RENO, Nev. First-year head women’s basketball coach Jane Albright Tuesday announced the addition of assistant coaches Ron Stewart, Camille Williams and Kami Malnaa (pronounced Mal-nuh) to her staff. In addition, Amber Young, who served as the director of operations last season, will stay in the same role this year.
“It was a huge blessing for me to be able to put together a staff consisting of four high-quality, professional and hardworking people,” Albright said. “They bring the perfect blend of youth, experience, passion for the game, knowledge, integrity, and vision to the program.”
Stewart spent the last 11 seasons as the head women’s basketball coach at Western Michigan University. During his tenure with the Broncos, Stewart compiled a 159-169 overall record (.485) and a 101-77 mark in MAC play (.567). He coached 19 players to All-MAC honors, five honorable mention Kodak All-Americans and two MAC Players of the Year.
At Western Michigan University, his teams made three WNIT appearances, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2004, and one NCAA Tournament Appearance. In addition, his team won the 2003 MAC Tournament.
Prior to his time at Western Michigan, Stewart served as an assistant men’s coach at the University of Florida from 1990-96 where the 1994 team advanced to the NCAA Final Four. In addition, Stewart served as an assistant men’s coach at Kansas State University from 1986-90 where the Wildcats participated in the NCAA Tournament every season from 1986-90 including an Elite Eight appearance in 1986.
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Stewart assisted with practices and training camp at the 1995 USA Basketball World University Games, was an assistant coach and travel coordinator with Florida’s foreign tour of Australia in 1993 and served as the head coach of the Superior Professional Basketball League from 1988-1989.
Stewart graduated from Indiana University in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in education and received his master’s degree in education from Butler University in 1977.
“Ron’s experience in the game of basketball sets him apart from many assistants in our game,” Albright said. “He has over 20 years of experience at the Division I level and has been successful everywhere he has been. He is a true X’s and O’s guy, a great teacher of the game and will be involved in every aspect of our program.”
Williams spent three seasons, 2005-2008, as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara. During her time with the Gauchos, she assisted with guard and post player development and defense, served as the co-recruiting coordinator and oversaw UCSB’s academic development.
While at UCSB, the Gauchos won its 13th Big West Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2007-08. She served as the lead contact in the recruitment of a pair of McDonald’s All-American Nominees, Meagan Williams, the Sacramento Player of the Year, and Ashlee Brown, an All-State player from Arizona.
Prior to UCSB, she served as an assistant coach at Cal from 2000-2005. While with the Bears, she recruited the sixth ranked recruiting class in the nation in 2005 as rated by the Blue Star Index. She successfully recruited McDonald’s All-American and WBCA All-American Devanei Hampton, and McDonald’s All-Americans Alexis Gray-Lawson, Ashley Walker and Jene Morris. In addition, she was the lead contact in the recruitment of PAC-10 All-Freshman team member Jessica Lawson and 2003 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year Keanna Levy.
While at Cal, she was also the academic coordinator, strength and conditioning liaison, film exchange director and director of team camps. She helped her team attain at least a 3.0 GPA for two-and-a-half years.
Williams served as the head coach at Madison Area Technical College in Madison, Wis., in 1999-00 where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations for the basketball program including recruiting, fund raising, player management and development, scouting, team travel and scheduling. She has also spent time coaching at the high school level, serving as an assistant coach at Madison Memorial High School from 1998-99 and the girl’s freshman coach at Middleton High School from 1996-98.
She played basketball and competed in track and field at the University of Wisconsin from 1991-96. She finished her basketball career with the Badgers ranked in the top-15 in six categories and served as a co-captain of her basketball team in 1995 and in track and field in 1996. She played in two NCAA Tournaments as a player, in 1992 and 1995, and was named to the Big Ten All-Star Team in 1993. She received All-America recognition in the high jump during the 1995 and 1996 outdoor seasons.
She has spent time as a women’s basketball color analyst for Wisconsin’s women’s basketball games on FOX Sports Network and WHA-TV from 1996-00. She has also been involved in several community outreach programs including Meals on Wheels, the Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity and the YMCA.
Williams earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural business management from the University of Wisconsin in 1996.
“Camille competed for me at the University of Wisconsin and has the experiences of playing and coaching in NCAA Tournament games,” Albright said. “She has been on the West Coast recruiting for almost 10 years and her hard work has made her one of the best recruiters in our game. Her enthusiasm, organization, and desire to be the best make her a real asset for us all.”
Malnaa comes to Nevada from Wichita State University where she served as an assistant coach under Albright during the 2007-08 season. As an assistant, Malnaa’s responsibilities included scouting, recruiting, guard development, community service, film exchange and summer camps. Prior to serving as an assistant at Wichita State University, Malnaa served as the Shockers’ director of basketball operations during the 2006-07 season.
Prior to her time at Wichita State University, Malnaa was the first assistant coach at Montana State University Billings from 2004-06. During her time with the Yellowjackets, the team posted a 39-16 record, qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament in 2005 and won a Heartland Conference Championship in 2006. Her duties included scouting, recruiting, guard development and conditioning and weightlifting programs.
Malnaa has also spent time coaching at the high school level, serving as the head varsity coach at Yellowstone County Christian Home School from 2002-04 and an assistant coach at Billings West High School, the State AA Champions, from 2002-03.
Malnaa played for Montana State University Billings from 1998-02. Her 1999 team reached the NCAA Elite Eight while her 2000 and 2002 teams also qualified for the regional tournament. She was named First Team All-Conference in 2002 and served as a team captain from 2000-02. In addition, she was named Most Inspirational Player in 2002 and was named the Harold Alterowitz Most Outstanding Student-Athlete in 2002. She is third all-time in school history in career three-pointers made (171).
Malnaa has also served as the director and coach of several basketball camps including, Wichita State women’s basketball camp, Billings Bees basketball camp, Montana State University Billings summer camp and the University of Wisconsin basketball camp.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in health promotion from Montana State University- Billings in 2002 and earned her master’s in athletic training from Montana State University Billings in 2008.
“Kami has worked with me for two years and shares my vision of how I want to be successful,” Albright said. “She is a tireless worker, a great teacher, and is constantly trying to learn from others in this profession. She is a very talented young coach who knows and understands basketball and the young women who play it.”
Young will enter her second season at the director of basketball operations. Her primary duties include analyzing and maintaining the budget, making all employee and team travel arrangements, assisting with the development of new marketing ideas, film exchange and aids with the day-to-day activities with the team.
Young, who played basketball for Nevada from 2001-05, served as an assistant coach at Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, Ariz. from August of 2006 to May of 2007. While coaching, she was responsible for assisting the head coach with game planning, practices and recruiting.
While playing for the Pack, she was a three-time Academic All-WAC honoree. Young started 72 games during her four-year playing career at Nevada. She scored 526 points during her career and averaged 5.1 rebounds per game.
Young graduated from Nevada in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in finance and economics and a minor in accounting. She is currently pursuing a master's degree at Nevada.
“Amber has been a part of University of Nevada for quite a while and her passion for the Wolf Pack and basketball is obvious,” Albright said. “She is a bright young lady who wants to coach and we are fortunate to have her in this role of director of basketball operations as she is getting her experience. Her experiences at our University and in the WAC make her a valuable resource.”
