George Mason University women's basketball head coach
Vanessa Blair-Lewis has announced that Andre Bolton will join her staff as special assistant to the head coach.
Bolton, who spent five seasons as an assistant at Bethune-Cookman (2012-17), rejoins Blair-Lewis after a four-year stint at Georgetown.
"Coach Bolton's indisputable experience and veteran leadership in this game make him a quintessential addition to this staff," said Blair-Lewis. "He has coached at different levels and has been a winner at every stop. I am excited for him to rejoin my staff after having worked with him previously for many years. His knowledge, work ethic, passion and insight for the game will be invaluable to our program."
In four years as an assistant coach on the Hilltop, he was a part of two WNIT appearances as Georgetown advanced out of the first round in both marking the first time since 2009.
"I am extremely blessed to reunite with such an amazing individual and coach,
Vanessa Blair-Lewis," said Bolton. "Family means everything to me and that's what Coach Blair-Lewis and this staff is, my family. To have this opportunity to support Coach Blair-Lewis build George Mason women's basketball, and get back to winning, is something I'm truly excited about and looking forward to. Mason Nation will be proud of what's coming."
The Blue & Gray also made two-consecutive trips to the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals. Over the past four years, he coached four All-BIG EAST honorees as well as the 2018 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in Dionna White and the 2018 BIG EAST Most Improved Player in Cynthia Petke.
Off of the court, he was selected to participate in the NCAA Minority Coaching Series, which partnered with the Women's Basketball Coaches Association to help minority coaches advance in the field.
At Bethune-Cookman, the Wildcats earned back-to-back WNIT berths in his last two seasons. In his final year, B-CU won the MEAC regular season crown and owned a 12-game winning streak, which was one of the longest in Division I. The squad's defense also ranked eighth in the nation.
Bolton coached four All-MEAC selections including the MEAC Defensive Player of the Year Kailyn Williams, and the staff won MEAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
The season prior was record breaking as the Wildcats won their first-ever regular season MEAC title and earned the program's first WNIT berth. Four players earned All-MEAC honors as well as Defensive Player and Coach Staff of the Year awards.
Bolton joined Bethune-Cookman after seven seasons at Delaware State, where he served as the top assistant to Ed Davis, and was a major component in the development of five All-MEAC players and three MEAC All-Tournament Team players.
While at DSU, he was the Lady Hornets' recruiting and scheduling coordinator, taking a major role in guiding DSU to the 2007 MEAC Tournament Championship, the first in school history, giving Bolton his second trip to the NCAA Tournament. The team also ranked fifth in the nation in defense.
Bolton is no stranger to the Washington, D.C., region. He was an assistant coach at Howard University for five years. During his time with the Bison, he was instrumental in developing six MEAC All-Conference players and four MEAC All-Tournament players.
During his tenure at Howard, Bolton helped lead the Bison to the MEAC regular season and tournament championships during the 2000-01 season. Howard represented the league in the NCAA Tournament that season. The following year, Howard captured its second-consecutive MEAC regular season crown.
At Howard, Bolton helped to guide MEAC Player of the Year Andrea Gardner, selected by the Utah Starzz with the 27th pick of the 2002 WNBA draft.
Before his years at Howard, Bolton was an assistant coach for Hampton Roads Pro-Am in Virginia. From 1993-97, he was the summer camp commissioner at Christopher Newport University.
Bolton was a four-year basketball letterman at Christopher Newport where he was inducted into the CNU Athletics Hall of Fame and graduated with a degree in business administration. He played professionally after his collegiate career in Sweden, Spain and Turkey from 1997 to 2000.
