COD Women’s Basketball welcomes Rizea as new head coach

College of the Desert Women's Basketball officially has a new head coach, as former Roadrunners assistant coach, Kendyl Rizea now helms the program.

Rizea looks to turn the fortunes of the Roadrunners around as Desert Women's Basketball moves into the new Inland Empire Athletic Conference (IEAC) this season.

Coach Rizea discussed about turning those fortunes around, commenting, "We will be taking everything one day at a time. Our program will have a unique opportunity to redefine what success means for us."

Adding, "The values of our program will be built upon a strong academic foundation and positive community interaction. We will be intentional about our initiatives to reach out and interact with our COD and Palm Desert community. The ladies in our program will be known for having a positive impact outside of the game of basketball."

No doubt Rizea has her work cut out for her as the Roadrunners graduated seven of their eight players from the 2018-2019 season.

Addressing that need to build a new roster from the ground up, Coach Rizea stated, "Any time a program turns over nearly an entire roster there is an opportunity to change the culture. We will be bringing in a brand new roster for the 2019-2020 season."

Adding, "We will continue to build upon the relationships our staff built last year and it is my hope that we can showcase the talent that the Coachella Valley and surrounding area has to offer."

Coach Rizea arrived in Palm Desert in the fall of 2018 after spending the previous two seasons as a Graduate Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at Peru State College (Peru, Nebraska).

The Canadian native came to Peru State from a Heart of America Athletic Conference foe – Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. Rizea graduated from Graceland in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education and Coaching, where she was a member of the Varsity Women's Basketball team and Track & Field program. She then completed her Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Wayne State College (Wayne, NE) while at Peru.

Rizea has a variety of basketball coaching experiences as she had an opportunity to work with a number of groups. Prior to coming to the Roadrunner program, Rizea was Varsity Assistant Coach and Head Junior Varsity Coach at her alma mater Graceland. In addition to her experience at Graceland, Rizea was the Head Girls Basketball Coach at the International Children's Games for the Windsor Essex Girls Basketball team in Windsor, Ontario, where the team went undefeated to capture the championship title. Also, she has served as a member of the basketball staff for the Ontario Junior Development Team, an assistant coach for Vincent Massey Secondary School, an assistant coach for the South Windsor Warriors travel team, and four other years of coaching experience with other Canadian programs.

Rizea was recognized as a nominee for Windsor Essex Sports Person of the Year (WESPY) for women's basketball in 2013-14. After graduation from Graceland, she was a member of the St. Clair College Women's Basketball Team who were OCAA Provincial Bronze Medalists in 2014. Rizea was named as the St. Clair College Female Athlete of the Year in 2014. In addition, she was an OCAA First Team All Star and CCAA Academic All Canadian for consecutive seasons. Recently, Rizea became a member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Follow COD Athletics on Twitter @COD_Athletics Instagram @COD_Athletics or Facebook @College of the Desert Athletics

For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information, Story & Photo provided by COD Sports Information.