Wichita native Antwain Scales among assistants hired by Shocker women’s basketball coach

Wichita native Antwain Scales is among the three assistants hired by new Wichita State women’s basketball head coach Terry Nooner, who announced his first staff in a release on Wednesday afternoon.

Scales is joined by Nick Bradford and Brooke Costley as assistant coaches on the staff, while D’Anthony Knight will be the team’s strength and conditioning coach and Erica Yancey, a holdover from Keitha Adams’ staff, will remain as the director of operations.

It is a triumphant return to his hometown for Scales, the Wichita native who rose to fame after leading the South High girls basketball team to a historic four straight Class 6A state championships from 2013-16 to earn National Coach of the Year honors. In seven seasons with Scales leading the way, the Titans won 89% of their games (152-18) and had a 53-game winning streak at one point.

“Antwain Scales, or as I like to refer, ‘Mr. Wichita,’ is a staple in the Wichita community,” Nooner said in a statement. “A natural leader and former USA Today High School Coach of the Year, Antwain brings a winning attitude to a city he loves so much. An elite recruiter with deep ties in Kansas and the region, I couldn’t be more excited to bring Antwain home and make him a vital part of our program moving forward.”

Since leaving the high school ranks in 2018, Scales has been a women’s basketball head coach at Colby (2018-20) and Garden City (2020-23) in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. He helped turn around the Colby program, winning 19 games in his second season and posting the program’s first winning record since 2006, while he has posted a 42-44 record in his three-year stint in Garden City.

Scales still holds strong recruiting ties in the Wichita area and his presence on the staff could go a long way in helping Nooner retain local talent on the Shockers.

Nooner turned to an old teammate for one of his other hires, as Bradford spent four years with Nooner together on the Kansas men’s basketball team under Roy Williams from 1997-00. Following an 11-year professional career for the 6-foot-7 forward, Bradford began his transition to the coaching realm with stints as a men’s assistant coach at Labette Community College (2011-13) and Missouri Southern State (2013-15).

He has since moved to the high schools ranks, where he was the head boys coach at Mexico (Mo.) High (2015-16), the head girls coach at Olathe North (2016-18) and has spent the last four years as an assistant boys coach at Fayetteville (Ark.) High.

Bradford has also doubled as the Missouri Phenom girls head coach and skills director for the Nike EYBL program since 2015. Missouri Phenom is the same AAU organization that Nooner came from before his rise to a Division I coach.

“As a former teammate of mine and fellow captain at KU, I know the work ethic and commitment Nick Bradford will bring daily to continue building upon the success of Shocker women’s basketball,” Nooner said in the statement. “Nick has coached some of the top players in the country as an AAU Coach with the Missouri Phenom, where he developed high-caliber players and has formed great relationships with many players and programs across the Midwest region. His vast connections and deep knowledge of the game will be valuable as we build the Wichita State Women’s Basketball program.”

Another Missouri Phenom connection can be found in Costley, a former Emporia State women’s basketball player who coached in the AAU program for two years. She has four years of Division I coaching experience after spending three seasons as an assistant at North Dakota State (2019-22) and this past season at Texas A&M Commerce. She was announced as a new assistant at North Texas on April 7, but will follow Nooner to Wichita instead for the 2023-24 season.

“As a Missouri native, Brooke Costley is uniquely suited to help our basketball program by bringing to our staff excellent Division I coaching experience and direct ties to the region,” Nooner said in the statement. “Her energy, knowledge of the area and ability to connect with young women all over the country will make her a great asset to the Wichita community.”

As for the team’s strength and conditioning coach, Knight and Nooner have ties dating back to 2021 when they were together at KU with Knight serving as a member on KU football’s strength and conditioning staff. He spent the 2022 season at Akron as the assistant football strength and conditioning coach.

Much like Costley, Knight was hired earlier this year as the associate football strength and conditioning coach at Washington State, but will now follow Nooner to Wichita.