Coquese Washington

Coquese Washington
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Position	Head Coach
League	Big Ten
Personal information
Born	January 17, 1971 (age 53); Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Listed weight	138 lb (63 kg)
Career information
High school	Flint Central (Flint, Michigan)
College	Notre Dame (1989–1993)
Playing career	1997–2003
Position	Point guard
Number	4
Coaching career	1999–present
Career history
As player:
1997–1998	Portland Power
1998–1999	New York Liberty
2000–2002	Houston Comets
2002–2003	Indiana Fever
As coach:
1999–2007	Notre Dame (assistant)
2007–2019	Penn State
2019–2020	Oklahoma (associate head coach)
2020–2022	Notre Dame (associate head coach)
2022–Present	Rutgers
Career highlights and awards
	As player: WNBA champion (2000); As coach: 3 Big Ten regular season championships (2012–2014); BCA Female Coach of the Year (2011); Big Ten Coach of the Year (2011);
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Women’s Basketball
Assistant Coach for United States
World University Games

Coquese Makebra Washington (born January 17, 1971)^[1] is a basketball coach and former player who is currently the head women's basketball coach for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Washington holds a law degree and was the first president of the WNBA Players Association, holding that position from 1999 to 2001. She played high school basketball at Flint Central High School and collegiate basketball at the University of Notre Dame.

High school

Washington attended high school at Flint Central High School in Flint, Michigan. She was the starting point guard for all four years of her high school basketball career, the first player at Central to earn a starting position in all four years. Washington earned all-state honors in back to back years. In her senior year she scored 373 points to set a school scoring record for a single season, And went on to score a total of 1,123 points in her career. She led the team to their first ever Saginaw Valley Conference and district championships.^[2]^[3]^[4] In addition to sports excellence, she also had musical talents, playing seven different musical instruments while at Central.^[5]

University of Notre Dame

Washington played for Notre Dame's Fighting Irish women's basketball team from 1989 to 1993. Afterwards, she attended Notre Dame Law School from 1994 to 1997, earning her J.D.

Professional playing career

After completing her athletic eligibility with the Irish in 1993, she began a professional career by joining the American Basketball League 1996-98 (ABL). She began her pro career in 1997–98 as the starting point guard with the ABL's Portland Power.

Women's National Basketball Association Career

1998–99 – New York Liberty – Washington averaged 4.1 minutes, 0.6 points, and 0.8 rebounds per game.
2000 – Houston Comets: Washington received playing time in 25 games, and throughout the season, she averaged 1.7 points and an assist per game.
2001 – Houston Comets: Washington started all 32 games, as a point guard. Throughout the season, she averaged 5.3 points, 3.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.16 steals per game. On August 3, 2001, playing against Orlando and in her best game of the season, she posted ten points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

Coaching career

Notre Dame

Washington began her coaching career in 1999, when she returned to her alma mater, University of Notre Dame, and worked as an assistant coach under Head Coach Muffet McGraw. She was part of the coaching staff for the team that won the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship in 2001, defeating Purdue.

In August 2005, Washington was promoted to an Associate head coach, which includes the responsibility of coordinating Notre Dame's recruiting efforts on promising young players.

Penn State

On April 23, 2007, she was named the fifth coach in Penn State women's basketball history, following Rene Portland's resignation.

Washington increased her number of Big Ten wins in each of her first six years, starting with 4 conference wins in 2007–2008 and growing to 14 and her second consecutive Big Ten regular season title in the 2012–2013 campaign. Washington's first post season appearance at Penn State was a first round loss in the 2010 WNIT Tournament. Since 2011, Washington has led her teams to three consecutive NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship appearances where her teams have advanced past the first round in every appearance. Her most successful season was the 2011–2012 season when Washington's Lady Lions advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to perennial powerhouse UConn.

In 2013, Coquese Washington was named to the 18-member "Presidential Search and Screen Committee" at Penn State to help determine the university's next President.^[6]

On March 8, 2019, Penn State and Washington parted ways after 12 seasons.^[7]

Oklahoma

On April 18, 2019, Washington was announced as the new associate head coach of the Oklahoma women's basketball program.^[8]

Rutgers

On May 23, 2022, Washington was announced as the new head coach of the Rutgers women's basketball program.^[9]

Awards and honors

2007–08 WBCA "Rising Star" Award Winner
2009 Greater Flint Hall of Fame Inductee
2010–11 Black Coaches & Administrators Female Coach of the Year
2011–12 Big Ten Coach of the Year
2011–12 WBCA Region 6 Coach of the Year
2011–12 WBCA National Coach of the Year Finalist
2012–13 Big Ten Coach of the Year
2012–13 WBCA Region 6 Coach of the Year
2012–13 WBCA National Coach of the Year Finalist
2012–13 Black Coaches & Administrators Female Coach of the Year
2013–14 Big Ten Coach of the Year

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Penn State Lady Lions (Big Ten Conference) (2007–2019)
2007–08	Penn State	13–18	4–14	10th
2008–09	Penn State	11–18	6–12	T–7th
2009–10	Penn State	17–14	8–10	T–6th	WNIT 1st Round
2010–11	Penn State	25–10	11–5	2nd	NCAA 2nd Round
2011–12	Penn State	26–7	13–3	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2012–13	Penn State	26–6	14–2	1st	NCAA 2nd Round
2013–14	Penn State	24–8	13–3	T–1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014–15	Penn State	6–24	3–15	T-13th
2015–16	Penn State	12–19	6–12	11th
2016–17	Penn State	21–11	9–7	T-6th	WNIT Third Round
2017–18	Penn State	16–16	6–10	11th	WNIT 1st Round
2018–19	Penn State	12–19	5–13	12th
Penn State:		209–169 (.553)	98–106 (.480)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Big Ten Conference) (2022–present)
2022–23	Rutgers	12–20	5–13	11th
2023–24	Rutgers	8–24	2–16	14th
Rutgers:		20–44 (.313)	7–29 (.194)
Total:		229–213 (.518)
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

Personal

Washington lives in Somerset, New Jersey with her husband, Raynell Brown, and their son, Quenton Kassius Winston Brown (b. April 24, 2005), and daughter, Rhaiyna Kamille Brown (b. July 23, 2009). She has a mother, Velma Washington, and her father James Washington. (d. 2013) She has two sisters, Stephanie and India, and two brothers, Ameer and Kenyatta (d. 2016). She is close friends with Notre Dame coach Carol Owens and head coach Niele Ivey.^[2] Washington currently has no pets, and there is no other information known about her personal life.