Responsibilities: Defensive Coordinator, Video Coordinator, Camp Coordinator, Social Media Coordinator, Academic Liasion, Scheduling Liaison
Ariel Gaston joined the Harvard Women's Basketball staff as an assistant coach in May of 2022.
Gaston entered her third year with the Crimson in 2024-25 taking on a more specified role as defensive coordinator. Under the guidance of Gaston, the Crimson reached historic new heights, accumulating a program-best 24 wins, winning its first Ivy League Tournament Championship, and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years. The third-year coach was also instrumental in the coaching of two All-Ivy honorees in Harmoni Turner (Player of the Year, first team) and Elena Rodriguez (Honorable Mention). As defensive coordinator, Gaston helped the Crimson become one of the best defenses in the nation. Harvard climbed the ranks as the nations top scoring defense throughout the season, eventually ranking first on January 27, by holding opponents to 50.9 points per game, and remaining there for several weeks. Harvard ultimately ended the season as the fifth ranked scoring defense in the country by holding opponents to 52.9 points per game. In the Ivy League Harvard ranked first in scoring defense, opponent field goal percentage, and steals.
Gaston 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).
In her first season under Head Coach Carrie Moore with the Crimson, 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).
Gaston landed with the Crimson after a successful stint as an assistant coach with the Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 2022. On the court, she helped mentor the Liberty League Rookie of the Year and assisted in the development of three other All-Region selections. Her other duties with the Herons included practice planning, scouting, skill development and recruiting.
A University of New Hampshire (UNH) graduate, Gaston also has experience coaching at the AAU level with the U16 Syracuse Royals. Serving as the head coach this past season, Gaston created, implemented and led all game and practice planning for the Royals. She also began to utilize video analysis for recruiting, scouting and skill development purposes. With the Royals, Gaston gained critical knowledge in college recruiting by serving as the liaison between her players and collegiate coaches.
Prior to her time with the Herons, Gaston held assistant coaching positions at Johnson and Wales University in 2020 and Dean College in 2019. While with Dean, Gaston helped produce the first 1,000-point player in school history and helped develop two First-Team All-conference players and All-Americans.
No stranger to the court, Gaston starred for the UNH Wildcats as a point guard from 2011-15. The two-time team captain earned America East's Player of the Week Award five times and was named to the All-America East Third Team in 2015. Gaston also landed on the America East All-Defensive Team in 2015. She graduated from UNH with a bachelor's degree in psychology in May of 2015 and earned her master's degree in college athletic administration from Northeastern University in 2020.
