ORONO, Maine – University of Maine women's basketball head coach Amy Vachon has announced the hiring of assistant coach Tanesha Sutton ('18).

Sutton returns to UMaine where she played guard for the Black Bears for three seasons after sitting out the 2015-16 following transferring to Orono from Duquesne.

"We are thrilled to welcome home Tanesha Sutton as our newest assistant coach," Vachon says. "Black Bear fans will remember Tanesha as a dominant force on the court, a hard worker, and an incredible human being. Since graduating from UMaine, Tanesha has been playing professionally overseas. Her experience as a professional basketball player will only add to her tremendous skill set as she starts her coaching career. As an alumna, Tanesha knows how special Maine is as a program, a university, and a state."

While at UMaine, Sutton, a two-time America East all-conference honoree, averaged 11.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 98 games for the Black Bears. During her senior season, Sutton became the 21st Black Bear in history to record 1,000 career points. Sutton, a multi-year captain of the Black Bears, currently ranks 21st on Maine's all-time scoring list (1,124) and 20th in all-time assists (268). Sutton guided Maine to America East titles and NCAA appearances in back-to-back seasons (2017-18, 2018-19).

"I'm extremely excited to be back at the University of Maine," Sutton says. "To join a coaching staff that once coached me is a full circle experience. To be able to be back at my alma mater, where I was fortunate to win two consecutive championships with an amazing group of women, is a blessing. The community and campus support for women's basketball at UMaine is unmatched and it means the world to me to, six years after leaving Maine, to return to represent the program once again. I am more than thankful for the opportunity to be a part of a great coaching staff and look forward to pouring into our student-athletes both on and off the court."

Following her playing time at UMaine, Sutton played three seasons professionally overseas. Sutton began her professional career with the Norrkoping Dolphins (2019-20) of the Swedish Basketball League. In 2022-23, Sutton was named to the All-Romanian Second Team as she led Napoca Cluj in scoring. Sutton closed out her professional career by playing one season (2023-24) with Barcelos (Portugal).

Sutton started her coaching career as an assistant coach at the Community College of Philadelphia in 2020 and served four seasons as a coach with Hunting Park AAU. In 2019, Sutton co-founded the Different Mindset Annual Youth Basketball Camp and also spent parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons as a youth coach at the Elite Sports Factory.

-UMaine-