SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Head coach Molly Goodenbour and the University of San Francisco women's basketball team announced the hiring of Chris Straker as the program's new assistant coach on Monday afternoon.
 
"Being able to hire Chris Straker is a home run for us," said Goodenbour. "He has extensive coaching and recruiting experience both in the NCAA and in international basketball in the UK. He is highly regarded in women's basketball for his coaching acumen and relationship-building skills as well as his ability to recruit exceptional student-athletes. He has hit the ground running and already made himself an invaluable piece of our program." 
 
Coming over from San Jose State, Straker helped the Spartans achieve unprecedented success in 2022-23 as SJSU became the first No. 10 seed to defeat a No. 7 in the Mountain West tournament. In the classroom, he also had an immediate impact as the Spartans raised their team cumulative GPA from a 2.3 to a 3.2. Notably, freshman Sabrina Ma also earned All-Freshman honors under Straker's guidance as she was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week twice throughout the season.
 
"I first would like to thank Coach Goodenbour for the incredible opportunity to join this staff and be a part of such a prestigious university in a program that competes at the highest level in the West Coast Conference," said Straker. "I am excited by Coach's vision for the program and I'm looking forward to getting to work with the student-athletes, the coaching staff and the wider athletic department to ensure the vision of excellence she has for the program. Go Dons!"

Prior to his stop in San Jose, Straker spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern. While with the Eagles, Straker helped guide the team to becoming a top five statistical offense in the country, including being the top offensive force in the Sun Belt Conference. In his role at Georgia Southern, Straker was primarily charged with the offensive side of the ball as well as being responsible for game and practice preparation, player development with an emphasis on guard play, scheduling, scouting, academics and use of video and technology. Notably, Straker made history for the Eagles when he filled in as interim head coach as he became the first Kenyan-born to win an NCAA game. Additionally, Georgia Southern also recorded a .643 winning percentage in Straker's final year (2021-22) in the program, marking their highest win percentage since 2002-03 (.667).

Before his time with the Eagles, Straker spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Columbus State University where he helped the Cougars finish as runners-up in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. Notably, he also spent five years as an undergraduate assistant at San Diego State where he assisted the coaching staff in a variety of roles.

Additionally, Straker served as head coach of the Leeds Becketts University women's basketball team in 2010-2011 in Leeds, United Kingdom. While in Leeds, Straker guided the program to a 26-12 overall record, which included a WBBL Tournament Final Four appearance and being crowned British Universities National Champions. From 2007-2010, Straker served as the head coach of the Manchester Mystics, a semi-professional and club level women's basketball program in Manchester. While with the Mystics, he helped the U14 and U18 teams to a combined 70-10 record. In 2009, Straker's U18 team was crowned national champions.

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