University of North Carolina - Greensboro Women's Basketball

Head Coach Trina Patterson enters her 10th season at the helm of the Blue & Gold in the 2025-26 season after leading the team to a historic 2024-25 year.  During the 2024-25 season, Patterson achieved her winningest season of her 26-year coaching tenure with 25 victories on the campaign and reaching her fourth season at UNCG with 20 or more wins. She led the team to win the 2025 SoCon Regular Season and SoCon Tournament, earning an automatic bid into the 2025 NCAA Touranment for the first time in her career. After her successful regular season, Patterson was named SoCon Coach of the Year for the third time in her UNCG career. UNCG concluded the 2025 SoCon slate with a 13-1 record, marking its best SoCon regular season finish in program history to earn the SoCon Regular Season Title. UNCG tallied 14 consecutive victories last season for the longest winning streak in the UNCG Division I era. The squad also concluded the season with 25 wins for the most victories in the UNCG Division I era and tied for third all-time, marking the winningest season for Patterson. During the 2023-24 season, Patterson led the Spartans to their seventh appearance in the SoCon Championship and recorded her third season with 20 or more wins. In addition, she saw graduate student Ayanna Khalfani be named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Second Team All-Conference, and All-Defensive Team, while Jayde Gamble earned a spot on the First Team All-Conference list.  Overall during her decorated head coaching career, Patterson has guided numerous players to America East, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Pac 12, Conference USA and Southern conference honors, among those a conference player of the year rookie of the year, and members of all-conference, all-rookie, all-defensive, all-academic and all-tournament teams. Named the 2019-20 SoCon Coach of the Year for the second time in four years, Patterson guided the Spartans to one of their finest seasons in program history. In leading UNCG to its first Regular Season conference title since 2002, the Spartans advanced to the conference tournament championship contest. Patterson made an immediate impact in her first year leading the Spartans to 20 wins and their first trip to the postseason since the 2001-02 season. Following the SoCon Tournament, Patterson led the Spartans on a tremendous postseason run in the Women's Basketball Invitational. UNCG earned a road victory at Charleston Southern before knocking off Brown and Milwaukee at Fleming Gymnasium to advance to the WBI Championship Game. After leading the turnaround for the Spartans, she was named the 2017 SoCon Coach of the Year. UNCG had three players earn all-conference nods, headlined by unanimous SoCon Freshman of the Year and second team honoree Soliman. Senior guard Bailey Williams garnered a third team selection, while forward Te'ja Twitty received all-freshman recognition. THE TRINA PATTERSON FILE Hometown: Newport News, Virginia Education: Virginia, 1987 (Bachelor’s, rhetoric and communication studies); National University, 2002 (Master’s, human resource management) Husband: Carl Children: Carl Jr., Matthew and Joshua Birthday: July 7   Coaching Career 2016-present: UNCG (Head Coach) 2013-16: Old Dominion (Assistant Coach) 2012-14: Stanford (Assistant Coach) 2002-10: Albany (Head Coach) 1999-2000: Maryland Eastern Shore (Head Coach) 1991-99: William & Mary (Head Coach) Year W L Pct W L Pct Postseason 2016-17 20 15 0.571 7 7 0.500 SoCon Semifinals WBI Final 2017-18 13 18 0.419 6 8 0.429 SoCon Semifinals 2018-19 11 19 0.367 5 9 0.357 SoCon Quarterfinals 2019-20 23 9 0.719 10 4 0.714 SoCon Final 2020-21 8 16 0.333 6 8 0.429 SoCon Quarterfinals 2021-22 9 19 0.321 5 9 0.357 SoCon Quarterfinals 2022-23 16 14 0.533 8 6 0.571 SoCon Semifinals     2023-24    21 12 0.636 8 6 0.571 SoCon Championship 2024-25 25 7 .781 13  1 .929 NCAA Tournament First Round Total 146 129 0.531 68 58 0.532 Career Honors Named to the ABIS Top Black Basketball Coaches to Watch list for 2024 SoCon Coach of the Year (2025, 2020, 2017) Achieving Coaching Excellence College Basketball Coaching Honor Roll (2020) America East Coach of the Year (2008) CAA Coach of the Year (1994) Old Dominion Highlights Worked under head coach Karen Barefoot. During her time at ODU, the Lady Monarchs posted three straight appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). Helped Old Dominion bring in recruiting classes ranked in the top-50 in the nation her last two seasons. The Lady Monarchs had six All-Conference honorees, including Jennie Simms, who was named the 2015 C-USA Newcomer of the Year and was a two-time Conference USA All-Conference First Team selection. Stanford Highlights Worked under Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer. During that span Stanford racked up a 68-5 record, capturing the Pac-12 double (conference regular-season and tournament titles) each season, earning a No. 1 ranking and reaching its fifth straight Final Four in 2012. Patterson worked with Stanford's post players. Nnemkadi and Chiney Oguwmike were named All-Americans and drafted No. 1 overall in their repsective WNBA drafts   Albany Highlights 2007-08 America East Coach of the Year. Guided the Great Danes to a school-record 10 wins in conference play. Albany advanced to the semifinals of the America East Tournament. William & Mary Highlights 1993-94 CAA Coach of the Year. Took over a program that had not experienced a winning season at the Division I level. In her second year at the helm, Patterson guided the Tribe to the championship game of the 1993 CAA Tournament. In her third season, she led the team to a 20-8 record and a third-place finish in the conference standings. USA Basketball Highlights Her first USA Basketball coaching stint was in 1998, as she served on Nell Fortner's staff for the R. William Jones Cup squad that went 5-0 and captured the gold medal. This team included future Olympians Tamika Catchings and Becky Harmon. She would next reunite with former college head coach Debbie Ryan, serving on Ryan's staff as an assistant coach with the 2003 USA Basketball Pan-American Games Team that won the silver medal. Virginia Highlights Patterson earned four varsity letters and was a member of four consecutive NCAA Tournament teams under head coach Debbie Ryan at Virginia from 1983-87. The Cavaliers went 95-23, winning 20-plus games each season, capturing three Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles and helping UVa to a No. 3 national ranking. Led Virginia in rebounding in the 1985-86 season. As a team captain during her senior season (1986-87), Patterson helped Virginia post a 26-5 record and reach the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

Cetera DeGraffenreid enters her seventh season at UNCG in the 2024-25 season. DeGraffenreid finished her fourth season as assistant coach for UNCG women's basketball in 2021-22 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach at the end of May 2022.  DeGraffenreid came to UNCG after coaching at Gardner-Webb for three seasons and played professionally in Israel for two seasons after being a student-athlete at North Carolina. The Spartans clinched their first regular season conference title since 2002 during the 2019-20 campaign, going asfar as the SoCon tournament finals during their postseason run. UNCG went 21-8 on the year with a 10-4 conference record, the most overall wins the team has had since that title run in 2002. UNCG's 13 home wins were just a single victory shy of tying a program record, as the Spartans led the conference in field goal percentage (42.9), field goal percentage defense (36.8), free throw percentage (77.1), scoring defense (55.3), scoring margin (+8.7) and three-point field goal percentage defense (28.3). Nadine Soliman and Te'ja Twitty both earned SoCon All-Conference honors under Patterson in 2020, with the former receiving First Team honors and the team's first-ever Player of the Year recognition. The Spartans' scoring defense ranked 16th in all of Division I women's basketball during that campaign. Soliman became the program leading scorer against Samford, retiring with a UNCG all-time best 2,084 points, 177 more than any other player in history. She also set a program record in games played (128) under the current staff, in addition to career field goals made (751) and three-point field goals made (222). Her 709 rebounds rank fourth in Division I program history.  The Spartans made a run toward a unifying title in Asheville during the 2019-20 season, reaching the Southern Conference Tournament final against No. 1 Samford. The Spartans defeated both No. 6 ETSU and No. 7 Mercer in the quarterfinals and semifinal respectively, coming up four points shy of their first trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament since 1998.  The Spartans had a pair of SoCon All-Conference selections during the 2018-19 season in  Soliman and Twitty, with the team combining for an 11-19 record. UNCG's 60.9 points allowed per game was the top mark in the Southern Conference during that season, while guard Nadine Soliman's 19.1 led the SoCon and ranked 38th in the country. As an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb, DeGraffenreid worked specifically with the guards, planning and executing the team’s player development sessions. She coached the runner up of the Big South’s Player of the Year award in 2016, as well as coaching an All-Big South honorable mention in 2017, and a pair of All-Big South second team honorees in 2018. While at Gardner-Webb, she worked as a physical education instructor for two years. As a professional basketball player, DeGraffenreid played with the Ramat Gan Organization in 2012 and Habbika in 2011. In her playing days in Chapel Hill, DeGraffenreid was a unanimous ACC All-Freshman honoree, was named one of the top five point guards in the nation by ESPN.com in 2009 as well as being a finalist for the Nancy Liberman Award. She was a three-time All-ACC selection and is the current all-time leader in career free throws made. She ranks third in Tar Heel history in both assists and steals and finished her career with 1,562 points.

Alex Miller enters her fifth season as assistant coach for UNCG women’s basketball in 2024-25. Miller came to UNCG after coaching at Mississippi Valley State University for two seasons.   Prior to MVSU, Miller coached at Hillside High School in Durham and Team Wall 16U & 17U AAU teams, sponsored by NBA player John Wall, in Raleigh during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.   She was a guard for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill women’s basketball team from 2004-09.  She was a four-time Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion and played in the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Final Fours. Miller was a top on the ball defender and led the team in charges.  

Head Coach Trina Patterson has announced the hiring of Fred Applin as an assistant coach in June 2023. Applin comes to Greensboro after two seasons as the women’s basketball associate head coach at NC Central joining the Eagles in June 2021. He has been coaching for over 30 years at every stage, including the Final Four, and has spent the nine years prior to NCCU as the head women’s basketball coach at Charleston Southern University (CSU). He also served as head coach for former MEAC member Hampton University for two seasons. “I am excited to have Fred join our program,” stated Head Coach Trina Patterson. “He brings a wealth of experiences from different levels and roles. Fred has a passion for teaching the game, he is a proven recruiter, and he will pure into the development of our players at all levels.” During his time at CSU, Applin led the Bucs to the Big South Conference semifinals in 2017 and 2019 - as well as an appearance in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). He tied the program record for single-season wins with 18 in 2017 and won a BSC Tournament game in three consecutive seasons.    Applin boasts in impressive resume with experience in the ACC, Big 12, Pac 12 and Conference USA. He has additional coaching experience at East Carolina University, University of Washington, Wake Forest University, University of Texas, University of Houston and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.   A member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the WBCA, Black Coaches’ Association, and member of Kappa Alpha Psi. Applin dedicates time to his teams’ academic and community service efforts as well. Two of his teams in particular – ECU and Hampton – have been honored for their work in the classroom, as both teams boasted the highest team GPAs in respective program histories during Applin’s tenure.   A 1985 graduate of Elon University, Applin competed in both football and track & field for the Phoenix and was a member of the NAIA National Championship football team. He went on to earn his master’s degree in therapeutic recreation from NCCU in 1989. As a multisport student-athlete, Applin was recently inducted into the Samson County (North Carolina) Sports Hall of Fame in the class of 2022. Applin and wife Cora have three children; daughters Anaiah and Hillary and son Michael.   COACHING RESUME North Carolina Central University Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Basketball (2021-23)   Charleston Southern University Head Coach – Women’s Basketball (2012-21)   East Carolina University Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Basketball (2010-12)   University of Washington Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Basketball (2007-10)   Atlanta Dream WNBA Advanced scouting – (Summer 2009)     Wake Forest University Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Basketball (2004-07)   University of Texas at Austin Assistant Coach – Women’s Basketball (1998-2004)   Wake Forest University Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Basketball (1997-98)   Hampton University Head Coach – Women’s Basketball (1995-97)   University of Houston Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Basketball (1993-95)   University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator – Women’s Basketball (1988-93) Volunteer Assistant – Men’s Basketball-Junior Varsity (1987-88)  

UNCG women’s basketball Head Coach Trina Patterson has announced the hiring of Ashley Yu as an assistant coach/director of player development in August of 2025. “We are thrilled to welcome Ashley to our Spartan women's basketball program,” said Patterson. “She is passionate about developing players both on and off the court and operates with excellence. I look forward to working with Ashley daily as she is dedicated, self-motivated and will focus on growth and success."   Yu comes to UNCG after spending the 2024-25 as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Indiana State.   Yu joined the Sycamores after spending two seasons at the University of Indianapolis. UIndy went 31-27 in her two seasons on the sidelines, including an 18-12 mark in the 2022-23 campaign. The Greyhounds led the GLVC in free throws made and attempted in both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, while also ranking among the conference leaders in scoring offense and rebounding in both seasons. UIndy also ranked second in the conference in bench points in the 2023-24 season, getting nearly 27 points per game from outside its starting five. Prior to UIndy, Yu was a key member of the Dominican University athletic department, serving as the coordinator of intramurals, club sports & camps as well as serving in the role as assistant women's basketball coach beginning in November of 2020. In her two seasons at Dominican coaching the Stars, she helped guide the program to two consecutive Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament appearances. Along with this, she also coached three First Team All-Conference selections, a Second Team All-Conference selection, and a Freshman of the Year winner, the first in program history. Following the 2021-22 campaign, Yu earned a spot on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) prestigious 30 Under 30 list. This list recognizes 30 of the top up-and-coming women's basketball coaches ages 30 and under at all levels of the sport. Before adventuring to Dominican, Yu was the assistant women’s basketball coach and coordinator of athletic facilities at City College of New York (CCNY). During her tenure at CCNY, Yu played an important role in the program’s player development and scouting while also serving as the coordinator for the Beavers’ community service events and recruiting efforts. Graduating in 2019, Yu was a four-year letterwinner and three-time team captain for the Hunter College Hawks women's basketball team. After winning just 11 games in her first season, the team improved up to 18 wins by her senior year and earned its first-ever NCAA Division III regional ranking

Letoya Twitty McBride comes to UNCG in September 2023 from The YMCA of Greater Spartanburg, where she served as the Youth and family programs director for the previous two years. While at the YMCA, she helped manage all youth and family programs, managed onboarding team members, supervised and reviewed all contracts associated with vendors, coordinated summer camps, and more.   “We are excited to have Letoya join our staff as the director of basketball operations,” said Head Coach Trina Patterson. “Letoya's experience as a leader with a national non-profit organization as well as her previous experience as director of basketball operations brings a unique skill set to our program. We are pleased to have LeToya join our Spartan family.”   Prior to her time at the YMCA, Twitty served as the athletics coordinator at the Polk County Parks & Recreation in Columbus, N.C., where she primarily managed all youth and adult sports leagues.   Twitty got her start in college athletics at Gardner-Webb as the manager for women’s basketball from August 2012 to December 2014. She was later promoted to the director of operations/administrative assistant for the Bulldogs, where she served for over three years.   Twitty earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Gardner-Webb in December of 2014.