Also returning for her third season at UC San Diego is assistant coach Hanna Howard. A former standout at the University of Portland, Howard was hired as the top assistant on head coach Charity Elliott’s staff in 2007.
In her first season on the UCSD campus, Howard helped guide the Tritons to an impressive overall record of 25-10 and a 14-6 conference mark. Ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation during the season, the Tritons advanced to the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament championship game and then to the NCAA West Regional Semifinals, where they lost to Seattle Pacific.
UCSD was even better last season, recording a school-record-tying 27 victories against five losses and posting a near-perfect record of 19-1 in CCAA play. That mark was UCSD’s best finish in conference play since joining the CCAA for the 2000-01 season and the league’s best finish overall in six years. The Tritons received a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, before suffering a 52-49 defeat to Alaska Anchorage.
A four-year letterwinner at Portland, Howard (then Seltzer) had her senior year cut short after a tearing a ligament in her knee early during the 2004-05 season. She graduated with a degree in Organizational Communication in the spring of 2005 and concluded her collegiate career with averages of 6.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in four seasons with the Pilots.
Immediately following her graduation from Portland, Howard began working as the Executive Assistant to the President and Owner of a wireless retail store in the Portland area. It did not take long for the Ashland, Oregon native to realize the passion she still had for the game of basketball and begin to pursue a career in coaching.
Howard is actively involved in all aspects of coaching, including recruiting, scheduling, and player development. She also oversees the program’s scouting and video operations.
Howard and her husband Marques were married in August and reside in La Jolla.
