Alex Varlan - Women's Basketball Coach - Florida Atlantic University Athletics

Alex Varlan

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
avarlan@fau.edu

Florida Atlantic University head women’s basketball coach Jennifer Sullivan announced the hiring of new assistant coach Alex Varlan in late April 2022. Varlan has the opportunity to join forces with Sullivan once again after serving on the same coaching staff together at the University of Tennessee.

During the 2024-25 season, Varlan played a key role in helping junior guard Mya Perry to AAC Second Team All-Conference honors and an AAC Player of the Week nod. He also helped oversee the development of freshman guard Erin Rodgers who's shortened season saw her finish with three AAC Freshman of the Week awards and leading the team in rebounds at 5.6 per game. Varlan also coached transfer forward Ta'Ziah Jenks who made an immediate impact for the Owls' averaging 7.9 points per game while grabbing 5.3 rebounds including 18 rebounds in FAU's game versus Temple.

The 2023-24 season marked a historic year for Florida Atlantic women’s basketball as the program celebrated its 40th season and began a new era with its inaugural season in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls' 2023-24 campaign was highlighted by a win over then-unbeaten UCF and a season-sweep over the Charlotte 49ers. In her first season at Florida Atlantic, Varlan coached transfer guard Mya Perry, who played in 28 contests and made 26 starts for the Owls. She led the Owls in scoring, 3-point field goals made per game and 3-point field goals made while ranking third in the AAC in 3-point field goal percentage.

In his first season with Florida Atlantic, Varlan helped guide the Owls to a season sweep over rival FIU and a victory over Sacred Heart University, who earned a berth in the 2022-23 NCAA Tournament. Varlan helped guide freshman guard Aniya Hubbard to the program’s first-ever CUSA Freshman of the Year accolade, in addition to being named CUSA Second Team All-Conference, CUSA All-Defensive Team, and CUSA All-Freshman Team. Hubbard became the first Owl in program history to receive four postseason honors in the same year. Varlan was also key in the development of Joiya Maddox who played in 28 games, including 16 starts, finishing as the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 9.3 points per game, while also averaging 3.0 rebounds per game. She had a career-best performance versus UTEP, scoring 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.

Varlan heads down to Paradise after spending the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach at Northeastern University. He oversaw post player development and was heavily involved in opponent scouting and recruiting in New England and internationally. The Huskies earned a postseason berth in the WBI and were well-represented on the CAA All-Conference Team. Northeastern ended the season at No. 2 in field goal percentage (0.409) and No. 3 in opponent field goal percentage (0.382) in the CAA.

Prior to his time in Boston, Varlan served as the director of scouting and analytics at Tennessee for four seasons. In this role, Varlan was responsible for all scouting for upcoming opponents and recruit evaluation. He also was in charge of coaching the male practice team and for player development.

Before returning to his alma matter, Varlan worked with the Oakland University men’s basketball program from 2014-17. After serving as the video coordinator during his first two seasons with the Golden Grizzlies, he was named the director of scouting and recruiting innovation during the 2016-17 campaign.

Prior to his time in Michigan, Varlan was the basketball operations coordinator for the Delaware 87ers of the NBA D-League. In his role, he was an on-court member of the coaching staff, as he partook in practices, workouts, film breakdown and scouting reports. He also was the liaison between the players/coaches and front office staff. Before his promotion with the 87ers, he began as an intern with the Philadelphia 76ers. Varlan worked directly with the team’s director of personnel, scouts and coaching staff during the 2013 NBA draft through the beginning of the 2013-14 regular season.

A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Varlan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Tennessee in December 2013. While a student, Varlan was a manager for the Lady Vols’ nationally ranked basketball program and the Tennessee athletic department.