Women's Basketball Announces Two Staff Additions

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Head Women's Basketball Coach Lynne Roberts has announced the addition of Jordan Sullivan and Samantha Michel to her staff for the upcoming 2022-23 season. Joining the program are Jordan Sullivan as an assistant coach and Samantha Michel as the team's creative director for marketing and recruiting.  
 
Sullivan spent six years at Montana, five as an assistant coach and one as Director of Basketball Administration. During the 2021-22 season, Sullivan helped guide the Lady Griz to a 19-11 record and a mark of 12-8 in the Big Sky. The 19 wins were the most wins for Montana since the 2015-16 season. She coached Carmen Gfeller and Sophia Stiles to All-Big Sky Conference honors. Gfeller was only the second Lady Griz to earn first-team honors in the last eight years.
 
"Throughout the search process for this position, Jordan's name kept being brought to my attention," remarked Roberts. "She is highly respected and very connected in the women's basketball world. Her achievements on the court and now as a coach at the University of Montana speak for themselves. She is incredibly bright, motivated, and has a gift for connecting with people. We are fired up to welcome Jordan to the Ute family!"
 
Montana finished the COVID affected season of 2020-21 with a record of 12-11, which was the second straight season above .500. Following the 2020-21 season, the Lady Griz had two players earn All-Big Sky honors in Gfeller and Abby Anderson.
 
"I am extremely grateful and humbled to be joining the Utah Women's basketball program!" stated Sullivan. "I want to thank Lynne Roberts for such an enormous opportunity. I've followed the Utes for a while, including their historic season last year. After spending time with Lynne, Gavin, and Jerise, their vision and direction of their program for the future was clear to me and very exciting. I appreciated how genuine the staff is. I'm so pumped to work with the players, coaches, and administrators in one of the elite basketball conferences in the country! Go Utes!!"
 
The Lady Griz tied for fourth in the Big Sky in 2019-20, earned a bye at the league tournament, and won 17 games overall, which was the most since 2015-16. In her first year as an assistant, in 2017-18, the Lady Griz improved from seven to 14 wins and won a game at the Big Sky Conference tournament. In 2018-19, Montana once again won 14 games.
 
Sullivan was hired in 2016 to serve as the program's Director of Basketball Administration before being elevated to an assistant coach.
 
Sullivan played professionally in Denmark (2014-15) and Luxembourg (2015-16) following her collegiate playing days.
 
Sullivan was recruited to play for the Lady Griz by her uncle, former Montana coach Robin Selvig. She played in a then program-record 129 games for the Lady Griz and was a member of teams that won 81 games and advanced to three national tournaments. Montana faced UCLA in the 2011 NCAA tournament when Sullivan was a freshman and Georgia in 2013.
  
The Lady Griz went 23-11 in 2013-14, Sullivan's senior year. She was voted second-team All-Big Sky Conference after averaging a career-high 11.6 points. That team advanced to the second round of the WNIT. Sullivan was a two-time Big Sky Player of the Week in her career and was named the Montana AAU Little Sullivan Award winner following her senior season. 
 
The four-time Academic All-Big Sky selection graduated from Montana in 2014 with a degree in marketing. She added a master's degree in business administration in 2021.
 
Michel joins the staff as the creative director for marketing and recruiting. She joins the Utes after a four-year playing career, two at Northeastern and two at Anderson (S.C.). In her first season at Anderson, she was named SAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SAC Second Team Player. 
 
"Samantha will be great in college athletics," stated Roberts. "She brings such enthusiasm and palpable excitement that will greatly enhance our program in her role. She has a tremendous understanding of social media and will be a great addition to our marketing and recruiting efforts. Our fans will enjoy working with Samantha, and we are excited to have her join our program!"
 
At Anderson, she played in 48 games and scored 457 points while shooting 49.6 percent from the floor. After her final season at Anderson, Michel was selected for the WBCA "So You Want to Be a Coach," a two-day workshop during the WBCA Convention during the Final Four. 
 
She interned with Pass Tha Ball, where she helped create content for their social media accounts. She also assisted with planning brand events. She would travel to games and collect media for their social media accounts.
 
"I am beyond excited to come out to Utah and be a part of the Ute family!" Michel stated. "The coaching staff and supporting staff have done an amazing job making me feel at home and welcomed! I cannot wait to start my journey here!"
 
Michel graduated from Anderson University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Digital Media Studies and a master's degree in Organizational Leadership in 2022.  
 
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