SEATTLE – Seattle U women's basketball has named Matt Thune as one of its four assistant coaches, Head Coach Skyler Young announced Wednesday.
"We have hit a home run by adding Matt to our staff," said Young. "Matt embodies the vision of our staff and program, serving as a high character individual who truly cares about growing the student athletes on and off the court. He is a tremendous recruiter and teacher of the game of basketball and most importantly, a good person. Matt brings elite program experience from competing at a high level and building programs from the ground up. It is an excellent opportunity to work with Matt again and I look forward to our program's growth. I assure you that Seattle University Women's Basketball has got a good one with Coach Thune."
Thune makes the move to the Pacific Northwest after serving on the Utah Tech Trailblazers staff for two seasons, spending one year as an assistant before being promoted to associate head coach ahead of the 2023-24 season. Thune was a vital part of the Trailblazers' fourth place finish in the 2023-24 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season standings, earning a first round bye in the WAC Tournament. In his first season on the Utah Tech sidelines, Thune helped lead the program to a nine-win turnaround and its first-ever Division-I postseason victory.
Thune joined Utah Tech's staff following a three-year stint at Eastern Kentucky, including two seasons as the program's associate head coach. During his time at EKU he assisted in rebuilding a program that had not won a Division I contest the year prior to his arrival. In his first season at EKU, the Colonels had the fourth-best turnaround in NCAA Division I and set its highest GPA mark in program history. Thune continued to help build the EKU program during the 2021-22 season, assisting the Colonels to its most overall wins (15) since 2015-16 and the program's first post-season win since 2017.
Prior to EKU, Thune served as an assistant coach at Binghamton University, an NCAA Division I institution in New York. He aided in the development of two All-America East second team selections and an all-rookie team honoree. The Bearcats were the second-best rebounding team in the America East Conference and ranked third in blocked shots as well as fourth in field goal percentage defense. He also worked part of the 2018-19 season at Boston College, handling all video analysis and recruiting media production.
Thune spent three seasons (2015-18) as an assistant coach at Weber State, helping the Wildcats to achieve the most wins in program history (23) and a runner-up finish in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament during the 2015-16 season. The 2017-18 season saw Weber State finish with a 21-12 overall record, marking the most conference wins (12) in program history as the Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinals of the WBI.
Thune got his coaching start on Jeff Walz's staff at Louisville from 2012-15, assisting in the Cardinals taking 89 of a possible 110 contests. During his time in Louisville, Ky., the Cards won at least 25 games each season, appearing in three Sweet 16's, two Elite 8's, and a National Runner-up appearance at the 2013 Final Four in New Orleans, La.
During his first season on staff, the program received national acclaim for its run to the national championship game. The No. 5-seeded Cardinals knocked off top-seed Baylor before defeating No. 2-seed Tennessee to reach its second Final Four in four years. The Cardinals would go on to take down California in the Final Four to advance to the national title game.
After working as assistant video coordinator in his first year at Louisville, Thune was promoted to video coordinator in 2013 and also served as an interim assistant coach for recruiting. He produced highlight and recruiting videos during his tenure, which signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class in 2015.
The Indianapolis, Ind., native graduated from Indiana University in 2012 with a Bachelor's in Psychology and a minor in Management. He went on to earn a Master's degree in Sports Administration from Louisville in 2014. Thune is married to his wife Kaitlin and the couple have two children - Vance and Chandler.
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"We have hit a home run by adding Matt to our staff," said Young. "Matt embodies the vision of our staff and program, serving as a high character individual who truly cares about growing the student athletes on and off the court. He is a tremendous recruiter and teacher of the game of basketball and most importantly, a good person. Matt brings elite program experience from competing at a high level and building programs from the ground up. It is an excellent opportunity to work with Matt again and I look forward to our program's growth. I assure you that Seattle University Women's Basketball has got a good one with Coach Thune."
Thune makes the move to the Pacific Northwest after serving on the Utah Tech Trailblazers staff for two seasons, spending one year as an assistant before being promoted to associate head coach ahead of the 2023-24 season. Thune was a vital part of the Trailblazers' fourth place finish in the 2023-24 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season standings, earning a first round bye in the WAC Tournament. In his first season on the Utah Tech sidelines, Thune helped lead the program to a nine-win turnaround and its first-ever Division-I postseason victory.
Thune joined Utah Tech's staff following a three-year stint at Eastern Kentucky, including two seasons as the program's associate head coach. During his time at EKU he assisted in rebuilding a program that had not won a Division I contest the year prior to his arrival. In his first season at EKU, the Colonels had the fourth-best turnaround in NCAA Division I and set its highest GPA mark in program history. Thune continued to help build the EKU program during the 2021-22 season, assisting the Colonels to its most overall wins (15) since 2015-16 and the program's first post-season win since 2017.
Prior to EKU, Thune served as an assistant coach at Binghamton University, an NCAA Division I institution in New York. He aided in the development of two All-America East second team selections and an all-rookie team honoree. The Bearcats were the second-best rebounding team in the America East Conference and ranked third in blocked shots as well as fourth in field goal percentage defense. He also worked part of the 2018-19 season at Boston College, handling all video analysis and recruiting media production.
Thune spent three seasons (2015-18) as an assistant coach at Weber State, helping the Wildcats to achieve the most wins in program history (23) and a runner-up finish in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) Tournament during the 2015-16 season. The 2017-18 season saw Weber State finish with a 21-12 overall record, marking the most conference wins (12) in program history as the Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinals of the WBI.
Thune got his coaching start on Jeff Walz's staff at Louisville from 2012-15, assisting in the Cardinals taking 89 of a possible 110 contests. During his time in Louisville, Ky., the Cards won at least 25 games each season, appearing in three Sweet 16's, two Elite 8's, and a National Runner-up appearance at the 2013 Final Four in New Orleans, La.
During his first season on staff, the program received national acclaim for its run to the national championship game. The No. 5-seeded Cardinals knocked off top-seed Baylor before defeating No. 2-seed Tennessee to reach its second Final Four in four years. The Cardinals would go on to take down California in the Final Four to advance to the national title game.
After working as assistant video coordinator in his first year at Louisville, Thune was promoted to video coordinator in 2013 and also served as an interim assistant coach for recruiting. He produced highlight and recruiting videos during his tenure, which signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class in 2015.
The Indianapolis, Ind., native graduated from Indiana University in 2012 with a Bachelor's in Psychology and a minor in Management. He went on to earn a Master's degree in Sports Administration from Louisville in 2014. Thune is married to his wife Kaitlin and the couple have two children - Vance and Chandler.
Donate Today
Fans interested in making a gift to Seattle University Athletics can do so by clicking here. Your gift directly impacts all Redhawk student athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in the community. Thank you for supporting Seattle University Athletics!
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