Hunt at the helm: Austin College alum taking the reins of the 'Roos
For Olivia Hunt, leading the program at Austin College is more than just her first head coaching job. It's a return to a place that has been intertwined with her coaching career every step of the way.
SHERMAN, Texas — It was a dream job for Olivia Hunt ever since she arrived at Austin College as a freshman in 2013.
As a high school junior, she stepped onto the campus at Austin College for the first time, met with what she remembers as a “welcoming dynamic” and ever-present “family vibe.” It made a lasting impact, and she committed shortly after. “When you step on to campus, you feel it,” Hunt, who played four seasons at AC, said last Wednesday.
Little did she know then how many doors that college decision would open down the road, some coming well after she hung up her jersey for the last time. “Austin College is a place that can set students up for the rest of their lives,” says Hunt.
In the years since her graduation in 2017, she has coached at four different programs. Austin College was one, with two stints on staff, first as a graduate assistant and later as the program’s assistant coach in 2022-23.
Her other three stops all came at programs with an Austin College alum at the helm, whether it be at Texas A&M-Commerce and North Texas with Jason Burton, or at UT-Dallas coaching alongside Polly Thomason. Hunt never found herself far from Austin College, nor the sense of community she felt during her time as a student-athlete in Sherman, sharing the bond of being an AC alum with both Burton and Thomason as her coaching career soared.
And it was with that special connection to AC in mind that Hunt jumped at the opportunity to lead the ‘Roos when the head coaching position opened in March, with Michelle Filander moving into a new role as the Director of Athletics. The Director of Recruiting & Player Development for a UNT squad that went 25-9 in the 2024-25 season, Hunt’s enthusiasm for the idea of taking the helm was reciprocated by those in the AC administration, especially Filander, who coached Hunt during four strong years for the program and worked alongside her for two more.
“Olivia has been a part of so many pivotal points with the program over the years and I am so excited to welcome her back in the role of head coach," said Filander, who will become the college's athletics director heading into the 2025-26 academic year. "She is an outstanding fit, and we are fortunate to have her return to Austin College to continue building the culture she helped create."
It isn’t hard to see the full-circle moment that Hunt is currently experiencing through her first days on the job in Sherman. On the same campus that she arrived as a newcomer 12 years ago, on the same campus she traveled back to as AC’s assistant in 2022, she is now leading the program into the future, drawing on an extensive coaching career up to this point.
“I am so blessed to get to lead this program,” Hunt said, her genuine excitement evident less than a week into the new role. “I think Austin College women’s basketball is a place that can be super successful. We experienced a lot of success when I was there as a player (from 2013-2017), and then as a graduate assistant (in 2017-18). I’m hoping to carry that on. The culture Michelle Filander has had in place has been amazing, and whether they’ve been winning or losing, that has remained steadfast. I can’t wait to carry that on.”
Maintaining that cohesive culture—a significant part of what brought her to AC as a student-athlete in the first place—will be made easier by inheriting a squad led by a pair of returning seniors in Brooklyn Matthews and Grace Moothart. Both are capable of being centerpieces for Hunt’s first team in Sherman, alongside rising juniors Lexi Martin and Avory Miller, who led the ‘Roos in minutes a season ago. The unique connection with Matthews and Moothart? Hunt was on staff in the duo’s first year at AC in 2022-23. As fate would have it, she’ll be on the sidelines for their final year too.
Inheriting a squad with so much experience—not a single player graduated off last year’s roster—is encouraging for Hunt, especially based on the positive reports she has heard of the work ethic of her new team’s leading contributors.
"It has to be player-initiated,” Hunt said. “When your best players are your hardest workers, you’re going to be good. I know that’s the case for me. Brooklyn and Lexi are the two all-conference returners, and they stay in the gym, from what I’ve been told. They’re self-starters. So I can’t wait to see them grow, along with the rest of the team.”
While there may not be a significant amount of change with who is on the floor in Year 1 of the Hunt era for AC women’s basketball, her vision for the ‘Roos’ style of play will look different than in years past. At least initially. She’s quick to point out that adjusting the style from year-to-year based on the roster is a component of sustained success, especially in D3, where recruiting always involves more than just the basketball piece.
“The best Division III coaches adapt their style of play to their players,” Hunt said. “You aren’t able to just find the basketball fit. It has to be a whole fit. They have to able to afford your school, and we do our best to make that reasonable, but a big part of making that happen is that they have to be the right academic fit too [which affects how you construct your roster]. The greatest coaches make their players shine through the right schemes for their best players.”
So what does that look like in Year 1? For one thing, expect the ‘Roos to run a whole lot more. Hunt already talks with excitement about what Matthews, a 6’2 center, brings to the table in transition, with her athleticism and scoring ability around the rim. Several returners, like Moothart, stretch the floor efficiently, opening up opportunities to use speed to their advantage. AC ranked No. 311 in adjusted tempo in D3 last season, but that will rise in Hunt’s first season at the helm.
“Playing up-tempo is something that I’m going to be looking to incorporate a little bit more,” Hunt said. “I’m going to be a little more hands-on than Coach Filander was. She was great at teaching a motion offense, and I loved it. Playing motion gave me so much freedom, because I could get to my spots and hit my shots. But at the same time, I think I’m going to be more hands-on in Year 1 to really put the players in the best position for them as individuals to be successful. So there’s going to be a little more structure offensively than you’ve seen in the past.
“Again, I loved that motion offense, and when it worked, it was super effective. It won two regular season championships and a conference tournament championship as well, so when you have players that fit the motion offense, it’s so effective, because you can’t really scout it. But in Year 1, I’m going to have to be a little more hands-on for us to win a couple more basketball games. Because ultimately, that’s what we all want.”
Hunt’s recent success as part of coaching staffs at every level of the NCAA—from D3 at AC and UT-Dallas, to D2 at Texas A&M-Commerce (now East Texas A&M), to her most recent stop at D1 North Texas—only adds enthusiasm from those around the campus in Sherman. She is well-versed in the intricacies of what is required to win on a high level, and has the personal D3 experience to recognize what makes this division unique at the same time.
“I think the thing that makes D3 players so special is that you’re essentially paying to play college basketball,” Hunt said. “Which means you love the game. You love it, and you’re going to do everything you need to do to stay around the game for as long as possible. That’s something that I had in common with both Coach Burton and Coach Thomason. They both just love the game.”
Burton, who played for the AC men’s team and led the ‘Roos in scoring and rebounding as a senior in 2004-05, has done nothing short of incredible work in stops at both A&M-Commerce and especially North Texas. Taking over a program that had won just 11 games the year prior to his arrival ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, Burton led the Mean Green to a co-AAC regular season title, and followed that up with a 25-9 season this past year.
Hunt was on staff from the beginning of Burton’s time in Denton, contributing to a two-year run that included a 45-18 record, a Third Round WNIT appearance in 2024-25, and a 28-8 mark against AAC opponents. UNT also won at Houston last season for the program’s first win over a Power 4 opponent since 2016. When the topic of UNT is brought up, Hunt’s passion for the program is clear, and her stint in Denton is something she plans to draw upon as she takes the reins of her own program as a first-time head coach.
“My time at North Texas was nothing short of incredible and a dream. I had a front row seat to watching a legend of a basketball coach with Jason Burton, but also Britney Brown, our associate head coach. I don’t think I’ve ever learned more from a person than I have from her in two years. Just in terms of how to be a great assistant. She’s elite at what she does, and her knowledge of Xs and Os is incredible.
“I worked with Durmon Jennings with our post players. I was not a post player — I’m only 5’5 — so to learn from him on how to coach those players was awesome. Dr. Leah Foster is great because she looks at basketball from such a holistic nature. She was sent to this world from God to make an impact on people’s lives. Learning how to take care of people and listen is something she’s spectacular at. Princess Davis, our recruiting coordinator, and I worked hand-in-hand. I actually got to coach her at A&M-Commerce. She is incredible with building relationships with players and being super organized in that lane. And LaDerica Paul, our director of basketball operations, is the most organized person and great behind the scenes. So I appreciate everyone there.
“Coming full circle to Jason, he is an elite molder of young women and his basketball mind is great. I will continue to celebrate his successes and it’s so cool we both have that Austin College connection.”
It has been said often how important the relationship between coach and athletic director is on the road to success. Having an AD that buys in to the vision and goals of the head coach, and then take steps to help achieve that vision, is baked into the formula for high-caliber results. For Hunt, it seems she couldn’t have found herself in a better situation on that front, working for a department now led by her former head coach and longtime mentor.
“First off, I want to give a shout-out to [former AD] David Norman,” Hunt said, when asked about the dynamic of working under Filander’s leadership again in a different capacity. “He’s been leading the athletic department for the last 30 years or so, and is an alum himself. He’s Austin College through and through. But as far as Coach Filander and I, we are incredibly close. She fights for the betterment of the experience for the student-athlete. Obviously over the last 16 years, she’s done that for women’s basketball at Austin College, but I can’t wait to see her do that for every program in our department.
“She knows Division III well. She played Division I basketball and also Division III basketball, and ultimately came back to D-III as a coach. I cannot wait to see her shine as an athletic director. I think it was only a matter of time before this happened. She was made to impact more than just women’s basketball, and she is ready to take over. Our athletic department is going to take a step in a forward direction because she’s the leader.”
For years, Hunt has seen firsthand the accomplishments of Austin College alums in the various levels of the sport. There is of course Thomason, who won 327 games over 17 years at UT-Dallas, and Burton, who has North Texas on a roll as one of the top programs in the AAC. There’s also West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg, who has recorded two consecutive 25-win seasons in his first two years in the Big 12, along with back-to-back second round NCAA Tournament appearances. And there’s Larry Tidwell, whose list of accolades spans long, including earning the 2015 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches D-I Women’s Coach of the Year award at UT-Rio Grande Valley.
She’ll keep those fellow alums and mentors in mind as she moves over one spot on the bench, looking towards the next chapter of her already-expansive coaching career. Hunt is confident she can add to the legacy of AC alums making waves as head coaches in women’s college basketball, and more importantly, pour into a program that meant so much to her as a student-athlete less than a decade ago.
“There are some high level coaches that have come out of Austin College, and I knew that when I got there,” Hunt said, her pride for AC women’s basketball evident. “So hopefully, my name gets to be mentioned with that elite group at some point. I have to do the work and prove myself. But hopefully Olivia Hunt gets to be mentioned in the same sentence as Polly Thomason, Jason Burton, and Mark Kellogg one day…I am an Austin College person through and through.”
Coaching Carousel Update
Franklin College is now open after Jessica Darmelio accepted the head coaching position at Carmel (IN) High School. Franklin recorded consecutive seasons above .500 under Darmelio in each of the last two years, a first for the program since doing so between 2015-2017. Darmelio, a Franklin alum who graduated in 2014, led the Grizzlies for three seasons. Amongst her notable accomplishments while at Franklin, she led the team to an HCAC Tournament win over Rose-Hulman in 2023-24, the program’s first since 2020. Also, Jordan Coon became Franklin’s 16th 1,000-point scorer under Darmelio’s direction, with Coon’s first season coinciding with Darmelio’s college head coaching debut in 2022-23.
I am also told by multiple sources that Utica is unlikely to begin a coaching search prior to the 2025-26 season, unless something significantly changes. The job has not been publicly posted and Allison Coleman, who formerly spent 10 seasons as HC at D3 Sage, is currently the interim head coach. So while that one is technically “open”, it appears Coleman will be leading Utica into next season.
Millsaps announced Jeff Wilbur as its next head women’s basketball coach this morning, replacing Justin LeBlanc, who is moving into a role as the full-time AD at Millsaps. Wilbur previously spent two seasons on Millsaps’ men’s coaching staff from 2021-2023 and last season, was a women’s assistant at NJCAA power Arizona Western.
Current coaching carousel stats:
21 jobs have opened in 17 different conferences
SCAC, SLIAC, UEC, and NAC each have had multiple coaching changes this offseason
7 jobs have already been filled (York, Austin, LaGrange, Keystone, Cedar Crest, St. Joseph’s College, Millsaps), with 3 of those 6 being internal hires. Hunt is the only new head coach to have both come directly from outside of her new institution and D3 as a whole.
Of the jobs still open, Eastern Connecticut State has been open the longest in this cycle, using the date of the announcement of Denise Bierly’s retirement (March 7) as a starting point.
At the present moment, only 1 NCAA Tournament team from this past season will have a new head coach in 2025-26. McMurry’s Drew Long is now HC at D1 Houston Christian.