Eric Ely Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Fourth Season Alma Mater: Northwest Nazarene, 1982

Eric Ely begins his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Oregon State women's basketball program in 2013-14.

Ely owns over 15 years of Division I coaching experience, with nine coming from stints at Oral Roberts (1998-2004 and 2007-10) and Missouri (2004-07). He helped Oral Roberts to four postseason appearances, including three NCAA trips under head coach Jerry Finkbeiner. At Missouri, Ely served as the recruiting coordinator and worked with post players under head coach Cindy Stein.

In just his first season with the Golden Eagles in 1998-99, Ely helped coach the team to the Summit League title and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. When Ely rejoined the Oral Roberts staff, the Golden Eagles repeated as Summit League champions, winning 23 games en route to the school's first ever regular-season Summit League title and a trip to the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).

Before joining Oral Roberts, Ely was the head coach at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University in Mt. Vernon, Ohio from 1996-98. He guided the Lady Cougars to a 31-36 overall record in two seasons, improving from 12 wins during his inaugural year to 19 in 1997-98. In his final season at MVNU, Ely was honored as the National Christian College Athletic Association East Region Coach of the Year and also received votes from the Ohio Coaching Association as one of the top women's college coaches in the state of Ohio.

Ely started his coaching career at his alma mater, Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho, where he served as assistant coach from 1987-1996. He was instrumental in the recruitment of several NAIA All-Americans and helped the Lady Crusaders to a NAIA Division II runner-up finish during the 1994-95 season.

As a player, Ely spent time in NBA training camp with the Detroit Pistons and played in the Los Angeles Lakers' summer pro league. He played professionally for one year in France, where he was tabbed as the Outstanding American Player by the French media during the 1980-81 season, and four years in Brazil, earning a lifetime contract and garnering all-star status in 1984 and 1985.

Ely earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northwest Nazarene in 1982, adding a master's degree from Albertson College of Idaho in 1995. He and his wife, Regina, of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, have two children, C.J. and Rachel.