Grand Canyon University Women's Basketball

Winston Gandy was named the 10th head coach of the Grand Canyon women’s basketball program on March 24, 2025. With a prolific resume highlighted by national championship experience, Gandy enters as one of the top young coaches in the nation. Gandy joins the Lopes with 12 years of coaching across all levels of basketball, most recently as assistant coach under Hall of Fame head coach Dawn Staley at South Carolina. Gandy joined the Gamecocks staff in 2023, helping lead the squad to a 38-0 record and the 2024 national championship. South Carolina’s perfect record joined an elite group of teams, becoming just the 10th team in the history of the sport to go undefeated in one campaign. YEAR SCHOOL (TITLE) RECORD Postseason 2017-18 Rice (Assistant Coach) 23-10 (10-6 C-USA) WBI Champions 2018-19 Rice (Assistant Coach) 28-4 (16-0 C-USA) NCAA 1st Round 2019-20 Rice (Associate Head Coach) 21-8 (16-2 C-USA)* postponed due to COVID-19 2020-21 Duke (Assistant Coach) 3-1 (0-1 ACC)^ opted out due to COVID-19 2021-22 Duke (Assistant Coach) 17-13 (7-11 ACC) -- 2022-23 Duke (Associate Head Coach) 26-7 (14-4 ACC) NCAA 2nd Round 2023-24 South Carolina (Assistant Coach) 38-0 (16-0 SEC) National Champions 2024-25 South Carolina (Assistant Coach) 35-4 (15-1 SEC) National Runner-Up Specializing with the guard position, Gandy mentored All-American Te-Hina Paopao, who led the nation in 3-point percentage (46.8%) in 2023-24. South Carolina as a team ranked third in 3-point percentage (39.5%), first in s

Adran Sanders enters her first season as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator of the GCU women's basketball team. Sanders spent the past decade in a coachi...

Joining the staff in June 2025, Celeste Taylor begins her first season as assistant coach of the GCU women's basketball team. The hiring reunites Gandy and Taylor in Phoenix after two seasons in Durham, where Gandy served head coach Kara Lawson's staff at Duke from 2020-21 to 2022-23. Taylor starred for the Blue Devils and earned multiple accolades, including ACC Defensive Player of the Year, All-ACC Defensive Team and All-ACC first team in 2023. Taylor's collegiate play translated into a professional career in the WNBA in 2024. The 5-foot-11 guard was drafted in the second round by the Indiana Fever and appeared in five games before moving to the Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury. In Phoenix, she made 15 appearances with averages of 3.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and1.0 steals in 20 minutes per game. Taylor spent the offseason with the Sydney Flames of the WNBL in the spring of 2025, averaging 10.7 points, 3.4 boards, 3.0 assists and 1.8 steals per contest. Taylor made an immediate impact at Texas, where she spent her first two collegiate seasons. She was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2020, averaging 9.3 points and 4.8 boards in Austin. She notched a career-high 12.3 points per game her next season at Texas en route to All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades. The move to Durham in 2021 elevated her play further, becoming one of the nation's best defenders with multiple defensive accolades. In two seasons with Gandy as assistant turned associate head coach

Chloe Rice was named assistant coach of the women's basketball team in April 2025 and begins her first season with the Lopes. Rice joins the GCU staff after ...

Ford begins her first season on the GCU staff as assistant coach for the upcoming 2025-26 season after previously serving the same role at Missouri last season. Ford brings in six years of coaching experience, moving from graduate assistant at Clemson to assistant coach at Missouri. She spent the past two seasons with the Tigers, serving as special assistant to the head coach in 2023-24 before moving into the assistant role in 2024-25. During the summer of 2025, Ford was named head coach of Team USA's Women's 3x3 U19 Nations League team. Ford led Team USA to the FIBA Women's AmeriCup title in Punta Arenas, Chile, as the team finished 14-2 over the course of seven days. Ford aided the development of Grace Slaughter, who led the Tigers in scoring (15.0 points per game) and was named SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year. Ford coached Slaughter into becoming one of the best 3-point shooters in the country, going from 37.1% her freshman year to 45.9% her sophomore season. In 2022-23, Ford led film study efforts and oversaw development of 2022-23 SEC All-Freshman player Ashton Judd, who like Slaughter, improved her offensive production under Ford from 7.4 points per game to 13.4 points per game. Ford's player development skills were quickly noticed around the SEC and the nation, as Slaughter and Abby Schreacke were among the country's best freshmen. Slaughter earned All-SEC Freshman Team accolades and ranked fourth among first-year players in scoring (11.6 ppg) while Schreacke led the c

Maluai Taylor begins her first season as Director of Operations of the women's basketball program, as announced on April 29, 2025. Taylor first joined the pr...

Matt Shewmake joined the GCU women's basketball staff in April 2025 and begins his first season as assistant coach for the Lopes. After beginning his career ...