University of North Alabama Women's Basketball

University of North Alabama Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney officially announced the hiring of Anna Nimz as the 10th head coach of the UNA women’s basketball program on March 26, 2026. Nimz comes to UNA after leading a remarkable six-year turnaround at Division I program Northwestern State. She took over the Demons in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilt a one-win team into a Southland Conference contender. This past season, her team finished 18-14 overall and 14-8 in league play and appeared in the conference quarterfinal round. This was also the first time Northwestern State had consecutive winning seasons in the last decade. Her 2024-25 team finished with 16 wins and took the school to its first WNIT since 1999. Under her leadership, Northwestern State matched or increased its win total all six seasons. The 18 wins this past season were the program’s most in 10 years, while the 14 conference wins were the most in 22 years. Beyond the court, Nimz and her program won the Northwestern State University Community Outreach Award in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. “The UNA community is going to love Anna,” said Looney at the time of hire. “Her engaging personality and authentic connections with players and fans are hallmarks of her coaching style. She brings energy, optimism and resiliency every day and is exactly the program builder we were seeking to continue the momentum of UNA women’s basketball.” Prior to Northwestern State, Nimz was the Associate Head Coach at UTRGV from 2018-20 and helped the program achieve the most Western Athletic Conference wins in school history with a 10-6 record. She also helped UTRGV clinch a berth in the WBI Tournament. Entering her UNA tenure, Nimz has 192 wins as a head coach, leading the programs at Kilgore College and Labette Community College prior to Northwestern State. She took over at Labette in 2010 and led the team to 65 wins over five seasons. She then moved to Texas and led Kilgore College to a 58-36 record over three seasons. Prior to her arrival, Kilgore had just seven wins. She won 16 games her first season then led consecutive 21-win seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18. This marked the first time Kilgore had consecutive 20+ win seasons in over 20 years. She was also Kilgore College's Employee of the Year in 2016-17. As a student-athlete, Nimz was a standout at Division II powerhouse Pittsburg State from 2005-07. She was the team captain and averaged 10.9 points per game with 3.1 assists per game. She also played one year each at Washburn University and Dodge City Community College prior to Pittsburg State. “I am incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be YOUR new head women’s basketball coach at the University of North Alabama,” said Nimz at the time of hire. “We are ready to continue the momentum the program has already seen and strive to elevate it to new heights. I look forward to meeting everyone, building relationships on campus and in the community, along with sharing the philosophy and standard of Lion basketball.”  

After five years in the program as a student-athlete and two years as an assistant coach, Mackenzie Martin Velazco was announced as the head coach of the UNA beach volleyball progrm on May 22, 2026. Velazco wrapped up her career with 127 matches played and 81 total wins, which ranked tied for first and second all-time in program history, respectively, at the end of her career. As an assistant coach, she helped the Lions achieve two more winning seasons, including a 22-14 record in 2026 to tie the single season win record for the program. Velazco replaced Kaleb VanDePerre, who accepted a position at Liberty after four seasons with the program. Velazco was instrumental in helping VanDePerre finish with four winning seasons as a player and a coach, including him winning the 2024 ASUN Coach of the Year. On top of her accolades on the court, she is a two-time Academic All-Atlantic Sun Conference and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team selection, winning both in 2023 and 2024. Martin also received an ASUN Spring Winners for Life honor in 2023 — the first in UNA Beach Volleyball program history. A two-time graduate of North Alabama, Velazco holds a Master’s of Science in Sports and Recreation Management and a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in health promotion. She and her husband, Alex, reside in the Shoals.

University of North Alabama head coach Anna Nimz announced P'hariz Watkins to her coaching staff on May 6, 2026. Watkins brings five successful seasons of coaching experience to the Shoals, including his most recent stop as the Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. While there, he helped develop five all-conference players. On the international level, Watkins has worked with Team USA Basketball since 2022. He has served on staff at the youth, junior and U17 levels with Team USA with the highlight coming at the 2024 national team training camp in Las Vegas, Nev. "Coach P is a great addition to our family," said Nimz at the time of hire. "He brings great energy and passion for our program and players. He will continue to drive the standard in all areas of his position." Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Watkins played college basketball at Heidelberg University in Ohio and Adrian College in Michigan. He appeared in 86 total games with 1,401 minutes player, 573 points, 220 rebounds and 129 assists. Watkins began his coaching career in 2020 as a student assistant at Heidelburg, a perrenial contender at the NCAA Division III level. He also worked two HBCU All-Star Weekends in New Orleans and Houston, interning for the first one then serving as Assistant Director of Basketball Operations for the one in Texas. After a few seasons coaching and working in the AAU and TBT circuits, he landed a major role at the University of Tennessee as a graduate assistant for the 2023-24 season. He spent two seasons in Knoxville, including the FellowVol Post-Graduate Fellowship in 2022-23. Watkins also has a connection to Duke, as he worked as a Player Development and Camp Coach for the 2023 Jon Scheyer Duke Basketball Camp. Watkins graduated from Heidelberg in May 2021 with a double major in Communications and Sport Management while minoring in Media Technology. He went on to earn a Master's degree in Sport Management from Adrian in December 2022 before receiving his second Master's degree in Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication at Tennessee on May 2024. "I'm incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to join the women's basketball staff at the University of North Alabama," said Watkins at the time of hire. "The chance to be reunited with Coach Nimz makes this even more meaningful. She's an elite leader who sets the standard and truly invests in her players and staff. I'm thankful for her trust and excited to get to work, build genuine relationships and help create something special here at UNA that the community can be proud of."