POCATELLO, Idaho – After a nationwide search, Idaho State University women’s basketball has announced the hire of Maiya Michel as the Bengals’ Associate Head Coach.
"Maiya is a great fit for our staff and program!” said Head Coach Seton Sobolewski. “She has a wealth of playing and coaching experiences to draw from and she comes highly recommended from some very well-respected coaches. I love Maiya's mentality, attitude and approach to coaching. We can't wait to get started with her."
Michel brings an impressive resume to the program with previous experience at Arizona State, Vanguard and Mt. San Antonio College, University of La Verne and a strong playing career at the University of Denver.
“I knew ISU was the place for me because of the supportive culture of the community and the consistently successful program Coach Sobolewski has built at ISU,” remarked Michel “I am very excited to join a highly competitive championship-level program and the Idaho State athletic staff!”
Previous to joining the Bengals, Michel worked in the Operations department for Arizona State women’s basketball.
Michel spent two seasons at Vanguard University, a NAIA member school in Costa Mesa, California. During the 2019-20 season, Michel took over as interim head coach of the Lions, Michel led the team to a 23-6 record picking up multiple wins against ranked opponents. Michel led the Lions to a No. 3 seed heading into the NAIA National Championship tournament before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During her college coaching career, she has developed student-athletes into 1000-point scorers, All-Conference, and All-State performers by utilizing her background of training, coaching, and supervision of physical and team performance.
Michel hails from Fontana, CA where she has settled after her playing days at the University of Denver. In Colorado, she was a three-year starting forward who was named 2011 Charge Master of the Year, 2012 Defensive Player of the Year, 2013 Western Athletic Conference All-Defensive Team and 2014 “So You Want to Be a Coach” graduate. In 2016, she received her MBA in Sports Management from the University of Real Madrid.
