Paul Thomas (basketball)
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | Saint Mary's |
Conference | WCC |
Record | 256–160 (.615) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Creighton, Nebraska | October 28, 1962
Alma mater | Wayne State College |
Playing career | |
1981–1983 | Midland Lutheran |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1985–1988 | Wayne State (NE) (asst.) |
1985–1988 | Pender HS (asst.) |
1988–1990 | Hamline |
1990–1994 | Cal Poly Pomona (asst.) |
1994–2006 | Cal Poly Pomona |
2006–present | Saint Mary's |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 492–318 (.607) |
Paul Bernard Thomas (born October 28, 1962)[1] 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.
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 1981 Bulldogs Most Valuable Player.[2]
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.[3] 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.[2]
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.[4]
Seeking a fresh start, Thomas headed back to the assistant coach ranks at Cal Poly Pomona, where he would serve the next 16 years. 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.[2]
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.[5] 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.[6]
Thomas resides in Concord, California with his wife and their three children.[7]
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hamline Pipers[8] (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1988–1990) | |||||||||
1988–89 | Hamline | 1–24 | 1–19 | 11th | |||||
1989–90 | Hamline | 0–26 | 0–20 | 11th | |||||
Hamline: | 1–50 (.020) | 1–39 (.025) | |||||||
Cal Poly Pomona Broncos[9][10] (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (1994–2006) | |||||||||
1994–95 | Cal Poly Pomona | 10–15 | 3–7 | 6th | |||||
1995–96 | Cal Poly Pomona | 14–13 | 6–4 | T–3rd | |||||
1996–97 | Cal Poly Pomona | 22–8 | 8–2 | 1st | NCAA D-II Second Round | ||||
1997–98 | Cal Poly Pomona | 18–11 | 8–2 | 1st | NCAA D-II First Round | ||||
1998–99 | Cal Poly Pomona | 23–6 | 16–4 | 3rd | NCAA D-II Second Round | ||||
1999–2000 | Cal Poly Pomona | 26–3 | 19–1 | 1st | NCAA D-II Second Round | ||||
2000–01 | Cal Poly Pomona | 27–3 | 20–2 | 1st | NCAA D-II Champion | ||||
2001–02 | Cal Poly Pomona | 28–4 | 19–3 | 1st | NCAA D-II Champion | ||||
2002–03 | Cal Poly Pomona | 13–14 | 11–11 | 6th | |||||
2003–04 | Cal Poly Pomona | 23–7 | 17–5 | 2nd | NCAA D-II Third Round | ||||
2004–05 | Cal Poly Pomona | 20–8 | 15–5 | T–2nd | NCAA D-II First Round | ||||
2005–06 | Cal Poly Pomona | 11–16 | 8–12 | 7th | NCAA D-II First Round | ||||
Cal Poly Pomona: | 235–108 (.685) | 150–58 (.721) | |||||||
Saint Mary's Gaels (West Coast Conference) (2006–present) | |||||||||
2006–07 | Saint Mary's | 14–14 | 8–7 | 4th | |||||
2007–08 | Saint Mary's | 15–17 | 6–8 | 5th | |||||
2008–09 | Saint Mary's | 11–19 | 7–7 | T–4th | |||||
2009–10 | Saint Mary's | 21–10 | 12–2 | 2nd | WNIT First Round | ||||
2010–11 | Saint Mary's | 19–13 | 10–4 | 2nd | WNIT First Round | ||||
2011–12 | Saint Mary's | 22–11 | 11–5 | 4th | WNIT Second Round | ||||
2012–13 | Saint Mary's | 23–11 | 11–5 | T–3rd | WNIT Quarterfinals | ||||
2013–14 | Saint Mary's | 23–10 | 11–7 | T–4th | WNIT Second Round | ||||
2014–15 | Saint Mary's | 23–11 | 13–5 | T–3rd | WNIT Quarterfinals | ||||
2015–16 | Saint Mary's | 24–8 | 14–4 | 2nd | WNIT First Round | ||||
2016–17 | Saint Mary's | 20–13 | 13–5 | 3rd | WNIT First Round | ||||
2017–18 | Saint Mary's | 20–11 | 13–5 | 2nd | WNIT First Round | ||||
2018–19 | Saint Mary's | 21–12 | 12–6 | T-3rd | WNIT Second Round | ||||
Saint Mary's: | 256–160 (.615) | 128–65 (.663) | |||||||
Total: | 492–318 (.607) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
- ^ "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved 25 Sep 2015.
- ^ a b c "Paul Thomas Named Head Women's Basketball Coach at Saint Mary's College". WCC. Retrieved August 9, 2006.
- ^ "Paul Thomas". Cal Poly Pomona. Archived from the original on June 26, 2006. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ "Women's Basketball - Midkota and MIAC Races 1974- present". Concordia College Minnesota. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^ "Women Zags Zap Saint Mary's 72-46, Advance to Big Dance with First Game at McCarthey". Gonzaga. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ^ "Paul Thomas". Saint Mary's College of California. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ "MIAC Women's Basketball Recordbook". Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- ^ CCAA yearly standings
- ^ http://broncoathletics.com/documents/2016/1/4//2015_16_Women_s_Basketball_Record_Book.pdf