2016-17 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW PLAYERS COACHES REVIEW HISTORY SMU MEDIA 25 2016-17 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TRAVIS MAYS HEAD COACH TEXAS, '90 1ST SEASON Travis Mays was named the Head Women's Basketball Coach at SMU on April 7, 2016. Mays arrived on the Hilltop after 14 years as an assistant coach, where he served under three Hall of Fame coaches, and 11 years playing professionally. Mays came to SMU following four seasons as Associate Head Coach at Texas, where he made his mark on the program as a dynamic guard from 1986-90, and where he served a previous three-year stint as an assistant coach for the women's basketball program from 2004-07. He returned to UT in 2012 as Associate Head Coach. His duties at Texas included recruiting, preparing opponent scouting reports, instructing guards on the court and public speaking at various community service and campus events. Following his playing days, Mays began his coaching career with a two-year stint in the WNBA with the San Antonio Silver Stars (2002-04) and then returned to his alma mater as an assistant to Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt from 2004-07, where he proved himself as a gifted floor coach and recruiter. Mays moved on to LSU and worked on Hall of Fame coach Van Chancellor's staff from 2007-11. At both UT and LSU, Mays helped ink nationally-acclaimed recruits, and all seven of the recruiting classes Mays assisted in assembling were ranked among the nation's top 25, including five top-five efforts - No. 1 (2005), No. 3 (2008), No. 3 (2016), No. 4 (2014) and No. 5 (2015). After his time in Baton Rouge, Mays was an assistant coach at the University of Georgia for Hall of Fame coach Andy Landers. The Lady Bulldogs finished the 2011-12 season at 22-9 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's first round. A 2002 inductee into UT's Men's Athletics Hall of Fame, Mays is still No. 2 among the Longhorns' career scoring leaders with 2,279 points and was the first player to earn back-to-back Southwest Conference Player of the Year honors in 1989 and 1990. As a senior, Mays was a second-team Associated Press All-American. He averaged 24.1 points per game and led Texas to the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. Included in that NCAA run was a 44-point outburst against Georgia in the first round that still ranks 14th-most all time in "March Madness" history. His 23 free throws made and 27 attempts at the line versus the Bulldogs remain NCAA Tournament records. In 2016, he was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Mays was drafted by Sacramento with the No. 14 overall pick in the first round of the 1990 NBA Draft, and he was a second-team All-Rookie selection after averaging 14.3 points per game. Mays then played two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, before rupturing two tendons in his right foot. He recovered and enjoyed a successful eight-season career overseas in Greece, Israel, Turkey and Italy. A native of Ocala, Fla., he received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Texas in 1990. Mays and his wife, Mirella, have two children -- a daughter, Cherrell, and son, Trevor. 26 PREVIEW PLAYERS COACHES REVIEW HISTORY SMU MEDIA 2016-17 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MAYS YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORD Year Organization/School Position Record Conference Finish Postseason 2003 San Antonio Silver Stars Assistant Coach/Head Scout 12-22 2004 San Antonio Silver Stars Assistant Coach/Head Scout 9-25 2004-05 Texas Assistant Coach 22-9 2nd NCAA Second Round 2005-06 Texas Assistant Coach 13-15 T-8th 2006-07 Texas Assistant Coach 18-14 7th 2007-08 LSU Assistant Coach 31-6 1st NCAA Final Four 2008-09 LSU Assistant Coach 19-11 T-2nd NCAA Second Round 2009-10 LSU Assistant Coach 21-10 T-3rd NCAA Second Round 2010-11 LSU Assistant Coach 19-13 T-5th 2011-12 Georgia Assistant Coach 22-9 3rd NCAA First Round 2012-13 Texas Associate Head Coach 12-18 T-8th 2013-14 Texas Associate Head Coach 22-12 3rd NCAA Second Round 2014-15 Texas Associate Head Coach 24-11 T-3rd NCAA Sweet Sixteen 2015-16 Texas Associate Head Coach 31-5 2nd NCAA Elite Eight WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT TRAVIS MAYS GENO AURIEMMA, HALL OF FAME COACH "Travis has done a great job helping to elevate programs everywhere he has been, and there is no doubt he will do the same thing at SMU." VAN CHANCELLOR, HALL OF FAME COACH "I think as a former player at Texas, Travis has name recognition and the ability to recruit that will make him a tremendous hire at SMU. Sometimes during a hire, the Athletic Director is trying to hit a home run, and I think SMU has hit a grand slam. Travis will do a great job and be very successful at SMU." JODY CONRADT, HALL OF FAME COACH "Travis was outstanding as a player, very good and passionate about the game. I knew him as a player, and seeing him on the staff of a WNBA team gave me the comfort to hire him at Texas. It told me he had an appreciation for women's basketball and a future in the field. He was a great hire at Texas, eager to learn, and he turned the passion he had as a player into a passion for teaching the game. He was a wonderful assistant with the ability to establish relationships and connects with players very well. He has a great opportunity at a prominent institution in an excellent location, and I'm excited to watch what he does at SMU. I know he will be successful." VIVIAN STRINGER, HALL OF FAME COACH "I've admired Travis over the years and found him to be a consummate professional. Though he didn't know that I was watching, I admired his work ethic, the way he related to his colleagues, and his presentation. In talking with him, I found him to be bright and perceptive and have no doubt that Travis will be successful at the highest level of basketball, not just women's basketball. I understand why the top players in the nation want to play for Travis." PREVIEW PLAYERS COACHES REVIEW HISTORY SMU MEDIA 27 2016-17 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MIKE BRANDT ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH STERLING COLLEGE, '86 1ST SEASON Mike Brandt has more than 25 years of coaching experience and spent the last 14 seasons as head coach at USC Aiken. Brandt posted a 254-166 record and lead the Pacers to the NCAA tournament five times, including three straight appearances from 2011-2013. Brandt guided the Pacers to a program-record 27 wins in 2010-11 and again in 2011-12, winning the Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship in 2012. USC Aiken was ranked as high as No. 3 in the NCAA Division II during his tenure. Prior to taking over at USC Aiken, Brandt spent 13 seasons at the helm of the program at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colo. He was named NJCAA District G Coach of the Year in 2002 after leading his team to the Region IX championship. Brandt guided his team to at least 20 wins eight times, including six consecutive seasons, and broke the program single-season wins mark five times. He is the all-time wins leader at Northeastern, finishing with a 253-129 mark. During his time at Northeastern, he coached five NJCAA All-Americans, 52 academic award winners and one player who went on to play professionally. Brandt began his coaching career in the high school ranks at Winfield High School in Winfield, Kan., in 1986. After two seasons at Winfield, he spent a season at Buchanan M.S./Wray High School in Wray, Colo., before advancing to the college ranks. Brandt played at Northeastern Junior College, earning an Associate of Arts in liberal arts in 1984, and earned a Bachelor’s in physical education with a minor in computer science from Sterling College in 1986. In 1988, Brandt completed his studies for a Master’s of Education at Southwestern College. HEAD COACH TRAVIS MAYS ON MIKE BRANDT: “Mike [Brandt] is, first and foremost, an incredible man of high character, integrity and loyalty. He is extremely passionate about the game of basketball, which has been proven by his success as a head coach,” Mays explained. “He has many strengths, one being his ability to evaluate players and strategically put them in position to be successful according to their strengths, but what attracted me the most about wanting him to be a part of my staff is the way he cares for the development of his players on and off the court.” 28 PREVIEW PLAYERS COACHES REVIEW HISTORY SMU MEDIA 2016-17 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EDWINA BROWN ASSISTANT COACH TEXAS, '00 1ST SEASON Edwina Brown joined the SMU coaching staff in April 2016, making the move across the metroplex after two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at TCU. Brown brings five years of coaching experience and more than a decade of professional playing experience to the Hilltop. Brown, who graduated from the University of Texas in 2000, began her coaching career at her alma mater in April 2011. She severed as a strength and conditioning coach before serving as an assistant coach for the 2011-12 season, helping guide the Lady Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament.