MEET THE COACHES

Alesha Ellis | Head Coach

Alesha Ellis finished her second season at the helm of the Rambelles' Women's Basketball program with a Lone Star Conference Tournament Championship under her belt. The Rambelles would finish as the two-seed in the LSC after improving their record by 11 wins, finishing 26-7. The Rambelles would down the LSC's top seed Texas Woman's to claim their first LSC Tournament title since the 2015-16 season. After securing the LSC title, Ellis and the Rambelles would earn the one seed in the South Central Region, hosting the NCAA regional for the first time in school history. The Blue and Gold would make it to the second round, but fall to UT Tyler who would go on to win the regional. The Rambelles earned four All-LSC honors and two special awards as Sawyer Lloyd was named the LSC Academic and Defensive Player of the Year. Lloyd and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant would both be named to the First Team All-South Central Region, the first players under Ellis' tenure to capture a spot on regional teams.

Her first season in San Angelo saw her improve the Rambelles from 1-13 in 2020-21 to 15-13 in 2021-22. After an 0-8 start to the season, the Rambelles finished 15-5 in their final 20 games, clinching the fourth seed in the LSC Tournament after being picked to finish 15th in the LSC Preseason Poll. The Rambelles earned six All-LSC honors, highlighted by Sawyer Lloyd’s selection to the all-conference first team.

Ellis joined Angelo State following an eight-year stint at NAIA institution Wayland Baptist, where she led the Flying Queens to the NAIA Tournament all eight seasons and won at least 19 games in seven of eight seasons, compiling a winning percentage of .784 and a career win-loss record of 189-52.

The 2019-20 season saw Ellis lead the Flying Queens to a program-record 31 wins. The Plainview, Texas native was named the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Coach of the Year four times in her eight-year stint at Wayland Baptist.

As a player, Ellis was a four-time all-district and all-state selection at Plainview High School, helping lead the Bulldogs to three Class 4A State Championships. Ellis was named a Parade, Women's Basketball Coaches, and TABC All-American her senior year of high school. Ellis was named to the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 for her time on the court for Plainview High School.

Ellis would play for Hall of Fame coach Marsha Sharp at Texas Tech, where Ellis was named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in her rookie season. She would be named as an honorable mention the next two years before being named to the All-Big 12 Second Team her senior season when she led the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game and rebounding with 8.7 rebounds per game. Ellis is currently eighth all-time on the Texas Tech career scoring list with 1,571 points.

Before joining Wayland Baptist, Ellis coached at All-Saints Junior High School before working at Sharp Academy from 2011-13, as well as coaching at Lubbock Christian High School during the same time, which culminated in winning the TAPPS Class 3A State Championship in 2013.

She is married to Andy Ellis, assistant coach for the Rambelles and a former Texas Tech men's basketball player. They have one son, Kingston James (5), and one daughter, Laiken Jo (2).

Andy Ellis | Assistant Coach

In Andy Ellis' second season with Angelo State, the Rambelles (26-7) would claim their first LSC Tournament title since the 2015-16 season and finish 11 wins better than a season ago. After securing the LSC title, Ellis and the Rambelles would earn the one seed in the South Central Region, hosting the NCAA regional for the first time in school history. The Blue and Gold would make it to the second round, but fall to UT Tyler who would go on to win the regional. The Rambelles earned four All-LSC honors and two special awards as Sawyer Lloyd was named the LSC Academic and Defensive Player of the Year. Lloyd and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant would both be named to the First Team All-South Central Region, the first players in Ellis' tenure to capture a spot on regional teams.

His first season in San Angelo saw the Rambelles from 1-13 in 2020-21 to 15-13 in 2021-22. After an 0-8 start to the season, the Rambelles finished 15-5 in their final 20 games, clinching the fourth seed in the LSC Tournament after being picked to finish 15th in the LSC Preseason Poll. The Rambelles earned six All-LSC honors, highlighted by Sawyer Lloyd’s selection to the all-conference first team.

Ellis joined Angelo State following a two-year stint at NAIA institution Wayland Baptist, where he served as the women's golf coach from 2019-21 and the women's basketball assistant coach from 2020-21.

In his sole season as an assistant coach, Ellis helped lead the Flying Queens to a 13-1 overall record, including a perfect 13-0 regular season and the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Tournament Championship to boot.

A native of Lamesa, Texas, Ellis played basketball at Texas Tech University under head coaches James Dickey and Bob Knight. He was named to the Big 12’s All-Freshman Team, then as a senior, was named All-Big 12 Second Team after averaging close to 17 points and eight rebounds a game.

After graduating from Tech in 2002 with a business marketing degree, Ellis played basketball for six years in Turkey, Italy, and Japan. He was named to all-star teams each year and twice led the league in scoring in Japan.

Ellis coached for three years at Lubbock Trinity Christian School, serving as assistant athletics director, assistant boy's basketball coach, and head boy's golf coach. After that, he was athletics director at Plainview Christian Academy for four years, coaching basketball, golf, football, and track & field.

An avid golfer, Ellis became director of marketing for Turf and Soil Management and later marketing director and general manager of Plainview Country Club.

He is married to Alesha Ellis, the head coach for the Rambelles and a former Texas Tech women's basketball player. They have one son, Kingston James (5), and one daughter, Laiken Jo (2).

Stephanie Ruiz | Assistant Coach

Bio coming soon!

TEAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS
**This year we finished 26-7 and were Co-West Division Champions and Conference Tournament Champions of the Lonestar Conference. We had 4 players earn All- Conference honors, 2 players earn All-Region honors, and 2 players earn All- American Honors**