Sport(s) Women's basketball 1985–1988 Wayne State (asst.) Title Head coach 1985–1988 Pender (asst.) | Team Saint Mary's Name Paul Thomas Record 178–118 (.601) Role Basketball Coach | |
Born October 28, 1962 (age 61) ( 1962-10-28 ) | ||
Utep newcomers mbb paul thomas
Paul Bernard Thomas (born October 28, 1962) is the women's basketball head coach at Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California. He has also served as head coach at Cal Poly Pomona and Hamline University.
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Early life
Paul Thomas began playing basketball in Creighton, Nebraska. He would attend Creighton High School, where he played forward. While at Creighton, Thomas was made an all-state forward and named the 1982 Bulldogs Most Valuable Player.
After high school, Thomas would spend the next two years at Midland Lutheran College in Fremont, Nebraska, then retired from basketball and transferred to Wayne State College to complete his education and pursue a coaching career. He completed his bachelor's degree in 1986 and master's degree in physical education in 1988. While at Wayne State, Thomas also served as a student assistant for the women's basketball team and as an assistant coach for the Pender High School girls' team.
Coaching career
In 1988, Thomas entered his first head coaching position at Hamline University, an NCAA Division III school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Hamline went 1-24 in his first season (1-19 MIAC) and 0-25 (0-20 MIAC) in 1989-90.
Seeking a new beginning, Thomas headed back to the assistant coach ranks at Cal Poly Pomona, where he would serve the next 16 years. Cal Poly Pomona changed Thomas' coaching career around. In all four seasons that Thomas served as assistant coach, Cal Poly Pomona would win the CCAA Championship. After four seasons, Thomas was promoted to head coach. Over the next 12 years, Thomas would compile a 235-108 record. Thomas would lead the Broncos to five additional CCAA Championships and back-to-back Division 2 National Championship titles (2001 and 2002). He would reach the Division II NCAA Tournament eight out of the 12 seasons with a 14-6 postseason record. He recruited and coached two National Players of the Year, six First Team Kodak All-Americans, four CCAA Players of the Year and 15 First Team All-Conference players all while winning the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year and NCAA District 8 Coach of the Year in 2002.
In 2006, Thomas moved up the ranks and joined Saint Mary's College, becoming the program's eighth women's head coach. To date, the Gaels have made numerous WNIT berths, and in 2011, they placed second in the WCC Women's basketball tournament behind Gonzaga. In 2015, Thomas was selected as one of three WCC coaches to be named co-coach of the year, along with Pacific Tigers coach Lynne Roberts and Gonzaga Bulldogs coach Lisa Fortier.
Thomas resides in Concord, California with his wife and their three children.