Kim Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 15th Season Years at CSU: Second Season

Kim Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba begins her second season with Colorado State women's basketball as an assistant for the Rams. She is the recruiting coordinator on the staff.

Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba returned to her alma mater after six seasons as an assistant coach at Rice.

While at Rice, Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba served as the staff's recruiting coordinator and worked with the Owl's perimeter players. She also oversaw the student-athletes academic progress in conjunction with the athletic academic advising team and compliance with the NCAA Clearinghouse and NCAA by-laws.

She joined the Rice staff after serving as an assistant at Southern Polytechnic State in Marietta, Ga. At the NAIA school, Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba coached the post players in addition to serving as recruiting coordinator, scheduling coordinator and supervisor for weight training and conditioning.

Prior to working with Southern Poly, Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba spent one year as an assistant with Life University, also in Marietta, Ga., after a two-year stint at Saint Louis University. She organized team travel, coordinated the film exchange and aided in recruiting in addition to her on-court coaching duties with both programs.

Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba is a 1998 graduate of Colorado State with a B.A. in social sciences and a minor in sociology. She was a four-year letterwinner for the Rams, helping them to the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles, then the program's first NCAA tournament bid in 1996 under head coach Greg Williams.

As a senior captain, Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba helped lead Colorado State to the WAC Mountain Division title and a trip to the NCAA tournament second round in 1998 with teammates Becky Hammon and Katie Cronin. During her career the Rams won 20 or more games in three seasons, advancing the NCAA tournament twice.

After graduating from CSU, Austin Mbadinga-Nzamba spent one season playing professionally for Salon Palloilidat Salpa in Finland where she averaged 18 points and nine rebounds. In high school, she was a 1993-94 Street & Smith's All-America Honorable Mention and a Basketball Congress International All-American.

Kim, a native of El Paso, Texas, and her husband, Eric Mbadinga-Nzamba, have three children.