ORLANDO, Fla. – The Gabe Lazo era at UCF is underway. The school introduced its new head women’s basketball coach at a campus press conference Thursday afternoon. Lazo, who has Power Four conference experience as an assistant coach at Mississippi State and Tennessee, takes over for Sytia Messer, who was fired after four seasons in Orlando. Suffice it to say, Lazo, a Miami native in his first head coaching role in college, is thrilled to lead a UCF program looking to gain traction in the Big 12 conference.
“We’re going to reenergize this program. We have the right people in place, the staff we have together is the key. The young women that have stayed here...they’re going to be a huge part of the culture that we’re going to build. I have been able to develop and coach professional players,” says Lazo. “It’s personal to me. This is not a stepping-stone place for me.”
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UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir was convinced early in the coaching search that Lazo was the right person for the job.
“He’s authentic, he’s a connector,” says Mohajir. “He wins everywhere. He has seen at every different level winning...as a player he played Division 1, he’s played JUCO ball, so there’s not a player that can explain to him that you haven’t gone what I’m going through...he’s seen it all.”