BOZEMAN -- Montana State head women’s basketball coach Tricia Binford hired a new assistant coach on Thursday, and it's a face that will be quite familiar to Bobcat fans.
“The way things went down, coach (Binford) hit me up and was like, 'Look at this opportunity,' and we talked through it," said Blaire Braxton, who officially starts her new gig on Aug. 1.
Braxton, who had a lot to do with the success of Bobcat basketball over the past few years, is looking forward to getting back and helping the program she helped win the Big Sky Conference last year. During her career, she played in a program-record 125 games.
“I’m thrilled to be back in Bozeman," she said. "I had a really hard time leaving. I love the culture coach (Binford) has in her program. So blessed and thankful for the opportunity she gave me and just extremely excited to get back under Bobcat athletics and be a part of it.”
After her love for basketball grew during her MSU career, Braxton knew she wanted stay around the game once her playing days were over.
“The coaching thing came up just after getting to have relationships with my teammates and seeing what my coaches did for me and wanting to do that for somebody else,” said Braxton.
The toughest thing for Braxton will be coaching players that she played with.
"Coaching those girls that I played with and them having to call me 'coach whatever,' I haven’t figured it out yet," Braxton said. "Academics is going to be entertaining. That might be one of the harder ones, but I'm excited to be able to recruit, get out on the road, talk to future Bobcats and just be a part of the program.”
Her coaching goals are not just about success on the court, but also helping players off of it.
“I guess for now, obviously to win, but to give the people going through our program the same experience that I did," she said. "The platforms that I’ve had the chance to talk on how much the Bobcat community means to me. I think there’s going to be some fun things along the way that include winning, and I’m excited to be a part of that culture."
