Cassie Sawyer
 | Position:
Assistant Coach
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Cassie Sawyer returns to the Palouse for her second season as assistant coach with the Cougars after a prolific coaching tenure in the Grand Canyon State.
A two-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) District A Coach of the Year (1998, 2000), Sawyer was hired by Washington State July 10, 2000 from Phoenix College where she had been head coach since 1993.
While at Phoenix, Sawyer guided the Bears to a fifth place national ranking and a region title during the 1999-2000 campaign. During that season, Phoenix College ranked No. 1 nationally for eight weeks, finishing the year with a 28-6 overall record including a 23-2 mark in Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) play. Sawyer's squad also won the regional title in 1998 when she guided the Bears to a fourth place national ranking.
The 1988 Grand Canyon College graduate took over a struggling Bear program in 1993-94. After a 7-23 finish her first season, Sawyer guided Phoenix College to three straight runner-up finishes in district play, then captured her first title in 1998. During her seven years at PC, she coached five NJCAA All-Americans and nine players who captured academic All-America honors.
The California native, who grew up in Buckeye, Ariz., started her coaching career as an assistant coach in 1986 at her prep alma mater, Buckeye High, while she completed work on her bachelor's degree. Upon earning her physical education degree from Grand Canyon College in 1988, Sawyer began her collegiate coaching career at the college that same year. Two years later she was named the head girls' basketball coach at Antelope High in Arizona, where the team was second in the region two straight years.
In 1991, eight years after graduating from Buckeye High, Sawyer returned to the school as the girls' basketball coach. In two years, Buckeye High was 55-8 and competed in the State playoffs each year. For her efforts, Sawyer was Arizona 3A coach of the year in 1992. She also coached in the Arizona 1A-3A all-star game in 1992 and 1993.
The Sawyer File
NAME: Cassie Sawyer
BORN: October 2, 1966 Indio, Calif.
HOMETOWN: Buckeye, Ariz.
HIGH SCHOOL: Buckeye (Ariz.) High, 1984 - earned all-conference honors for three years in basketball and twice was an all-regional volleyball pick ... won the state discus title as a senior and was runner-up in shot-put.
COLLEGE: University of Phoenix (Phoenix, Ariz.), 1998 - Master's degree in educational administration. Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, Ariz.), 1988 - Bachelor's degree in physical education ... Yavapai College (Prescott, Ariz.), 1986 - Associate of Arts degree in physical education.
EXPERIENCE: Washington State University 2000-Present - Assistant Coach
Phoenix College 1993-2000 - Head women's basketball coach ... guided Bears to a fifth place national ranking and a region title in 2000 ... team finished with a 23-2 record in conference play and 28-6 overall. Led Bears to a region title and fourth place national ranking in 1998. Coached five NJCAA All-Americans and nine academic All-Americans. Buckeye Union High School 1991-93 - Head women's basketball coach ... Finished with a 55-8 record in two seasons. 3A coach of the year in 1992. Antelope High 1989-91 - Head women's basketball coach ... team finished second in regional both years. Named regional coach of the year in 1990. Grand Canyon University 1988-89 - Assistant women's basketball coach ... team captured the District 8 title in the first year of women's basketball.
