 
Rodriguez is the other graduate assistant joining the team. Rodriguez is from Los Angeles, Calif., and graduated from UCLA in summer 2024 with a bachelor's in applied mathematics. While at UCLA, he worked with the women's basketball team as an analytics intern and practice player. Rodriguez also worked part-time as an assistant athletic director at Geffen Academy at UCLA. He plans to start the M.A. in teaching mathematics program at LMU.

"I'm extremely happy to stay in LA (at LMU) and be allowed the opportunity to continue pursuing both of my passions: teaching math and teaching basketball," says Rodriguez. "I'm excited to learn and work with our amazing coaching staff as we look to keep pushing this program forward."
 
 
Catch the Lions this fall at Gersten Pavilion, where they will kick off the 2024-25 season. Tickets will be on sale soon.
 
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