Hanneman hired as assistant at Division II Sonoma State
Blue Springs, MO — Amanda Hanneman, a Blue Springs South High School and University of Missouri grad, is the new assistant basketball coach at Sonoma State University.
Hanneman spent the last year serving as a volunteer coach at Avila University in Kansas City while networking and getting the word out that she was looking for a coaching position.
“I feel very fortunate to have Amanda join our program,” Sonoma State coach Mark Rigby said. “All of the folks back in Missouri at Avila University and at the University of Missouri could not say enough good things about Amanda’s character, basketball knowledge and work ethic.
“Having played successfully in the Big 12 will be a tremendous resource for our student-athletes. I’m really looking forward to working with Amanda.”
And Hanneman can’t wait to work with Rigby at the college in Rohnert Park, Calif. She leaves her home in Blue Springs for California Wednesday.
“It’s all so crazy how this happened,” Hanneman said Thursday morning. “I have a friend at the University of San Francisco, and she told me about a job opening at Sonoma State, which is about 35 minutes north of San Francisco.
“I contacted them and flew out for an interview. About a week later, I did a phone interview and the day after that, Coach Rigby called me back and offered me the job.
“I’m so excited. I thought it might take two or three years to get a coaching job. I really enjoyed volunteering at Avila and watching South and some of the other area high school teams, but now I’m getting to realize a dream.
“I’m going to be a college basketball coach!”
Hanneman will be Rigby’s lone assistant.
“In Division II, they only have one assistant, so I’m going to be doing a little bit of everything,” she said. “I get out there, take the NCAA recruiting test and we hit the road the 24th of July.
“Recruiting is something I love, and I think it’s going to be one of my strengths. There’s nothing I love more than calling Coach (Mark) Bubalo at South or the coaches at Avila and talking to them, and that’s the type of relationship I want to have with my players down the road.
“It might take 10 or 20 years, but that’s what I want to achieve with my players.”
In her volunteer role, Hanneman helped the Avila women’s basketball team make its first NAIA Division I National Tournament appearance last season after the Eagles won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. The team ended the season at 20-13.
Hanneman’s experience at Avila and her NCAA Division I background at Missouri was a big plus in the interview process.
She was a four-year letter winner (2006-10) and two-year starter for the Tigers. Hanneman ranks sixth in school history for most career three-point field goals (113), most three-point field goals in a single-season (58 in 2009-10) and best three-point field goal percentage in a single-season (.414 in 2009-10). She also served as a member of Missouri’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
She graduated from Mizzou with a bachelor’s of science degree in agriculture, food and natural resources. She was named to the dean’s list for her excellence in the classroom.
A two-sport star at Blue Springs South, Hanneman was an all-state performer as a senior and was a Suburban Big-Seven all-conference and Examiner All-Area selections as a sophomore, junior and senior. She was the Jaguars’ scoring leader in each of her final three seasons and eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau, finishing with 1,290 career points, the third-best mark in school history.
Hanneman also was an all-state golfer who led the Jaguars to four consecutive conference championships and state appearances. She was a part of two state championship golf teams and was The Examiner’s Golfer of the Year in 2003.
Hanneman replaces assistant Annie Roeser, who was part of the Sonoma State staff the past three years.
“My mom, my sister and I flew out to Rohnert Park last week, and I found a one-bedroom apartment about 10 minutes from the campus,” Hanneman said. “It’s about a 15-minute bike ride, so it’s perfect.
“This all happened so fast, I still can’t believe it.
By Bill Althaus - [email protected]The Examiner
Hanneman spent the last year serving as a volunteer coach at Avila University in Kansas City while networking and getting the word out that she was looking for a coaching position.
“I feel very fortunate to have Amanda join our program,” Sonoma State coach Mark Rigby said. “All of the folks back in Missouri at Avila University and at the University of Missouri could not say enough good things about Amanda’s character, basketball knowledge and work ethic.
“Having played successfully in the Big 12 will be a tremendous resource for our student-athletes. I’m really looking forward to working with Amanda.”
And Hanneman can’t wait to work with Rigby at the college in Rohnert Park, Calif. She leaves her home in Blue Springs for California Wednesday.
“It’s all so crazy how this happened,” Hanneman said Thursday morning. “I have a friend at the University of San Francisco, and she told me about a job opening at Sonoma State, which is about 35 minutes north of San Francisco.
“I contacted them and flew out for an interview. About a week later, I did a phone interview and the day after that, Coach Rigby called me back and offered me the job.
“I’m so excited. I thought it might take two or three years to get a coaching job. I really enjoyed volunteering at Avila and watching South and some of the other area high school teams, but now I’m getting to realize a dream.
“I’m going to be a college basketball coach!”
Hanneman will be Rigby’s lone assistant.
“In Division II, they only have one assistant, so I’m going to be doing a little bit of everything,” she said. “I get out there, take the NCAA recruiting test and we hit the road the 24th of July.
“Recruiting is something I love, and I think it’s going to be one of my strengths. There’s nothing I love more than calling Coach (Mark) Bubalo at South or the coaches at Avila and talking to them, and that’s the type of relationship I want to have with my players down the road.
“It might take 10 or 20 years, but that’s what I want to achieve with my players.”
In her volunteer role, Hanneman helped the Avila women’s basketball team make its first NAIA Division I National Tournament appearance last season after the Eagles won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. The team ended the season at 20-13.
Hanneman’s experience at Avila and her NCAA Division I background at Missouri was a big plus in the interview process.
She was a four-year letter winner (2006-10) and two-year starter for the Tigers. Hanneman ranks sixth in school history for most career three-point field goals (113), most three-point field goals in a single-season (58 in 2009-10) and best three-point field goal percentage in a single-season (.414 in 2009-10). She also served as a member of Missouri’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
She graduated from Mizzou with a bachelor’s of science degree in agriculture, food and natural resources. She was named to the dean’s list for her excellence in the classroom.
A two-sport star at Blue Springs South, Hanneman was an all-state performer as a senior and was a Suburban Big-Seven all-conference and Examiner All-Area selections as a sophomore, junior and senior. She was the Jaguars’ scoring leader in each of her final three seasons and eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau, finishing with 1,290 career points, the third-best mark in school history.
Hanneman also was an all-state golfer who led the Jaguars to four consecutive conference championships and state appearances. She was a part of two state championship golf teams and was The Examiner’s Golfer of the Year in 2003.
Hanneman replaces assistant Annie Roeser, who was part of the Sonoma State staff the past three years.
“My mom, my sister and I flew out to Rohnert Park last week, and I found a one-bedroom apartment about 10 minutes from the campus,” Hanneman said. “It’s about a 15-minute bike ride, so it’s perfect.
“This all happened so fast, I still can’t believe it.
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