Leasa Alishie

Leasa Ailshie

Leasa Ailshie enters her fourth season as assistant coach on the Northwestern State staff after success both as a head coach and athletic director at Jacksonville College in Jacksonville, Texas. She spent five seasons as the head coach for the Jaguars with the final two and a half years also serving as the school’s athletic director.
 
Ailshie brings a wealth of knowledge, offensive acumen and uncanny ability to recognize and maneuver through an opposing defense to create success in pivotal moments of the game.
 
In her role as assistant coach for the Lady Demons, she works closely with Nimz implementing all facets of the offense including individual workouts for players, she also serves as the academic lead on the coaching staff working with the student-athletes to fortify their success within the classroom.
 
Ailshie served as a department chair and on multiple academic judicial committees while at UTRGV, completing and submitting Academic Progress Rate (APR)  and Graduation Success Rate (GSR) reports for the Vaqueros to the NCAA.

She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at her alma mater Sam Houston State where she played two seasons for the Bearkats after transferring from Connors State. In June 2011 she joined Jacksonville College as an assistant coach, working her way to head coach in 2013 and athletic director in 2015.

As the head coach, Ailshie led the Lady Jaguars to a school record 21-win season during the 2017-18 campaign, earning a finalist spot for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. She mentored four All-American players in her time, three in the NJCAA and another Parade All-American, saw 12 players earn Academic All-American honors, with her program enjoying a 100 percent graduation rate.

Jacksonville also had 14 All-Region 14 performers and a Region 14 MVP under Ailshie's direction.
 
Her comfortability in late-game, high-pressure situations and ability to put players in the best situation for their success, all of which she brings to NSU, are what led to the Lady Jaguars’ athletic success on the court.

While serving as the women's basketball head coach, Ailshie was named Jacksonville College Athletic Director and served in both roles until May of 2018. 

In addition to leading a successful basketball program, Ailshie boosted the notoriety of the school by winning the bid to host the men's and women's Region 14 basketball tournament. She served as the tournament director for the competitions in both 2017 and 2018. The tournament has remained in Jacksonville even after Ailshie’s departure.
 
She was responsible for coordination and supervision of athletic events, fundraising for and promotion of the school, and budget, employee, and coach management.

No stranger to the Southland Conference, Ailshie earned a bachelor's and master's in health education from Sam Houston State as a member of the basketball team and then graduate assistant coach.

In two seasons with the Bearkats, she started 39 games and averaged 5.8 points and 3.7 assists. Prior to her time in Huntsville, Ailshie saw success at Conners State in Oklahoma where she averaged 8.5 assists per game, led the team to its first winning mark in three seasons, and recorded 17 double-digit assist games including a school record 17.