CHICAGO (July 10, 2024) – Kara Rawls, a rising star in the coaching profession following a successful playing career, has been named an assistant coach at UIC, head coach
Ashleen Bracey announced Wednesday. Rawls is the second offseason addition to the Flames' coaching staff, following the hiring of assistant coach
John McCray in May.
"I am so excited for the opportunity to work alongside my former player, Kara Rawls," Bracey said. "Kara comes to us with high-level playing and coaching experience. She is an incredibly relatable young coach that is committed to building strong relationships and recruiting well-rounded student-athletes. I recruited Kara to play for me at UAB and had the opportunity to coach her for one season. I have always valued and respected her approach to the game. Kara has been a part of championship-level success and will be a tremendous addition to our program!"
Rawls joins Chicago's College Team after three seasons at UAB (2022-24), where she most recently served as assistant coach and helped the Blazers reach the 2024 WNIT following two years as the program's director of operations. Last season, Rawls played an integral role in guiding Mia Moore and Denim DeShields to third-team American Athletic Conference honors, with Moore also named to the AAC All-Newcomer Team.
Along with her on-court coaching, Rawls' primary responsibilities at UAB included coordinating the team's travel arrangements, overseeing film exchange, supervising the managerial staff, running summer camps and coordinating the Blazers' public service initiatives.
Before her stint in Birmingham, Rawls was an assistant coach for two seasons at Middle Georgia State University in Macon, Georgia, where she helped lead the Knights to a 27-17 combined record and the 2020-21 Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) East Division title.
Rawls began her coaching career in 2018-19 as an assistant at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. While there, she contributed to one of the best seasons in program history, helping the Hawks go 22-5 and 13-3 in the USA South Conference to set program records for overall and conference wins during the school's NCAA era.
As a player, Rawls competed for UAB from 2015-18, culminating with the 2018 Conference USA regular season championship, the first in program history, a 27-7 record and a trip to the second round of the WNIT. As a senior that season, Rawls appeared in 33 games (starting 28 times) and led the team with 7.8 rebounds per game, while ranking second in field-goal percentage (.550) and adding 6.5 points per game.
Before joining UAB, Rawls spent one season (2014-15) at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham, where she made an immediate impact by helping the team win its first Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) championship. She was also named the most valuable player of the ACCC Tournament and received the school's Perry W. Ward President's Award for women's basketball. Rawls began her collegiate career by redshirting her freshman year at Alabama due to an Achilles injury.
A Hoover, Alabama, native, Rawls graduated from UAB with a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master's degree in applied sociology.
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