University of Massachusetts-Amherst Women's Basketball

Adam Wilensky was hired as the Massachusetts women’s basketball Director of Scouting and Video Operations in May of 2024. Wilensky joins the UMass staff after spending the 2023-24 season as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Rhode Island College. At Rhode Island College, Wilensky helped the Anchormen improve their record from 8-16 the season prior to a 15-12 mark and a playoff semifinal appearance. Wilensky’s primary duties included video coordination, on-court coaching, and academic success. Wilensky served as a student manager for the women’s basketball team at UMass as an undergraduate from 2021-23. Wilensky helped with practice setup and execution, analytical breakdowns, and in-game support for a team that secured its first NCAA berth since 1998 and an Atlantic 10 regular season title during the 2022-23 campaign. Wilensky also worked as a national operations intern for 3Step Sports in 2022, as a marketing chair for the Pioneer Valley Tip Off, and as a data analyst for Playform Sports. A Massachusetts native, Wilensky graduated from Needham High School in 2019 and earned a bachelor’s degree in both Sport Management and Spanish Linguistics from UMass in 2023.

Chantell Alford joined the University of Massachusetts women's basketball staff as the Director of Player Development in June of 2024. Alford joined the Mass...

Clare Fitzpatrick enters her third season as an assistant coach on the UMass women’s basketball staff after joining the program in May of 2023. Fitzpatrick brings 10 years of extensive experience recruiting, creating player development plans, putting together opponent scout reports and defensive game plans, as well as specific skill instruction for post players. The Southbury, Connecticut, comes to Amherst after spending four years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Holy Cross. During the 2024-25 season, Fitzpatrick assisted the Minutewomen to an impressive turnaround season, posting a 17-15 overall record and an 11-7 record in the A-10. The 17 games won was a 12-win increase from the 2023-24 year, with the program increasing its conference win total by nine games. Additionally, Massachusetts earned a first-round bye in the 2025 A-10 Championship as the seventh seed, while accepting an invitation to the WNIT for the fourth time in progrma history. UMass sat No. 151 in the NCAA Women’s Basketball NET rankings; finishing the season at 43rd in the country in rebound margin, 56th in scoring defense, 64th in offensive rebounding, 73rd in opponent field goal percetnage and 75th in forced turnovers. In her first season at UMass, Fitzpatrick coached freshman forward Lilly Taulelei to the program’s first Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection since 2018-19 as she started 20-of-29 appearances in the regular season while averaging 6.9 points per game on 46-percent from the fi

Dayna Smith is entering her second year with the Massachusetts women's basketball staff. For the 2025-26 season, she begins her first season as an assistant ...

Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer Jennifer Brodeur in her 15th year as an athletic trainer at the University of Massachusetts in 2020-21,...

Katie Lenois is beginning her 27th year as the University of Massachusetts women's basketball administrative assistant in 2021-22. She helps with the daily o...

Mike Leflar enters his third season as the women’s basketball head coach at the University of Massachusetts in 2025-26. Leflar was named the 12 th coach in p...

Simone Morin joined the Massachusetts women's basketball staff as the team's Sports Performance Coach in June 2022. As an assistant strength and conditioning...

Valerie Klopfer enters her first season as the program's director of player development. The former Wake Forest guard brings over 23 years of Division I coaching experience to Amherst. "Surrounding our players with great people is always a priority" stated Leflar. "I have known Val for over 20-years, and I am excited to welcome her to our staff. I watched her coach, mentor, and develop players into becoming their best time and time again. I really look forward to Val influencing our program." Klopfer joins the Maroon and White following one year as an assistant coach at UAlbany, having spent the previous 21 seasons with the Cornell Big Red. As the Associate Head Coach for the women's basketball program, she helped oversee all aspects of the program including but not limited to guard and forward play and other individual aspects of game and practice preparations. During her time with the Big Red, she aided in the development of a program that won its first-ever Ivy League Championship (2007-08) and earned its first 20-win season, first NCAA appearance, and the most conference wins in school history (11). In addition to her responsibilities on the court, Klopfer was Cornell's Recruiting Coordinator. In that position, she helped recruit several successful student-athletes for the Big Red including Big Red Hall of Fame honoree, Jeomi Maduka. A student-athlete who graduated in 2009, Maduka was the first women's basketball player in program history to earn All-American and Ivy Leag

Yolanda Cole enters her third season as an assistant coach on the UMass women’s basketball staff in 2025-26. Cole joined the Minutewomen in the summer of 2023 with 16-plus years of Division I coaching experience and started her coaching career at Central Connecticut State and Kellogg Community College. During the 2024-25 season, Cole assisted the Minutewomen to an impressive turnaround season, posting a 17-15 overall record and an 11-7 record in the A-10. The 17 games won was a 12-win increase from the 2023-24 year, with the program increasing its conference win total by nine games. Additionally, Massachusetts earned a first-round bye in the 2025 A-10 Championship as the seventh seed, while accepting an invitation to the WNIT for the fourth time in progrma history. UMass sat No. 151 in the NCAA Women’s Basketball NET rankings; finishing the season at 43rd in the country in rebound margin, 56th in scoring defense, 64th in offensive rebounding, 73rd in opponent field goal percetnage and 75th in forced turnovers. UMass finished the 2023-24 regular season with a win over St. Bonaventure in the finale before following with a 54-49 win over La Salle to advance to the Atlantic 10 Championship second round. Lilly Taulelei earned Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team honors after starting 22-of-31 games in her freshman season while Stefanie Kulesza earned a spot on the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament Team after posting a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double against no. 23-ranked Washington State.