Head Women’s Basketball Coach LeAnn Freeland Welcomed to Paradise

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Newly hired Florida Atlantic Head Women's Basketball Coach LeAnn Freeland was officially welcomed to "Paradise" Thursday evening by season ticket holders and friends of the program. The event was held at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena, where Freeland will build her program.

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Vice President and Director of Athletics Brian White
What stood out about Coach Freeland
"Just a winner all around which is probably the most important thing for me. You know she also has high integrity, high character, great reputation by those who have worked with her, against her and for her. She is someone who was a winner as a student-athlete, she won as an assistant coach, she won as a head coach at multiple places. Just throughout her career, she has been somebody with a great reputation."

The process and quick turnaround to hiring their new coach
"Like a lot of our processes we start out, we did a national search. We talked to a whole lot of people. We start off by talking to people about people, we don't really talk to candidates right away, we want to get a feel for what candidates are out there, who might be interested, and who we should be talking to. We talked to highly knowledgeable people within women's basketball and again, LeAnn's name was one that kept coming up. But we went through a process, talked to a lot of really qualified people. Great interest in the job and some really exciting candidates but at the end of the day, LeAnn was one that really stood out on a number of fronts.

Getting a caliber of a coach with NCAA Tournament experience, one who has made the Final Four:
"It was really exciting, when you look at a resume, you look at four Elite Eights, you look at a Final Four, another Sweet 16, you look at 29 seasons of winning basketball. To us, that really stood out as somebody of that caliber would be interested in the job, she was really interested from the beginning and that was a big part for us. We wanted someone who really wanted the job so we're really excited all around to get her here. The fact that she's local and in our backyard is only a plus and we would've been interested no matter where she was but I think the fact that she's local, she knows the area, she's a winner on many different levels and a good person and somebody that is really well respected by her peers meant a lot to us."

Newly Hired Head Women's Basketball Coach LeAnn Freeland
On opportunities for success at Florida Atlantic
"There is a great opportunity to be successful here. It's going to take a lot of work, but I feel like I'm going to put a staff and roster in place immediately to make that happen."

On recruiting South Florida talent
"I'm really excited that now I have an opportunity to try and recruit the best in South Florida. I have already reached out to some of the local coaches I have had relationships with to re-establish those ties at a different level. I'm hoping that we can get the best of them."

On her first days in Paradise
"It has been a whirlwind because I knew the job was open but I also know that you have to be the right fit for the program and they will find you if you are. I was ecstatic when I got the call. It has been a whirlwind because there are so many moving parts; I have to fill a staff, I have to fill a roster immediately and those are my two priorities right now. Lots of phone calls, lots of emails, and just trying to get my feet on the ground right now."

VIDEO RECAP

PHOTO GALLERY

Gallery: (4-3-2025) LeAnn Freeland Meet and Greet

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