Mary Baldwin College names Andrew Stephens as new basketball coach

Mary Baldwin College named Andrew Stephens as the new head basketball coach on Monday, the school announced.

Stephens has a total of 25 years of coaching experience at various levels of competitive basketball.  He spent a season at the NCAA Division I level as the Women’s Basketball Director of Operations for Texas Southern University.

From 2008-2011, Stephens worked at Panola Junior College in Carthage, Texas where he was the assistant women’s basketball coach for three seasons.  During his tenure at Panola, Stephens had numerous responsibilities.  He also helped produce three NJCAA Academic All-Americans, six NJCAA Region 14 All-Academic performers, one NJCAA Region 14 First Team student-athlete, and two All Texas Eastern Athletic Conference performers.

Under his leadership, the 2009-2010 team finished fifth in the country in GPA among junior colleges with a 3.32 GPA.  During the 2008-2009 season, Panola reached the NJCAA Division I Region 14 quarterfinals.  Seventeen student-athletes went on to sign to play basketball at four year institutions while Stephens was on staff.

Seven student-athletes signed on to play at NCAA Division I and Division II institutions.

Athletic Director Sharon Spalding said, “Coach Stephens brings recruiting, teaching, coaching and team building experience that we need to build our basketball program here at Mary Baldwin.  During the interview process our current players were impressed with his practice and game management strategies.  Coach Stephens knows that rebuilding a team is a huge task, and I am confident that he will meet the demands of the task in a professional and dedicated manner.  I am impressed with his “Why not us?” attitude and look forward to working with Andrew.  He is a great addition to Athletics and the Mary Baldwin community.”

Coach Stephens added, “I would like to thank God, first and foremost, for this great opportunity.  I am very humbled by the chance given to me by Athletic Director, Sharon Spalding, and everyone else here on campus.  She has done great work for the entire athletic program.  It is truly an honor to represent the Mary Baldwin family.  To be a head coach at the college level has been a career goal for a long time, so this is really a dream come true.  This is also a result of my wonderfully supportive family, especially my wife.  I would not be here without them.”