ATLANTA, Ga. – The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced today that Christopher Newport assistant coach Alex Tomlinson has been named the 2022 Division III Assistant Coach of the Year.
 
This is the first Assistant Coach of the Year award for the Captains' women's basketball program. Tomlinson was also a part of the staff that collected Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
 
"I am truly honored to be the recipient of this award," said Tomlinson. "I would like to thank Coach Broderick for giving me the opportunity to come work for you and this program, I feel lucky to be a part of this program and this honor is a testament to the hard work each of our players put in all season. I love coming to work every day to work with each and every one of them."
 
Each season, the WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year is presented to one associate head coach or assistant coach in each membership division who demonstrates commitment to their program, their student-athletes, and their head coach; their impact coaching on the court; their mentorship and impact on other coaches; and, their professional manner and attitude.
 
Tomlinson helped guide the Captains to a record-shattering season in 2021-22 with a 26-1 overall record, a Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship, and a trip to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. The Captains earned the No. 1 national ranking for the first time in program history and stacked up a program-record 43-game winning streak – the ninth longest run in Division III history.
 
In her third season with the program, Tomlinson has been forced to navigate some of the most challenging circumstances during her tenure. She was a member of the coaching staff in 2019-20 when the Captains were on a 17-game win streak headed to the Sweet 16 when the COVID-19 global pandemic halted all play. She remained on staff and took over the bulk of the assistant coach duties over the next year and a half as players were faced with unprecedented uncertainty with their careers while still maintaining the rigors of academic life.
 
Fast-forward to this season, when the Captains entered the season with high expectations. Unlike many of the top teams in the nation, Christopher Newport did not roster any transfers or fifth-year seniors. The team would be heavily reliant on two classes who had never officially played college basketball and Tomlinson helped ready the freshmen and sophomores for the obstacles of balancing collegiate basketball and a full course load.
 
And ready they were. The Captains stormed out of the gate this season, winning 26 straight and standing tall as one of the final two undefeated teams in NCAA Basketball, men's or women's. Under Tomlinson's tutelage, the Captains ranked third nationally in field-goal percentage, fourth in scoring offense, and fourth in turnovers forced per game. Three CNU players earned first team All-Conference honors while Sondra Fan was named C2C Player of the Year and Anaya Simmons, the national statistical champion in field-goal percentage, collected Tournament MVP honors.
 
In a year where Christopher Newport had just eight home games, Tomlinson managed the Captains' oft complicated travel itineraries throughout the season. She executed practice plans, drafted scouting reports, and assisted with recruiting
 
Tomlinson has worked with head coach Bill Broderick and the Captains for each of the last three seasons following a stint with the University of North Carolina as a graduate assistant coach.
 
The Assistant Coach of the Year award originated in 2016 and is presented annually.
 
Visit www.abca.org/recognize to see a list of past recipients of the award. The award winners for the 2021-22 campaign are:
 
NCAA Division I: Kate Paye (Stanford University)
NCAA Division II: Jordan Mellott (Drury University)
NCAA Division III: Alex Tomlinson (Christopher Newport University)
NAIA: Miranda Denney (Campbellsville University)
Two-Year College: Angelica De Paulo (Eastern Arizona College)