University of Detroit Mercy Women's Basketball

Juanita Cochran was named Assistant Coach for the Detroit Mercy women’s basketball team in July 2022. Her responsibilities will include assisting with recruiting and serving as the team’s academic liaison and campus housing coordinator. In 2024-25, the Titans went 15-15 overall and 8-12 in #HLWBB play. Detroit Mercy earned a No. 6 seed in the Horizon League Tournament, and earned a First Round victory over No. 11 Milwaukee at Calihan Hall. The Titans began the #HLWBB campaign 4-0 for the first time since the 1996-97 season following a New Year's Day win over IU Indy at Calihan Hall. UDM finished the year with an 11-5 record inside historic Calihan Hall. Cochran was a part of a staff that saw three players earn All-Horizon League honors, as Aaliyah McQueen and Emaia O'Brien earned Third Team All-Horizon League, while Kailey Starks was named to the All-Freshman team.  Cochran helped the coaching staff completely transform the program leading Detroit Mercy to a 17-16 (9-11 HL) record during the 2023-24 campaign, marking the first winning season since the 2016-17 season. The 12-win improvement over last year was the biggest turnaround in school history and one of the top in the nation as the Titans won just 19 total games the previous six years combined. UDM's nine #HLWBB wins were also the most since the 2016-17 season, including wins over 2023-24 #HLWBB Regular Season champion Cleveland State and third-place finisher Purdue Fort Wayne. Additionally, No. 6 seed Detroit Mercy's 59-48 first-round win over No. 11 seed RMU was their first #HLWBB Championship first-round victory since the 2016-17 season. Under Cochran's guidance during the 2022-23 campaign, the women's hoops squad increased their win total by four games beginning with a win over Canisius which snapped a 24-game home court losing skid. The Titans also secured a series sweep over Robert Morris in #HLWBB play and also upset defending league champion IUPUI for the first time in program history. Additionally, Amaya Burch (the coaching staff's first recruit) earned All-Freshman Team honors after scoring in double-figures 12 times while grabbing 10 boards or more in three games. She also led the team in 3-pointers made (29) while ranking second with three double-doubles and third in rebounds per game (4.7).   Cochran also currently serves as an assistant coach with the Detroit Queens of the Global Women’s Basketball Association where her responsibilities include creating scouting reports on opponents, detailing player personnel offensive and defensive tendencies and strategies while serving as the team’s Community Service Liaison.   Prior to joining the Titans, Cochran was a Physical Education Teacher for University Prep Science and Math Elementary School (2021) and Regent Park Academy (K-8) from 2019-2021. She also served as an assistant coach with Wayne County Community College for two seasons (2020-22) where she helped the team increase their win total from two to 17 in a two-year span.   Cochran also spent time as an Assistant Coach helping lead Detroit Renaissance High School to a 22-2 record, first City Championship since 2011 and District title during the 2019-2020 season before the COVID-19 shutdown derailed their state title aspirations. She helped develop Kailee Davis who earned 2020 Miss PSL, Basketball Coaches Association (BCAM) All-State and All-Detroit First Team honors and currently plays for Northern Kentucky.   She served as an Assistant Coach for the Michigan Crossover (Nike Girls EYBL) for over five years helping with player development and led the 16U team to a final ranking of 13th in the country out of 32 teams.   Cochran earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication in 2014 from Wayne State University where she was a standout women’s basketball student-athlete for two seasons from 2011-2013 earning team Co-MVP honors both years.   During her senior campaign, Cochran earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Second-Team honors and was named to the 2013 GLIAC All-Tournament team after helping lead the Warriors to a to 2012-13 North Division championship and conference tournament runner up finish. She went on to earn 2013 NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team honors after helping WSU to the program’s second berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament and first ever NCAA Tournament win in program history.   After Wayne State, she served as an Assistant Coach for Lawrence Tech University during the 2016-17 season where she helped guide the team to 18 wins before heading returning to WSU as a graduate assistant.   Cochran earned a Master’s in Sports Administration Degree in 2019 after serving as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Warriors for two seasons (2017-19).   Cochran is daughter of Mother Jonette Cochran-Davis (Willie Davis) and Father Phillip Lucas (Catina Lucas) and oldest of six siblings. She and her pet Yorkie Poodle, Giannis, reside in Allen Park, Mich.

Antonio Capaldi joined the Detroit Mercy Women’s Basketball staff as an Assistant Coach in July 2024. His first year on staff saw the Titans go 15-15 overall and 8-12 in #HLWBB play. Detroit Mercy earned a No. 6 seed in the Barbasol Horizon League Championship, and earned a First Round home victory over No. 11 Milwaukee inside historic Calihan Hall. UDM finished the year with an 11-5 home record, their best record at home since the 2012-13 season. Capaldi helped coach three players to All-Horizon League honors, as Aaliyah McQueen and Emaia O'Brien earned Third Team All-Conference, while Kailey Starks was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team.    Before joining the Titans, Capaldi spent two seasons as an Assistant Coach on the women's basketball staff at Alma College in Michigan.   In his two-year tenure, Capaldi aided in the development of three All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) selections in Taylor Sas (First Team and Second Team) and Brooke LeRoux (Second Team).   During the 2023-24 campaign, Capaldi helped lead the Scots to a 9-7 MIAA mark and 13-13 overall record with historic wins over two ranks opponents in No. 4 Hope College and No. 21 Wittenberg University for the first time since 1993.   Prior to Alma, Capaldi was an Assistant Coach with the Concordia (Mich.) women’s basketball staff under then-Head Coach and current Titans’ Associate Head Coach and Co-Recruiting Coordinator, Kiefer Haffey.   During the 2021-22 season, Capaldi helped guide the Cardinals to a 19-12 record with a 14-6 record in Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play. The 19 wins were the program’s highest total since 2018, and the 14 conference victories were the most since 2012. The team led the WHAC in rebounding and 3-point percentage and was ranked nationally in rebounding margin, free throws made, and free throws attempted.   Additionally, Capaldi helped Alize Tripp earn WHAC First-Team and National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Third-Team honors and Julia Hurt to a WHAC All-Freshman Team selection.   From 2019-2021, Capaldi served as a Student Assistant at Madonna University (Mich.) with the men’s basketball program helping with player skill development and team logistics.   During the 2019-20 season, he helped the Crusaders qualify for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament for the second straight season with a 25-9 record and assisted in the development of two NAIA All-Americans in Dwight Burton and Josh Reynolds. He also helped Henry Speight and Mark Mettie earn ALL-WHAC honors during the 20-21 campaign.   Capaldi, a native of Eastpointe, Mich., earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science Degree from Madonna and was a student-athlete on the men’s basketball team for two seasons helping the Crusaders qualify for the NAIA tournament and secure two wins over nationally ranked Indiana Tech as a senior and three additional wins over ranked opponents during his junior season.   Prior to Madonna, Capaldi was a student-athlete on the Macomb Community College men’s basketball team that won the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) State Championship and qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament for the first time in program history during his sophomore campaign. Additionally, he shot a season-best 5-for-5 from 3-point range against UM-Dearborn and ranked top 30 in the country in 3-point percentage as a freshman.  

Kayla Bridges joined the Detroit Mercy women’s basketball staff as a Graduate Student Assistant Coach in May 2025.   Prior to Detroit Mercy, Bridges served as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Wayne State women's basketball coaching staff in 2024-25 after joining as a Volunteer Assistant Coach in November of 2023 for Head Coach Carrie Lohr.   In her first season on Coach Lohr's staff, WSU compiled a 16-12 mark, had 10 GLIAC All-Academic honorees, and was recognized by the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) and given "Special Mention" for posting a team GPA of at least 3.0. In addition, Shea Tripp was a First-Team All-GLIAC selection, while Gabi Lutchka was voted to the All-GLIAC Second Team.   Bridges was a two-time Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) All-Academic Team selection as a WSU women’s basketball team student-athlete. She graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health from WSU in December of 2018, and served as a Medical Case Manager for Henry Ford Hospital in 2017.   Bridges also spent five years (2015-2019) as the Varsity Assistant Coach at Plymouth High School before returning to her alma mater as the Head Varsity Coach at Canton High School in 2020-21. During her five-year tenure, Bridges led the Chiefs from a 1-20 start to winning 19 games and a district championship for the first time in 10 years during the 2023-24 season.   She currently serves as a coach for the U17 Michigan Crossover and also spent four years (2020-2023) as an AAU head coach for 1Nation/Michigan Anarchy.   Bridges, a native of Canton, Mich. was a four-year letter winner for the women’s basketball team earning All-Kensington Lakes Athletic Association South Division, Class A All-State Fourth Team, Detroit Free Press All-West Third Team, and All-Observerland Second Team honors as a senior helping the Chiefs to the Class A semifinals in 2010 (23-3 record) and again in 2011 (24-3 record).

Kevin Mondro returned to Detroit Mercy as a part of the Women’s Basketball staff as an Assistant Coach in May 2025.   Mondro is a 1997 graduate of Detroit Mercy, earning three basketball letters while playing for the Titans, and brings over 20 years of Division I experience, including seven postseason appearances.   After graduation, Mondro joined the UDM staff as a director of basketball operations for four years before being promoted to a full-time assistant position in 1998-99. He was on the staff for 11 years, the final five as the associate head coach. He was also the interim head coach for the second half of the 2007-08 season when Head Coach Perry Watson took a leave of absence.   During his coaching stint for the Titans, Mondro was part of the staff that posted four straight 20-plus win seasons, including qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in both 1997-98 and 1998-99 in addition to being selected for two National Invitation Tournament bids, in 2000-01 and 2001-02.   He worked primarily with the perimeter players, and his influence helped former NBA player Willie Green, and current head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, earn Horizon League Player of the Year accolades in 2003. In addition to his on-the-court coaching, Mondro played an active role in scouting and in scheduling, while also serving as the staff’s recruiting coordinator and director of the Perry Watson Basketball Camp.   Before returning to the Titans’ women’s program for the 2025-26 season, Mondro served as the first-ever women's basketball head coach for two seasons at Cleary University in Howell, Mich. He secured Cleary’s first win in program history on Dec. 9, 2023, when the Cougars defeated the UNOH Racers.   Prior to his time at Cleary, Mondro spent 11 seasons at Eastern Michigan, working with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs until 2022.  He joined the EMU men’s basketball staff in 2011 as an assistant coach and was promoted to associate head coach in 2017. In 2021, Mondro made the switch to women’s basketball at EMU and was the assistant coach for two seasons.    During his time at EMU, Mondro helped the Eagles turnaround of the men’s basketball program, including milestones such as the 2012 Mid-American Conference West Division Championship, a run to the semifinals of the 2017-18 MAC Tournament and a postseason berth for the first time since the 1997-98 season when the Green and White earned a spot in the 2014 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Under Mondro’s tutelage, EMU earned a bid to the 2015 College Basketball Invitational and secured a Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic title in 2019 as well.   Mondro worked with the forwards and centers playing a role in the development of Da’Shonte Riley, EMU’s first-ever Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year, along with Glenn Bryant, who earned All-MAC Honorable Mention accolades in 2012-13. Mondro also helped James Thompson IV to the Eagles’ second-ever MAC Freshman of the Year award in 2015-16, All-MAC Second Team honors in 2016-17, and All-MAC First Team honors in 2017-18. Under his direction, Boubacar Toure finished first in program history with a .653 field-goal percentage, was an All-MAC Honorable Mention, and an All-Defensive Team selection.   Before his time in Ypsilanti, Mondro spent three seasons at Loyola-Chicago, where he was an assistant on the men’s basketball coaching staff.   He had a tremendous impact on the Loyola program, coaching two of the top players ever to wear the Maroon and Gold in J.R. Blount and Andy Polka.  During his tenure, Loyola recorded 44 total wins while graduating each of its seniors during that stretch.   A native of Dover, N.H.  Mondro grew up in Brownstown, Mich., and graduated from Riverview Gabriel Richard High School in 1993 after earning All-Catholic League honors as a basketball player. Mondro and his wife, Liz, have a son, Jeremiah.