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Jackie Nared-Hairston was hired by Adia Barnes as Assistant Coach on April 30, 2019. She was named to the WBCA Thiry Under 30 in 2020 and was the only Pac-12 coach to be named to the prestigous list that year.
In her first season as assistant coach at Arizona, Nared-Hairston helped Arizona to one of the most successful seasons in school history as the Wildcats finished the season with a 24-7 record, tied for the second-most wins in school history. Arizona finished in fourth place in a loaded Pac-12 for the first time since 2011 and advanced to their first Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals since the 2011 edition of the tournament.
For the first time since 2005, Arizona won at least 20 games for the second year in a row and won at least 23 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time this century. The Wildcats won three games over top-10 opponents for the first time in school history and also beat their first top-five team in program history after beating No. 4 Stanford in overtime at McKale Center.
Additionally, Arizona’s win in Corvallis over No. 9 Oregon State was the first time in school history Arizona beat a top-10 team on the road.
On the court, she was crucial in the skill development of Arizona's guards, including
Aari McDonald who led the Pac-12 in scoring for the second-straight season.
The Wildcats shot 44% from the field this season and 35% from three, thanks to the good shooting from
Sam Thomas,
Amari Carter and
Helena Pueyo from the guard position. She also helped the Wildcats become one of the best defensive teams not only in the Pac-12, but in the nation. Arizona allowed just 56.6 points per game, which led the Pac-12 and forced their opponents to shoot 37% from the field for the season.
Nared-Hairston helped Arizona sign five-star prospect Lauren Ware, a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year and a top-25 recruit by ESPN. Ware was named to the Jordan Brand Classic roster for 2020. During her 2018-19 season, Ware averaged 17.3 points, 11 rebounds five blocks and two assists and won a North Dakota State Championship.
She also helped bring in Marta Garcia as well as two top transfers, Bendu Yeaney and Trinity Baptiste, who was named the 2020 ACC Sixth Player of the Year.
Nared-Hairston spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Washington State under Kamie Ethridge. She had a hand in the success of Borislava Hristova and Chanelle Molina, who both earned All-Pac-12 honors while Molina was also named Pac-12 All-Defense. Hristova finished the season as the Pac-12’s third-leading scorer at 20.2 points per game while Molina scored 15.6 per game.
Prior to coaching at Washington State, Nared-Hairston spent the 2017-18 season at Oregon where she was the Director of Creativity and Video. Charged with creating scout film on Oregon opponents, Nared-Hairston helped lead Oregon to its first-ever Elite Eight.
Nared-Hairston also spent two years at Washington as the Director of Player Development prior to her stint at Oregon, which included a run to the Final Four while Barnes was an assistant coach at Washington.
In addition to her work experience in the Pac-12, Nared-Hairston brings a stellar playing resume to Arizona. A two-time First Team All-WCC selection, Nared-Hairston played at and graduated from Saint Mary's College where she dominated the West Coast Conference for the Gaels. In her final two seasons, Nared-Hairston led the league in scoring at 16.6 points per game as a junior and 21.8 points per game as a senior in 2014, the sixth-best scoring season in WCC history.
In addition to her collegiate excellence, Nared-Hairston took her abilities overseas where she played in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland and Waregem, Belgium. She would earn Guard of the Year, First Team All-League and Import Player First Team Recognition in her two seasons playing professionally.
