Pierre Named To Top-50 Most Impactful List

Pierre was also a standout guard on the Cal women’s basketball team helping the Bears reach the Final Four in 2013.

WBB6/25/2024 1:19 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Former Bear Enters Fourth Year On Cal’s Staff

BERKELEY – California women’s basketball assistant coach Elize Pierre was named to Silver Waves Media’s Top 50 Most Impactful Women’s Assistants list. The list, curated after months of research by a panel of industry professionals, features some of the most outstanding and impactful assistants in Division I women’s basketball.
 
Pierre is entering her fourth season with the Golden Bears coaching staff in 2024-25 where her responsibilities include recruiting, guard development and opponent scouting. She has been integral with the program’s player career development efforts including organizing the annual “Career Connections” event that connects Cal players with industry professionals in careers they are interested in. Pierre has been an active resource for Cal Athletics’ Black Student-Athlete Community (BSAC). Prior to returning to Berkeley as a coach, the 2013 Cal alumna spent the 2017-21 seasons as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara, where she helped guide nine players to All-Big-West honors during her tenure.
 
“Eliza makes this program better every day,” Cal women’s basketball head coach Charmin Smith said. “She brings and endless amount of energy to our practices and games that our players and staff feed off of. She is the embodiment of Cal basketball as she doesn’t just prepare our players to get better on the court, but she helps prepare them for life.”
 
Pierre had a storied playing career at Cal, which included receiving a Pac-10/12 All-Defensive team honor all four seasons (2009-13), being named the team’s defensive MVP in 2010 and helping lead the Bears to their first Final Four appearance in 2013. She still ranks among Cal’s leaders in multiple categories – fifth in career steals (243), sixth in in single-season steals (90) and fourth in career games played (140).
 
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