Yazzie reunites with Jackson, joins Weber State women’s basketball coaching staff
Longtime Utah Tech assistant now associate head coach at WSU
- Utah Tech women’s basketball associate head coach Nicole Yazzie, center, greets a player coming off the court during a game against Weber State on Nov. 16, 2024, in St. George.
- Utah Tech women’s basketball associate head coach Nicole Yazzie reacts during a game on Nov. 27, 2024, in St. George.
- Nicole Yazzie
This won’t be the first time Jenteal Jackson and Nicole Yazzie share a basketball bench.
First for two seasons as players at Westminster College, now the two women will coach together at Weber State. Third-year head coach Jackson has hired Yazzie, a longtime Utah Tech assistant coach, as associate head coach for the Wildcats.
“Adding Nicole’s a huge addition,” Jackson said. “Really excited to add her. Grateful that she’s willing to make the move because moving’s never easy. She’s definitely going to improve our program, bring a lot of knowledge and experience to help us continue to get better.”
Yazzie replaces Hillary Carlson Baker on the bench and is the first change to Jackson’s staff after her first two seasons at the helm.
Their familiarity goes back to 2010 when Jackson transferred from BYU to Westminster. Yazzie had been there for one season already and the two paired up in the backcourt to win two conference championships.
Over 132 games, Yazzie is Westminster’s No. 4 all-time leading scorer (1,709 points), No. 1 in career 3-pointers (279) and free-throw percentage (83.4%), No. 2 in assists (545) and No. 4 in steals.
The Salt Lake-area native was a four-year starter at Bingham High School, where she won a state championship in 2007. After finishing her playing career at Westminster, Yazzie coached one season at Corner Canyon High School and two seasons at Montana State-Northern.
She spent nine seasons assisting at Utah Tech, including the last two as associate head coach.
“We share the same competitive drive and edge, we have the same passion for basketball. We were really good teammates back then … we led our team with each other. The good person she is, we kept in contact all these years and it’s ultimately led here,” Yazzie said about Jackson. “I spent nine years at Utah Tech being loyal; (head coach JD Gustin) brought me into this business and gave me an opportunity. He coached me at Westminster.
“I loved my time at Utah Tech, all things are good there. It was a really heavy week last week telling my players and telling (Gustin).”
Both Yazzie and Jackson spoke about how Yazzie had opportunities to take jobs in the Mountain West, West Coast and other conferences but she stayed anchored in Utah with her family. Now she’s able to move closer to her extended family in this part of the state and continue the job she loves.
“Those weren’t jobs that felt right in my heart at the time. I felt with this particular situation, knowing Jenteal as long as I have — we were rivals in high school, we played in the state championship together,” Yazzie said. “I felt like I gave everything I had to Utah Tech and something was pulling me to give to another program. So why not 40 minutes from where I’m from and now the family gets to be part of my family a little bit more.”
There’s a belief component, too.
“I just believe in (Jackson’s) vision. I believe you can win Big Sky championships at Weber State in women’s basketball,” Yazzie said. “She has a clear vision and that got my juices flowing.”
Those Utah ties are key for Jackson and a big part of why she wanted to reconnect with Yazzie as she tries to continue pushing Weber State into Big Sky contention. One player example might be Box Elder High alum Emily Isaacson, who just finished her career at Utah Tech as the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made and career 3-point percentage.
“I think she’s really going to be able to help us in the recruiting department. She’s very well-connected, done it a long time … and she’s been really successful getting the top talent in Utah,” Jackson said. “I’m excited about that, her recruiting style, and picking her brain about what’s been most successful for her and implement more of that, too, so we can keep getting the kids we want in here.”
Yazzie describes her coaching style as clear and concise, a “servant-leader” who leads with her heart, loves teaching the game and tries to give optimism to her players.
Beyond that, Yazzie’s title as associate head coach will be more than honorary based on tenure and relationships. Jackson plans to give the veteran assistant plenty of responsibility.
“She’ll be able to handle a lot on-court and I want to give her responsibility there. I want her to handle a big part of our package so we can both be as detail-oriented in our specific department as possible and get our team as good as we possibly can,” Jackson said. “We’ll dissect that a bit together. I have a general plan in my brain but want to dive into the X’s and O’s a little deeper with her so we can both be managing certain areas. I feel like we’ll be successful doing so and on the same page with it.”
Yazzie said her family is still managing the process of moving so it won’t “feel real” until that’s done. But she’s started trying to shift her 3-year-old son from saying “Utah Tech” to “Weber State” and she’s looking forward to experiencing four seasons of weather after the cold of Montana and the heat of St. George.
“It’s this full-circle kind of moment to be back on the same team with (Jackson). I’m really excited with where Weber State women’s basketball is headed,” Yazzie said. “I believe in it and I’m really excited to be here.”