The 2020-21 season marks Emily Ben-Jumbo's second season as an assistant coach, and third season on staff, following a four-year playing career with the Lions.
In 2019, Ben-Jumbo was promoted from Director of Operations to Assistant Coach by head coach Charity Elliott. In 2018, Ben-Jumbo returned to her alma mater to serve as the program’s Director of Basketball Operations. Ben-Jumbo helped lead the Lions to their first post season appearance in 14 years, as the team was selected to play in the WNIT.
Prior to returning to LMU, Ben-Jumbo earned her master’s degree in business management and entrepreneurship from Durham University in England in 2015-16, while playing for the women’s basketball team which was ranked No. 1 in the conference. Ben-Jumbo then went to play professionally in Luxembourg in 2016-17, Argentina in 2017 and Arequipa, Peru in 2018.
When returning to the United States, Ben-Jumbo became a NASM certified personal trainer with a specialization in performance enhancement and corrective exercises. Ben-Jumbo also has a wealth of coaching experience at the youth and high school levels.
Ben-Jumbo is from Tualatin, Ore. and graduated LMU in 2015 with a degree in communication. Playing forward, Ben-Jumbo appeared in 119 games for the Lions, which ranks in the top-10 all-time at LMU. While at LMU, the forward was named All-WCC Honorable Mention and WCC All-Academic Team. She was also the female recipient of the 2013-14 West Coast Conference’s individual sportsmanship honor as a junior, and was named team captain status as a sophomore in 2012-13.
“Since Emily graduated from LMU, I knew I’d want her back on staff,” Elliott said. “As a player and captain on our team, she was an excellent example of a Lion and what we wanted our program to be about. She was our hardest worker, extremely loyal and a tremendous leader and our current players will benefit from her playing experience and wisdom about what it means too be a part of this program. Plus, he smile and joy are infectious!”
