Leah Foster - Women's Basketball Coach - Dartmouth College Athletics

Leah Foster

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
Leah.J.Foster@Dartmouth.edu

Leah Foster enters her fourth season on the Dartmouth women’s basketball staff, having joined the team prior to the 2008-09 Ivy League Championship season. In addition to player development, Foster is actively involved in scouting, recruiting, scheduling and team operations.

During her first year in Hanover, Foster helped the Big Green to its 17th Ivy League Championship and seventh NCAA Tournament bid, going 18-11 overall and a near-perfect 13-1 in Ivy competition.

In her three seasons at Dartmouth, she has helped mentor four All-Ivy honorees recognized six times including Koren Schram ’09, a first team honoree in 2009, Faziah Steen ’13, an all-rookie team selection in 2010 and a second team All-Ivy pick in 2011 and Brittney Smith ’11, 2009 Ivy Player of the Year.

During the 2010-11 Dartmouth struggled with injuries to key players, with both Smith and starting point guard Nicola Zimmer ’14 out for the season by mid-December. Dartmouth still enjoyed non-conference wins over Northeastern and Vermont, which had previously advanced to the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Foster came to Dartmouth after a two-year stint at Texas State University, where she helped the Bobcats to a 39-23 overall mark and a Southland Conference segular-season title in 2008.

“Leah is a very talented young professional and her enthusiasm for the game of basketball is contagious,” said Wielgus at the time of Foster’s hiring. “She is a welcomed addition to our Dartmouth basketball family, and we are excited to have her on board.”

While at Texas State, Foster assisted with the day-to-day operations of the program including film exchange, recruiting, camp and player development. She has a vast range of experience working at college camps, including Stanford, Northwestern and Loyola (Chicago).

Foster was a four-year member of the women’s basketball team at St. Edward’s University (Austin, Texas) and she captained the team as a senior, winning the Heartland Conference Championship. She earned second team All-Heartland Conference accolades as a junior and was an Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar her senior year. Her name is in the St. Edward’s record books several times including the top-10 in career three-point percentage and single-season free-throw percentage.

Foster excelled academically as well as a member of the National Honor Society, Dean’s List and Commissioner’s Award winner.

"There are two things that I love and am passionate about: basketball and the development of the student-athlete; therefore I am thrilled and honored to become a part of the Dartmouth community as assistant women’s basketball coach,” said Foster. “Coach Wielgus has a stellar reputation among her colleagues and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be mentored by her. I am confident that my contribution to this program will continue to advance the winning tradition at Dartmouth that she has established.”

Foster earned her master’s degree in physical education and sports management from Texas State in 2008 after graduating cum laude from St. Edward’s with a degree in English literature in 2006.