Krystle Evans was named Academy of Art University women's basketball head coach in April 2019 after serving as the program's interim head coach since February 2019. Currently the department's senior woman administrator, she held the role of Academy of Art University assistant athletics director of academics & admissions liaison from October 2018 to April 2019 after joining the women's basketball program as an assistant coach in April 2018.
Leading the Urban Knights to the program's best season in the last six years, Evans and her coaching staff helped return Academy of Art women's basketball to the NCAA Tournament after finishing third in the Pacific West Conference regular season standings and reaching the PacWest Championship Tournament title game in 2021-22. En route to a campaign that saw new program single-season records for scoring defense (61.0) and blocks per game (5.2), ART U's tenacious defense led to four different players earning PacWest Defender of the Week (six weekly awards in total) and a trio of
All-PacWest Team selections including freshman forward/center Alisha Wilson who, during the regular season, not only led the PacWest in both rebounds per game (11.0) and double-doubles (13), but also ranked 17th and 22nd in NCAA Division II in those respective categories (the lone freshman in the top 38 of rebounds) while remaining fourth in the country in offensive rebounds per game (4.8). Both junior guard Chanel Stuart and freshman guard Milan Tuttle would end up on the PacWest All-Tournament Team after the Knights defeated
UH Hilo and
Point Loma on back-to-back days to make the tournament final, pushing the team's season-best win streak to seven games.
Despite having its 2020-21 season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Academy of Art women's basketball still collected three victories and numerous honors during an abbreviated seven-game run. Among the campaign highlights was the program's
first win over Fresno Pacific since 2017, PacWest Northern California Player of the Week honors for junior guards Lauryn Manns (
Mar. 8) and Chanel Stuart (
Feb. 22), and selections to the
All-PacWest NorCal Team for Manns and freshman guard Brooke Rodgers. The team also collected six
Academic All-PacWest honors.
Breaking through for the program's highest win total since 2017, Academy of Art women's basketball experienced significant positive progression throughout its 2019-20 campaign under Evans. The Urban Knights bettered numerous ART U records both individually and as a team (including the program scoring record with 123 points versus Dominican on
Dec. 31, 2019), won four of six games during one stretch including a pair in Hawaii, and steadily remained in the Pacific West Conference playoff hunt. Three Urban Knights earned
Academic All-PacWest selections.
Taking over as interim head coach midway through the 2018-19 season, the team's highlights included a buzzer-beater win over Holy Names, sophomore guard Lily Perkins earning
All-PacWest Team Honorable Mention, and six selections to the
Academic All-PacWest Team.
In July 2017, Evans joined the women's basketball staff at Cal State Dominguez Hills as an assistant coach and worked primarily to develop skills at the guard position. With the Toros, she also served as a compliance and academic liaison, was heavily involved in recruiting, and helped the team finish above six others in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings by the season’s end.
Evans spent the 2016-17 campaign with UC Irvine where, as the second assistant coach, she was relied upon for scouting and recruitment as well as evaluation of student-athletes’ practice and competition performance and academic team counsel.
Before UC Irvine, Evans served as the director of basketball operations at UC Santa Barbara for two seasons from 2015-2016. Among her various responsibilities were tracking academic progress, coordinating team travel along with community service efforts, and assisting all incoming student-athletes with financial aid, hosting, admissions, and other orientation aspects.
Evans found herself at the helm of the Animo South Los Angeles High School basketball program during a stellar 2014-15 season in which the Panthers reached the Division 4 Championship and Evans was named CIF Coach of the Year.
The associate head coach at Los Angeles Southwest College in the South Coast Conference from 2010-2015, Evans worked to help graduate four Academic All-Conference players in four years. The four seasons prior to Los Angeles Southwest, she served as the associate head coach for View Park Preparatory High School and coached the teams that qualified for postseason play each year including three CIF Championships. Over the course of her time with Knights, a total of 10 Academic All-League players received their respective diplomas.
Evans earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from UCLA in 2010, her Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from Fresno Pacific in 2016, and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Sports Leadership at Concordia Chicago.
Head Coach, ART U
2019 - 2022
| Year |
Overall (Pct.) |
PacWest (Place) |
| 2021-22 |
18-11 (.621) |
13-5 (3rd) |
| 2020-21** |
3-4 (.429) |
3-4 (2nd NorCal) |
| 2019-20 |
10-16 (.385) |
8-14 (8th) |
| 2018-19* |
1-6 (.142) |
1-6 (12th) |
| Totals |
32-37 (.464) |
25-29 (.463) |
*Interim Head Coach
**Year shortened due to COVID-19
