Caitlyn Sears - Women's Basketball Coach - Air Force Academy Athletics

Photo by: U.S. Air Force photo by Justin R

Caitlyn Sears

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Caitlyn.Sears.ctr@afacademy.af.edu
Phone:
719-333-8644

Caitlyn Sears enters her fifth season as an assistant coach for Air Force in 2023-24. Sears contributes a nine-year resume of collegiate-level coaching and recruiting experience to the Air Force staff. Sears, under the guidance of head coach Chris Gobrecht, plays a direct role in the development and direction of the Falcon program.

In 2022-23, Air Force closed its season at 13-18 with an 8-10 mark against the Mountain West and a 9-5 home record. A 5-1 start to the season in Clune marked a start to the Falcons’ home schedule which had not been achieved since the program’s final year as a member of Division II in 1995-96, in which Air Force started 7-1 at home.

Sears contributed vastly to the Falcons record-breaking 2021-22 season, as Air Force's 19 overall wins and 11 conference wins were both program-bests. Cierra Winters was named Mountain West Defensive Player while Riley Snyder was named All-Mountain West en route to becoming Air Force's all-time leading Division I scorer. Air Force clinched its first-ever bye in the Mountain West Tournament where the Falcons defeated Nevada to advance to the semifinal round for the first time in program history. Air Force eventually was awarded an at-large berth in the Women's National Invitational Tournament, as the Falcons picked up their first-ever postseason tournament win in the opening round, defeating San Francisco 64-60.

With Sears’ efforts, the 2020-21 season was highlighted by Riley Snyder’s All-MW Honorable Mention nod and Kassady Huffman’s MW All-Defensive team selection. The Falcons finished the shortened 2020-21 campaign with an 8-18 overall record and a 4-14 mark in the Mountain West, finishing ninth in the league. The Falcons made it to the MWC quarterfinals for the second-straight season, defeating SDSU in the first round and falling to top-seeded New Mexico thereafter.

In the 2019-2020 season Sears helped the women’s basketball team to new heights as the Falcons finished 10-21 (7-11 MWC), marking the program’s most single-season conference wins since Air Force joined the league in 1999-2000. Air Force’s seventh-place finish in the league tied its best-ever finish in the MWC, and is the best-ever finish since the MWC became an 11-team league. Under Sears’ guidance, the Falcons averaged a program-best 60.7 points per game in league play, marking the team’s best conference scoring average since joining the MWC. Air Force also ranked as high as 11th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game and as high as 25th in the nation in steals. Air Force’s historic season was also highlighted by knocking off regular-season champions, Fresno State, at USAFA. The Bulldogs, who were undefeated in conference (15-0) at the time of the loss, had never lost to Air Force before. Sears also helped guide Air Force to its first-ever win in New Mexico’s “The Pit”, snapping a 22-game losing streak at New Mexico, as well as the squad’s first-ever win against Nevada in Reno, snapping an eight-game losing streak at Nevada.

Prior to the Academy, she has had assistant coaching stints at Southern Utah, Utah Valley and Ottawa University. Sears was a four-year women’s hoops letter winner at Southern Utah University, earning All-Summit League honors after a prolific senior season with the T-Birds. She earned her bachelor’s degree in physical education in 2011.