Former Mustang point guard and assistant coach Lisa Zamroz has been hired as the next TMU Women’s Basketball head coach.

“Lisa is a tremendous addition to our staff,” said Master’s Athletic Director Kelvin Starr. “She knows TMU Women’s Basketball, having played in the program and previously serving as an assistant coach. She is truly coming home.”

Zamroz is excited to lead the program in which she began her collegiate career.

“For me, it’s a dream job,” Zamroz said. “There’s truly not another program that I’d rather lead. TMU not only shaped me as a college student, but it continues to shape my family and me to this day.”

The newly-hired head coach looks forward to having a similar impact on her student-athletes.

“It will be a joy and tremendous blessing to have the opportunity to train and disciple young women in the context of athletics, helping them use their gifts and desires as an act of worship to the Lord,” Zamroz said.

Starr added: “Her desire for discipleship is evident and she is a natural leader.”

After starting for Master’s for two years from 2006-08, Zamroz transferred to Oklahoma Christian University, where she started at shooting guard for her final two years of eligibility. As a senior in 2010, she earned All-Sooner Athletic Conference Third Team honors, helping lead her team to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship.

After graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Sports, Wellness and Recreation Management, Zamroz served as the lead assistant coach for her alma mater from 2011-16.

During her five seasons coaching at Oklahoma Christian, she helped the Eagles transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II, leading OCU to the Heartland Conference Tournament in its first season of NCAA eligibility. Before completing that transition, her Eagles’ teams won back-to-back NCCAA regional titles.

Zamroz then served as an assistant coach for TMU Women’s Basketball in 2019-20, a season in which the Mustangs were ranked No. 1 in the NAIA for the first time in program history and won a program-record 29 games.

Regarding her coaching philosophy, Zamroz said: “Successful coaches combine character and competency. I believe professional diligence and preparedness, united with exemplary character and intentional discipleship, puts players in the very best position to succeed athletically and to grow into all that the Lord has called them to be on and off the court.”

Zamroz has already begun building relationships with her players, taking her team on a retreat this past weekend to Carpinteria.

“I hope to establish a culture built on trust, hard work, integrity, humility and service,” Zamroz said. “I hope to bring athletic excellence united with a deep commitment to the mission of The Master’s University at-large.”

The team has begun off-season workouts and weight training, which Zamroz said will continue until the spring semester ends in early May. Her goal for the program is to get better every day.

“The first order of business is to get everyone healthy and acclimated to a new coach,” Zamroz said. “From there, we want to develop team chemistry and momentum heading into summer break.”

Zamroz replaces Dan Waldeck, who served as head coach for the last 13 years and coached within the program for 26 years total.

“I am excited to watch her carry on the tradition that has been established in women’s basketball at TMU,” Starr said of the Mustangs’ new head coach.