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Karen Aston is in her third season at the helm of the 49ers women's basketball program. In her first season at Charlotte, she guided the 49ers to 18 wins and a berth in the WNIT. Of the 30 rookie head coaches in Division I, she was one of only five to lead their team to postseason play. In her second season at Charlotte, she helped the 49ers capture the 2009 A-10 Tournament title, which is the program's first conference tournament title. The 49ers reached the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history while winning 23 games in 2008-09.
Aston became the seventh head coach in the 34-year history of the program on April 27, 2007. She came to Charlotte after spending 13 years coaching at the NCAA Division I level in the state of Texas.
"In pursuing the best candidates to fill our vacancy, one name kept rising to the top of everyone's list -- Karen Aston," said Charlotte Director of Athletics Judy Rose. "Her knowledge of the game is obvious. She has an excitement and intensity about her and she just lights up when she talks about X's and O's. I am confident that her energy and enthusiasm will carry over to her team. I am thrilled to have her leading the Charlotte 49ers women's basketball program."
She spent the 2006-07 season as associate head coach at Baylor. She helped the Bears win 26 games and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to joining the Baylor coaching staff in 2006, she spent eight years as a member of Hall of Fame Coach Jody Conradt's coaching staff at the University of Texas (1998-2006). She was associate head coach her last six seasons in Austin. While at Texas, she was the Longhorns' recruiting coordinator and on the court she primarily worked with the defense and post players.
During her eight seasons at Texas, the Longhorns posted a 173-83 record and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, including two appearances in the Sweet 16 and a trip to the Final Four in 2003. In 2002-03, the Longhorns captured the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and finished ranked number four in the final Associated Press (AP) poll. In 2003-04, Texas shared the Big 12 regular season title and finished ranked number five in the final AP poll.
During her time as Texas' recruiting coordinator, Aston played a vital role in signing 25 nationally recognized recruits. All eight of the recruiting classes that she helped attract were nationally ranked. Her final recruiting class (2005-06) at Texas was ranked number one in the nation by the All-Star Girls Report. In her last four years at Texas, she played an integral role in signing seven McDonald's All-Americans and seven WBCA/Nike All-Americans. Two of those high school All-Americans (Tiffany Jackson and Erika Arriaran) were named national high school players of the year. Jackson went on to earn consensus national Freshman of the Year honors in 2003-04.
Before joining the Texas coaching staff, she spent two seasons as an assistant women's basketball coach at the University of North Texas (1996-98) and two seasons as an assistant at Baylor (1994-96).
Before entering the collegiate coaching ranks, Aston was recognized as one of the top high school women's coaches in the South. She coached five years at Vilonia High School (1988-93) in Vilonia, Ark. and one year at Fort Smith Northside (1993-94) in Fort Smith, Ark. In 1993-94, she guided Fort Smith Northside to a 24-10 record and fifth place finish in Class AAAA. For her efforts that season, she was named the Arkansas Northwest Region Coach of the Year.
While at Vilonia, Aston was not only head basketball coach but also head cross country and track coach. In 1992-93, she was named the Arkansas Basketball Coach of the Year after leading Vilonia to a 36-1 record and a Class AA State Championship. She guided the Vilonia cross country teams to state titles in 1991 and 1992.
Aston is a 1987 graduate of the University of Arkansas Little-Rock, where she received her bachelor's degree in physical education. She played two seasons of standout basketball at Arkansas Little-Rock after transferring from Ouachita Baptist.
A native of Benton, Ark., Aston was a two-time first-team All-State selection at Bryant High School. She topped off her high school career by leading Bryant to both the 1982 Arkansas State Championship (Class 4A) and the 1982 Arkansas overall State title.
