Anthony Figueroa’s longstanding relationship with Rick Cabrera led the former to his first season as Northwestern State’s associate head coach.
A member of Cabrera’s Lackawanna College staff from 2004-08, Figueroa brings a decorated resume from more than a decade as a head coach at Parkland College and North Central College in Illinois.
Figueroa spent the 2022-23 season at North Central, coaching the Cardinals to a 14-12 record and a berth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament.
Under Figueroa, the Cardinals played the No. 2-ranked strength of schedule in NCAA Division III and led D3 in free-throw shooting while ranking second in the NCAA in that category across all divisions. The Cardinals also led the CCIW in 3-point shooting percentage. Figueroa’s North Central squad had two All-CCIW selections, one all-region pick and one first-team NABC All-District player in 2022-23 as well as a D3 Hoops All-American.
Figueroa came to North Central following a decade as the head coach at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois.
While at Parkland, Figueroa compiled an overall record 221-79 and led the Cobras to five Midwest Athletic Conference championships, four Region 24 titles and two berths in the Elite Eight of the NJCAA Tournament. Figueroa saw 55 of his Parkland student-athletes move on to four-year institutions.
In addition to coaching three NJCAA All-Americans, 29 all-conference and all-region players, three conference Players of the Year and one Region 24 Player of the Year, Figueroa also was an assistant athletic director at Parkland. He also was the M-WAC men’s basketball chairman.
Prior to his decade at Parkland, Figueroa spent the 2011-12 academic year as an assistant coach at Centennial High School in Champaign, his second stint there.
His first came one season ahead of his time at Lackawanna where he teamed with Cabrera to form a juggernaut program that won 101 games in four years and three conference titles.
At Lackawanna, Figueroa recruited, developed and coached three NJCAA All-Americans, nine All-Region 19 players and one Region 19 Player of the Year.
Figueroa also spent three seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Millikin University, in Decatur, Illinois. Figueroa earned his undergraduate degree in computer science from Millikin.
