Courtesy of Wichita State Athletics
WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State first year head women's basketball coach Terry Nooner officially announced his first staff Wednesday afternoon.
Antwain Scales, Brooke Costley and Nick Bradford fill out the coaching staff as Nooner's assistant coaches, while D'Anthony Knight comes aboard as the strength and conditioning coach. Erica Yancey will remain on staff as the director of operations.
Antwain Scales
A familiar face returns to Wichita. The Wichita native recently completed his third season as the head women's basketball coach at Garden City Community College. He compiled a 42-44 record in his three-year stint in Garden City.
He spent seven illustrious seasons as the head girls coach at Wichita South High School. There, he turned a program that had won just two games in three seasons prior to his arrival, into a juggernaut. He compiled a record of 152-18 (.894) while leading the Titans to four straight 6A state championships, becoming the first program in history to accomplish that feat. During that stretch, Wichita South won 53 straight games before that streak ended in the 2017 state quarterfinals.
Scales left Wichita South following the 2017 campaign to take the reins at Colby Community College. In his first season, Colby finished 8-22. But in year two, the Trojans turned a major corner, winning 19 games while posting a winning record for the first time since 2006. They began the year 11-1, their best start since 2003-2004.
Nooner on Scales: "Antwain Scales, or as I like to refer, "Mr. Wichita", is a staple in the Wichita community. A natural leader and former USA Today High School Coach of the Year, Antwain brings a winning attitude to a city he loves so much. An elite recruiter with deep ties in Kansas and the region, I couldn't be more excited to bring Antwain home and make him a vital part of our program moving forward."
Brooke Costley
Another assistant coach with Kansas ties returns to the Sunflower State. Brooke Costley got her coaching start at Emporia State after completing her playing career for the Hornets.
A native of Mexico, Mo., Costley recently completed a stint as an assistant coach for Texas A&M Commerce. Costley was instrumental in the Lions' first season as a Division I program, helping TAMUC advance to the semifinal of the Southland Conference Tournament in 2022-23.
In her time at TAMUC, Costley played a large role in the development of DesiRay Kernal who earned Second Team All-Southland Conference honors and landed on the Southland All-Tournament team after leading the Lions in assists and being second in scoring and rebounding.
Prior to arriving at Commerce, Costley spent three seasons North Dakota State where she helped the Bison advance to the Semifinal of the Summit League Tournament two times. In just three seasons at NDSU, Costley coached a total of five all-conference honorees as well as three Summit All-Academic Team selections.
Costley began her coaching career at her alma mater, Emporia State where she spent a total of six seasons. She spent two seasons as a graduate assistant, two years as a student assistant and two years as a student-athlete.
In six seasons, she was part of four MIAA Tournament Championship teams at Emporia State and five teams that played in the NCAA Tournament. The Hornets advanced to the Sweet 16 four times, including a trip to the National Semifinals at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2014-15, falling to eventual national champion, California (Pa.) by five points.
Costley received her bachelor's degree in health promotion and health and wellness from Emporia State in 2017.
Nooner on Costley: "As a Missouri native, Brooke Costley is uniquely suited to help our basketball program by bringing to our staff excellent Division I coaching experience and direct ties to the region. A former Missouri Phenom AAU Assistant Coach, Brooke played for and began her coaching career at Emporia State, and comes from a coaching family. Her energy, knowledge of the area and ability to connect with young women all over the country will make her a great asset to the Wichita community."
Nick Bradford
A former teammate of Nooner's at Kansas, Nick Bradford rounds out the coaching staff after spending the last four years as the associate head coach boys coach for Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Ark. Since 2015, Bradford has also doubled as the Missouri Phenom girls head coach, a Nike EYBL AAU program.
Prior to making the move to Fayetteville, Bradford spent two years as the head girls coach at Olathe North High School and one year as the head boys coach for Mexico High School in Mexico, Mo.
Bradford got his start in coaching at Labette Community College as an assistant men's basketball coach from 2011-13. He then moved to the DII level from 2013-15 as the assistant men's basketball coach for Missouri Southern State.
He graduated from Kansas in 2001 with a bachelor's degree in general studies, following a decorated four-year career under hall of fame head coach Roy Williams. A team captain in 1999-00, Bradford was a four-year letterwinner and three-time Big 12 Champion. When he left KU, he ranked in the top five on the career charts in games played and steals.
He is married to Brittani, and has two children Quenci and Isaiah.
Nooner on Bradford: "As a former teammate of mine and fellow captain at KU, I know the work ethic and commitment Nick Bradford will bring daily to continue building upon the success of Shocker women's basketball. Nick has coached some of the top players in the country as an AAU Coach with the Missouri Phenom, where he developed high-caliber players and has formed great relationships with many players and programs across the Midwest region. His vast connections and deep knowledge of the game will be valuable as we build the Wichita State Women's Basketball program."
D'Anthony Knight
D'Anthony Knight comes to the Sunflower State after spending the last few months as the associate football strength and conditioning coach at Washington State.
Prior to making the move to Pullman, Knight spent the 2022 season at Akron as the assistant football strength and conditioning coach.
Prior to Akron, Knight spent the 2021 campaign on the strength and conditioning football staff at Kansas.
He began his professional career serving on the strength and conditioning football staff at Wyoming, spending the 2019 season as a strength and conditioning intern before moving into a full-time role the following season.
Knight spent five seasons as a defensive back at Truman State, totaling 141 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, and three interceptions. In 2016 he was named all-Great Lakes Valley Conference honorable mention honor and concluded his career following the 2018 season by being named the Defensive MVP at the Gateway All-American Bowl.
Knight graduated from Truman State in 2019 earning a bachelor's degree in exercise science.