UNLV Lady Rebels head coach Lindy La Rocque reacts to a play against the Michigan Wolverines during the second half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Kaija Ambriz Named Director Of Basketball Operations For UNLV Lady Rebels

Originally posted on UNLV Rebels on SI
By Mark Morales-Smith | Last updated Jun 12, 2025 4:45 PM ET

The UNLV Lady Rebels women's basketball team has added Kaija Ambriz to their staff. She will serve as the director of basketball operations. Head coach Lindy La Rocque made the announcement on Thursday.

"I'm excited to welcome Kaija back to UNLV and the Lady Rebels," said La Rocque. "As a former student manager for us, she brings firsthand knowledge of our culture and operations. Her leadership, attention to detail and enthusiasm for basketball and UNLV make her a valuable asset to our staff."

Help us give a huge Lady Rebel welcome to our new Director of Basketball Operations, Kaija!✨

️ https://t.co/L2Nq9Sy5AX pic.twitter.com/F6u9faJnHc
— UNLV Lady Rebels (@UNLVLadyRebels) June 12, 2025

Ambriz had already served as a student manager for the women's basketball team for a number of seasons. On top of her impressive performance for the program already, La Rocque was also happy to bring in a director of basketball operations who is familiar with the program and how things work under the current regime. She has also worked on a national level for USA Basketball. So she has worked with the best of the best in the country. Surely, Ambriz was on La Rocque's radar for a while. She earned the job less than a year after graduating from UNLV as a Kinesiology major.

She joins an elite program in which the Lady Rebs are coming of another regular season Mountain West Championship. However, they did face disappointment with an early exit in the Mountain West Tournament where they were shockingly bounced out in the second round despite being the favorites to win the whole thing and earn another bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Ambriz will be expected to live up to the high standard set by the program and is fully expected to do just that. This was an excellent hiring by La Rocque and the Rebels athletic department that they expect will help them find their way back to the NCAA Tournament.