Asami Morita was named assistant coach for the Nevada women’s basketball program on Aug. 9, 2021.
“We are excited to have Asami join our Wolf Pack Family,” head coach Amanda Levens said. “She brings great coaching experience and will add tremendous value to our program. She has done a fantastic job the past seven seasons at Robert Morris and we have no doubt she will have a positive impact at Nevada.”
The 2022-23 season marked Morita's second season as an assistant coach for the Pack, where she helped Alyssa Jimenez posted six double-doubles en route to All-Mountain West Honorable Mention honors. With the help of Morita, Nevada had four players pass the 500 career point mark during the season.
In her first season as an assistant coach, the Pack to obtain the second-most wins in program history with 20. After a third place finish in the Mountain West, Nevada received an invitation to the Women's Basketball Invitational. Morita guided Da'ja Hamilton, Alyssa Jimenez and Audrey Roden to All-Mountain West honors. The year also saw Nevada shoot 80.9 percent from the free throw line, ranking fourth in the nation and being the 11th-best free throw percentage in NCAA Division I women's basketball history. Morita also helped senior guard Kylie Jimenez record a 3.19 assist to turnover ratio that ranked second in the country.
In her seven seasons at Robert Morris, the Colonials made five Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship Games, winning three titles in 2016, 2017, and 2019. RMU went 133-78 (.630) since 2014-15 and notched 91 wins in league play. The Colonials also have won four consecutive NEC regular-season titles over that span.
Prior to Robert Morris, Morita was an assistant coach for the Shiga Lakestars, a professional men’s basketball team in the Basketball Japan League. Morita was responsible for recruitment of international players, coordinating team travel, scouting, and also served as the team’s interpreter.
Morita was the head coach at Kansai University in Osaka, Japan from February 2011 through April 2013. She led her squad to its first Sweet 16 appearance in both the All Kansai Women’s Basketball Championship and the Western Japan Women’s Intercollegiate Basketball Championship. Kansai also had second-place conference finishes in 2011 and 2012, posting marks of 7-1 both seasons with Morita at the helm.
Morita began her coaching career at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona, where she was an assistant during the 2009-10 season. Morita was responsible for all aspects of video, breaking down individual performance, opponent scouting, and film exchange. In addition, she monitored student-athlete academic progress, team travel, and budget.
Morita graduated in 2007 with a degree in commerce from Kansai University, where she was also a student assistant with the women’s basketball team. She went on to do her post-graduate work at Idaho State, earning a Master of Physical Education in athletic administration in 2009.
