Responsibilities: Recruiting Coordinator, Post development coach, Sports Performance Liaison
Ali Sanders joined the Harvard Women's Basketball staff in May of 2022. With the Crimson, she is in charge of developing Harvard's forwards along with leading recruiting efforts for the program. Sanders also serves as the staff scout coordinator and the counseling/health awareness (CAMHS) liaison.
Sanders continued her stint with the Crimson in 2023-24, helping the team to 16 total victories and its sixth straight Ivy Madness appearance. She once again played a strong role in leading a trio of All-Ivy players in Harmoni Turner (first team), Lola Mullaney (Honorable Mention), and Katie Krupa (Honorable Mention). Following the conclusion of the season, Sanders was named to the Silver Waves Media 50 Most Impactful Women's Assistants list.
In her first season as an assistant coach under Carrie Moore, Sanders was named to the 2023 WBCA Thirty Under Thirty Award list. She helped lead the team to the Ivy League Tournament, where they got their first ever Ivy League Tournament win over Columbia. They then went on to win three games in the WNIT, making school history as the first team to the Great 8. She was an instrumental part in the development of three All-Ivy League honorees in Harmoni Turner (first team), Lola Mullaney (second team) and Elena Rodriguez (Honorable Mention).
Sanders most recently served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Monmouth University. While with the Hawks, she mentored and developed the team's post-players while also overseeing the recruiting efforts for the program. Scouting and academic development for the team's student-athletes was also run by Sanders.
Prior to Monmouth, Sanders spent a season on the staff of the La Salle University Explorers in 2020-21. During her time in Philadelphia, she took control of recruiting operations for the Explorers' program by identifying prospective student-athletes, creating recruiting presentations and creating content for new recruits. Sanders worked primarily with the post players while with La Salle and led video operations such as film breakdown and scouting reports.
Sanders brings a season of Power-5 experience with her to Cambridge, after serving as the Director of Video and Recruiting Operations for Penn State University in 2019-20. In this role, she took the lead on recruiting operations for the Nittany Lions by organizing visits, communicating with recruits and breaking down video and film of prospects. As a video coordinator, Sanders helped the team break down and scout B1G opponents during the conference season. While serving in this role, Sanders also helped create original content for the team's social media channels.
An Illinois native, Sanders began her coaching journey as a graduate assistant and assistant video coordinator at the University of Florida before transitioning to her first full-time role as a video coordinator at Marquette for the 2018-19 season.
A veteran of the game, Sanders herself has experience playing at the collegiate level. As a guard for Florida Southern, Sanders led the team in scoring her junior season (2013-14) before transferring to play at Southeastern University in her final year of eligibility.
