Cove High Basketball Legend Shereka Wright Named UT-Arlington Head Coach
If you're from the Central Texas area, you're very familiar with the career of Copperas Cove's own Shereka Wright. The Texas High School Hall Of Fame legend has been climbing the ladder in the coaching world, and she is finally getting a chance to call the shots and run her own program.
In a press conference today, Wright will be officially announced as the 10th Women's Basketball Head Coach of the UT-Arlington Lady Mavs. It's a position which will see her return to Texas in her first head coaching position after spending many years as an assistant coach at Texas Tech, Alabama, and Vanderbilt.
Wright was the 2000 National Player of the Year her senior season at Copperas Cove High School after averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game on her way to becoming only the 4th Texan to record 3,000 points in a high school career. She broke many school records, finishing with 3,269 points, 1,148 rebounds, and 220 blocks, which earned her a place in the Texas High School Sports Hall Of Fame among other accolades.
She continued her magnificent playing career at Purdue, where she would help lead the Boilermakers to 4 NCAA Tournament appearances including a trip to the National Championship Final in 2001. Wright remains to this day the only three-time All-American in Purdue women’s basketball history, and she is also in Purdue's Sports Hall of Fame.
She was the 13th overall pick in the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock, but was traded to the Phoenix Mercury on draft night, and spent two seasons with them until an injury brought her professional playing career to an end in 2006.
Since her playing career ended, Wright, known for her recruiting skills, spent 7 seasons at Texas Tech as an assistant coach before moving on to Alabama for 5 seasons. She most recently served as Vanderbilt's recruiting coordinator for 2 seasons, where she help recruit two of the top 100 players in the country to the Commodores’ Class of 2019.
Congratulations Coach Wright. We are all rooting for you!