A'Jaee Foster joined the Academy of Art women's basketball coaching staff as an assistant in June 2020.
Despite having its 2020-21 season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Academy of Art women's basketball still collected three victories and numerous honors during an abbreviated seven-game run. Among the campaign highlights was the program's
first win over Fresno Pacific since 2017, Pacific West Conference Northern California Player of the Week honors for junior guards
Lauryn Manns (
Mar. 8) and Chanel Stuart (
Feb. 22), and selections to the
All-PacWest NorCal Team for
Manns and freshman guard Brooke Rodgers. The team also collected six
Academic All-PacWest honors.
After joining the Gonzaga women's basketball staff as a video coordinator and director of analytics in 2018, Foster contributed to the team's 57-8 record over two seasons which featured a NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance and a pair of West Coast Conference regular season titles following a 33-3 combined record. Working with head coach Lisa Fortier, the 2019 WCC Coach of the Year and 2020 Werner Ladder Naismith Women's Coach of the Year semifinalist, Foster and the Zags produced five All-WCC Team honorees including Player of the Year Jill Townsend in 2020.
Starting her collegiate coaching career at the Los Angeles Valley College where she once played, Foster served as an assistant coach, handling scouting and game film, fundraising, practices, in-game coaching, workouts, recruiting, and academics. In 2017-18, Foster helped the Monarchs go 21-9 overall and finish first in the Western State Conference East Division with a perfect 10-0 conference record. That year, she worked alongside multi-time WSC East Coach of the Year Monica Hang to guide Rebecca Islas to be named WSC East Player of the Year.
Foster completed her basketball playing career at Humboldt State where she was named the CCAA Newcomer of the Year and made First and Second Team All-Conference along with being an All-Academic recipient. In 2014-2015, she led the Lumberjacks in scoring and rebounding en route to her school's first regular-season CCAA Championship. Foster also did an internship with academic advising while at HSU and went on to coach with Play Smart Basketball in Temple City, Calif. after her graduation.
At LA Valley, Foster led the Monarchs to a 2013-14 Western State Conference Championship with an undefeated record and the CCCAA State Elite Eight. She earned CCCAA All-State Second Team and WSC First Team All-Conference honors. Foster was a team captain and earned Dean's List honors at both LA Valley and Humboldt State.
A standout high school player in the Inland Empire of Southern California, Foster guided Summit High School to a CIF Championship in 2012 and was First Team All-Conference all four years.
Foster graduated from Los Angeles Valley College in 2014 with her associate's degree in Sociology, earned her bachelor's degree in Social Work from Humboldt State in 2017, and is currently working on a master's degree in Organizational Leadership at Gonzaga.
