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After Jamelle Elliott stepped down to launch a leadership consultation business earlier this offseason, UConn hired a different member of UConn’s 1995 national championship squad to replace her. On Monday, the Huskies announced that Nykesha Sales will join Geno Auriemma’s staff as an assistant coach.
“Bringing Nykesha back to UConn is absolutely the best decision that we could make,” Auriemma said in a release. “Having our current players work with one of college basketball’s best players and an all-time WNBA great is a dream come true. Kesha has become an accomplished coach, teacher and recruiter, and she will add a new dimension to our program.”
Sales spent the last decade as an assistant with Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, first at UCF from 2016-22 and then at Georgia from 2022-26.
“Returning to UConn is a full-circle moment for me,” Sales said in a release. “I’m incredibly grateful to Coach (Auriemma), CD (Chris Dailey), Mo (Morgan Valley) and Tonya (Cardoza) for welcoming me back to Storrs with open arms. Connecticut is home and where it all started. UConn obviously had a huge impact on my life and was such a foundational part of my success as a person, player and a coach. Being a part of this legacy again is an incredible honor. I’m extremely grateful and excited.”
A native of Bloomfield, Connecticut, Sales starred as a player at UConn from 1994-98. She helped the Huskies go undefeated en route to their first national title as a freshman and went on to be a two-time First Team All-American in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
Sales owns multiple program records. She dropped a school-best 46 points against Stanford on Dec. 21, 1997, becoming the first Husky to put up 40+ points in a single contest. She also set the single-season record for steals in each of her first three years and still holds the top spot with 143 as a junior. Sales owns the all-time steals record as well, nabbing 447 across her four seasons — 94 more than the next closest player (Moriah Jefferson, 353).
On top of all that, Sales also graduated as the program’s all-time leading scorer, albeit controversially. During her senior year, She was one point short of tying Kerry Bascom atop the career scoring list at UConn when she tore her Achilles in the final home game of the regular season. Despite the injury, Auriemma set up an uncontested basket in the Huskies’ next contest, which allowed her to break the record. The move prompted a ferocious backlash in the media, though the coach and the school stood by their decision. Sales now ranks eighth on UConn’s all-time scoring list.
After leaving Storrs, Sales went on to spend nine seasons in the WNBA with the Orlando Miracle and Connecticut Sun, earning seven All-Star appearances and a All-WNBA selection in 2004. She also ranks first in the franchise’s history (the Miracle relocated to Connecticut in 2003) with 3,955 career points.
Now, Sales will return to her home state and alma mater to take Elliott’s spot on staff. Oddly enough, Auriemma brought up Sales when asked which players Elliott helped most with the Huskies.
“Probably the biggest impact she ever had on any kid was probably Nykesha,” he said. “Back in the day, Nykesha said, ‘I'm not afraid of Coach Auriemma, but I'm afraid of Jamelle.’”
Sales will join a coaching staff that also includes associate head coach Chris Dailey as well as assistant coaches Morgan Valley and Tonya Cardoza. Sales is the latest former UConn player to coach under Auriemma, joining the likes of Ellen Clark Masonius, Kris Lamb, Wendy Davis, Meg Culmo, Shea Ralph, Elliott and Valley.
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