Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Gayle Coats Fulks is in her fifth season with the Wake Forest women's basketball program in 2016-17 after joining the Demon Deacons as an assistant coach before the 2012-13 seasons. Coats Fulks primarily works with the guards and wing players and assists with academic coordination.
Following her fourth season with the program in 2015-16, Coats Fulks was recognized as one of WBCA's Thirty Under 30 honorees. The award is given to up-and-coming women's basketball coaches younger than 30 years old and is designed to recognize a recipient's involvement in community service, mentorship and impact on others' professional manner and attitude and professional association involvement.
During the 2015-16 season, Coats Fulks helped the profession of Wake Forest's leading scorers, Amber Campbell and Ariel Stephenson. Campbell averaged 13.0 points per game and shot 42.1 percent from the floor to go with a 74.1 percentage from the free throw line. Stephenson finished second on the team with 12.7 points per game and was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team by the Head Coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel. The honors marked Wake Forest's first ACC All-Freshman honoree since Sandra Garcia in 2010. The freshman led Wake Forest with 24 double-figure games. At the end of the 2015-16 season, Wake Forest found itself in postseason play for the first time since 2012 when it earned a berth to the WNIT. The Demon Deacons topped Charlotte in the first round before falling to Florida Gulf Coast in the second round.
In her first season with the Deacs, Coats Fulks helped guide one of the top scoring back courts in the ACC. Point guard Chelsea Douglas led the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and Lakevia Boykin was right behind her at 14.4 points per contest. The two combined to make 134 three-pointers on the season. Douglas' 72 three-pointers where the third-most for a single-season in school history.
She has also been integral in recruiting, helping the Demon Deacons put together ranked recruiting classes in each year on the staff, including the most recent class joining the program for 2016-17.
Coats Fulks came to Wake Forest after one season as an assistant coach at UNCG in 2011-12. With the Spartans, Coats Fulks assisted with recruiting, scouting, game preparation, practice planning and player development along with serving as the team's academic liaison.
Prior to her time in Greensboro, North Carolina, Coats Fulks started in the collegiate coaching ranks at Longwood University for four seasons from 2007-11. In her first season with the Lancers, the program went 16-13 to notch the program's best win total in its Division I era.
She also served as the Assistant Video Coordinator during the 2007 season for the WNBA's New York Liberty. With the Liberty, Coats Fulks assisted with the scouting reports of the opponents and with film exchange. She also served as an AAU coach for three teams from 2002-2007 and was the basketball trainer/ assistant strength coach for the U-Turn Sports Performance Academy.
A four-year letterwinner at Fairleigh Dickinson, Coats Fulks helped the Knights to NEC Tournament berths in her freshman and senior campaigns. Coats Fulks appeared in 92 games with 38 starts, scored 219 points with 127 rebounds, 148 assists and 87 steals in her career. She averaged 5.5 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while ranking second on the team in assists (71) and steals (39) in her senior campaign. A co-captain and a member of the NEC Academic Honor during her run in Teaneck, Coats Fulks graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2007 with a 3.5 grade-point average.
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| Birthdate | April 6, 1985 |
| Hometown | Virginia Beach, Virginia |
| Alma Mater | Fairleigh Dickinson, `07 |
| Spouse | Ryan |
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| 2012-Pres. (4 seasons) | Assistant Coach, Wake Forest |
| 2011-12 (1 season) | Assistant Coach, UNCG |
| 2007-11 (4 seasons) | Assistant Coach, Longwood |
| 2007 (1 season) | Assistant Video Coordinator, New York Liberty |
