Eric Ely Position: Assistant Coach Experience: Second Year Alma Mater: Northwest Nazarene, 1982

Eric Ely begins his third season as assistant coach for the Oregon State women's basketball program. He was hired July 27, 2010.

Ely brings over 12 years of Division I coaching experience with nine of those years with the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in two stints (1998-2004 and 2007-10) and three years at Missouri (2004-07). He helped Oral Roberts to four postseason appearances with three of those trips to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Jerry Finkbeiner. And at Missouri, he served as the recruiting coordinator and worked with the post players on the court under head coach Cindy Stein.

In just his first season with the Golden Eagles during the 1998-99 season, he coached the team to the Summit League title to mark the program's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, making a repeat appearance two seasons later. 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 Basketball Invitational Tournament (WNIT).

Before joining the Oral Roberts program, Ely was the head coach at Mt. Vernon Nazarene University in Mt. Vernon, Ohio from 1996-98. He led the Lady Cougars to a 31-36 overall record over two seasons, improving from 12 wins during his inaugural season 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, also receiving votes by the Ohio Coaching Association as being 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, serving as assistant coach from 1987-1996. He was instrumental in the recruitment of several NAIA All-Americans and helped guide 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' pro 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 from Albertson College of Idaho in 1995. He and his wife, Regina, of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, have two children, C.J. and Rachel.