Candi Whitaker - Women's Basketball Coach

Candi Whitaker

Title:
Head Coach

HEAD COACH CANDI WHITAKER
Hometown	Canyon, Texas
Alma Mater	Texas Tech, 2002 bachelors in Exercise Sports Science Valparaiso, 2004 masters in Sports Administration
Family	husband: Matt sons: Westin, William
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
LEVEL	SCHOOL (YEARS)
College	Texas Tech (2000-02) Seward County CC (1998-2000)
High School	Canyon High School
COACHING EXPERIENCE
YEAR	SCHOOL, POSITION
2013-present	Texas Tech, Head Coach
2012-13	Oklahoma State, Associate Head Coach
2006-12	UMKC, Head Coach
2004-06	UMKC, Assistant Coach
2002-04	Valparaiso, Assistant Coach

Head Coach Candi Whitaker enters her fifth season at the helm of the Lady Raider Basketball program. She became the sixth women's basketball head coach at Tech on May 20, 2013 and is the first former Lady Raider to lead the team.

Whitaker added three highly-touted transfers to the 2016-17 team and guided the Lady Raiders to an 8-3 record during non-conference play. The Lady Raiders took No. 24 Texas A&M into overtime, proving they were a force to be reckoned with. Texas Tech opened Big 12 play at home with a 70-65 victory over RV Oklahoma State, marking Whitaker's first win over the Cowgirls under her guidance. One week later, the Lady Raiders took down No. 18/19 West Virginia with a 75-66 win, marking the first win over a ranked opponent since the 2013 season.

Texas Tech finished the Big 12 season with an improved 5-13 mark and went 1-1 in the Big 12 Tournament.

Recee' Caldwell and Ivonne CookTaylor were awarded All-Big 12 honors while Brittany Brewer became the third Lady Raider in program history to be named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

Whitaker took the 2015-16 roster full of youth and potential and notched multiple marquee wins throughout the campaign. In non-conference, the Lady Raiders picked up back-to-back wins over top-ranked opponents Idaho – who was receiving votes in the AP Poll and had just beaten Iowa State by 30 – and Abilene Christian – who spent most of the year with a top-25 RPI.

However, the highlight of the non-conference was a very solid showing at the South Point Shootout in Las Vegas. The Lady Raiders dispatched Fordham, 62-48, before taking on Washington, who eventually advanced to the NCAA Women's Final Four in March. Tech had the Huskies on the ropes the majority of the game, but a 34-point outburst from the nation's leading scorer, Kelsey Plum, was the difference in a 77-73 defeat.

In Big 12 play, Tech earned a thrilling overtime win against Iowa State, its second win against the Cyclones since 2012, and swept Kansas for the first time since 2013.

Under her guidance, Japreece Dean was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week for a record six times last season.

Whitaker has seen four of her players earn conference honors including Ivonne CookTaylor (All-Big 12 Honorable Mention) and Dean (All-Freshman Team).

POSTSEASON
In her short tenure at the helm of Lady Raider basketball, Whitaker has led Tech to four straight Big 12 Championship appearances and the back-to-back quarterfinal appearances.

At the 2017 tournament, Texas Tech took down TCU, 76-58, in the opening round. The Lady Raiders outscored the Horned Frogs, 19-11 in the second quarter and never let up. Recee' Caldwell scored 14 points in the fourth period alone to lead the Lady Raiders to the victory.

At the 2016 tournament, Tech faced Iowa State in the opening round. Tech hit 10 threes and outrebounded ISU 45-27 en route to a 89-84 win, which was Coach Whitaker's first Big 12 Tournament win.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Whitaker is no stranger to the importance of succeeding in the classroom as well as on the court. During her collegiate career, Whitaker was named a Distinguished NJCAA Academic All-American, helped Seward County CC to a NJCAA National Academic Championship in 1999. Once arriving on the Tech campus, she also earned a spot on the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.

Under her guidance, 11 athletes have been named Academic All-Big 12 while eight have earned a spot on the Dean’s or President’s List.

Following the 2016-17 season, Recee' Caldwell was awarded the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award for her excellence on the court and in the classroom. She became one of 30 Lady Raiders in program history to earn a spot on the Academic All-Big 12 First Team.

Freshmen Brittany Brewer and Grayson Bright were named to the Big 12 Academic All-Rookie Team.

In just her freshman season, Japreece Dean maintained a 4.0 GPA in back-to-back semesters and was selected to the President’s List. Ionna McKenzie also went back-to-back semesters on the Dean’s List last season.

Following the 2015-16 season, Brielle Blaire, Ryann Bowser, Jamie Roe, Paige Parliament, and Ivonne CookTaylor all earned spots on one of the All-Big 12 Academic Teams.

Coach Whitaker has a 100 percent graduation rate at every stop during her career.

PRIOR TO TECH
Before returning to West Texas, Whitaker spent the 2012-13 season as associate head coach at Oklahoma State under Jim Littell and helped the Cowgirls reach the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

She became one of the youngest head coaches in women's basketball at 26 when she took over the program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2006 after two years as an assistant coach (2004-06). Whitaker won 83 games at UMKC to become the second-winningest head coach in program history while leading the ‘Roos to their first two postseason appearances in the 2010 WBI and 2012 WNIT.

UMKC went 22-12 in Whitaker's last season at the helm and advanced to the Summit League Tournament Championship for the first time since 2005. Whitaker also had a 100 percent graduation rate from all players who completed their four-year eligibility at UMKC, and coached 36 Academic All-Conference Selections.

Whitaker began her career as an assistant coach at Valparaiso from 2002-04. She helped the Crusaders to two-straight Mid-Continent Conference Tournament Championships, two NCAA Tournament berths and two 20-win seasons.

FORMER LADY RAIDER
As a player, Whitaker (then Candi White) helped lead Texas Tech to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament from 2000-02. The Lady Raiders won 45 games over her two seasons as the point guard for legendary head coach Marsha Sharp and reached as high as No. 7 in the national polls. She started and played in all 64 games over two seasons while tallying 232 points and 249 assists with 87 steals.

Before transferring to Tech, Whitaker played two seasons (1998-2000) at Seward County Community College where she averaged 10.2 points and 10.8 assists and was named an Honorable Mention NJCAA All-American while leading the Lady Saints to a 67-5 record in that time. She also led the team to a No. 1 ranking in 2000 while leading the nation in assists with 354.

Whitaker still holds the career assists record at Seward County with 577 and is third all-time with 225 steals. She also holds the top nine single-game records for assists with 16 (twice), 15 (three times) and 14 (four times) at Seward County.

Whitaker graduated from Texas Tech in 2002 with a degree in Exercise Sports Science and earned her Master’s in Sports Administration at Valparaiso in 2004. She married Matt Whitaker in April 2007. They have two sons, Westin and Will.

"I think Candi Whitaker is a great fit for Texas Tech and Texas Tech is a great fit for her. Candi's basketball IQ and work ethic are incredible. She came out of one of the best high school programs in the country and was a great point guard at the collegiate level. She made moves early in her career that prepared her for this opportunity."
- Hall of Fame Head Coach Marsha Sharp