UE Athletics Announces Staff And Coach Hires

UE Athletics Announces Staff And Coach Hires

Aces Add To Multiple Departments

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville Athletics Department has announced its latest staff and coach hires that span over several of the Purple Aces sports programs and administrative departments.

Alison Adams – Athletic Training Intern

 Alison is an athletic training intern working primarily with women’s soccer and track and field. Prior to working at Evansville, she was a graduate assistant athletic trainer at Georgia Southern University, where she worked with GSU cheerleading and track and field.

She received a Master of Science in Kinesiology from Georgia Southern University in 2020 and a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Ohio State in 2018.

Tanaeya BoClair – Women’s Basketball Director of Basketball Operations

 Tanaeya BoClair enters her first season as Director of Basketball Operations for the Aces women’s basketball program following an impressive playing career.

BoClair comes to Evansville after spending the past two seasons on the bench for the University of Utah, her alma mater.

The San Antonio native spent last season as the Utes Director of Player Personnel after spending the 2018-19 season as a graduate assistant.

She graduated from Utah in the spring of 2018. BoClair was a mainstay for the Utes, playing in 125 career games with 98 starts. She became the 28th player in program history to reach 1,000-career points and ranks 25th all-time in program history with 1,030 points.

 Taylor Burton – Women’s Soccer Graduate Assistant

 Taylor Burton joins the UE women’s soccer staff as a graduate assistant following an impressive career at the University of Wyoming.  As a senior in 2018, Burton was named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year.  She also earned 1^st Team All-Mountain West accolades and 1^st Team All-Pacific Region accolades in her final season with the Cowgirls.

The NCAA DI Scholar All-American Third Team honoree was a 4-year starter at Wyoming and served as the team captain in her final season.  Burton was named the Cowgirls Defensive Player of the Year as both a junior and senior.  She completed her college career ranking in the top 11 in school history in games played, games started, and game-winning goals.

A native of Centennial, Colorado, Burton was a stellar performer for her club team – the Colorado Rush ECNL.  The team was the U15 National Champions in 2012.

Tyra Buss – Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach

After an illustrious playing career, Tri-State native Tyra Buss joins the Aces as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 season.

Buss returns to the tri-state after an honor-laden playing career at Indiana University, where the four-year starter became the Hoosiers’ all-time leading scorer with 2,364 career points and led the Hoosiers to a 2019 WNIT title, being named the Postseason WNIT Most Valuable Player in the process. The two-time WBCA honorable mention all-American finished in the top 25 in the nation in scoring average as a senior, amassing 20.6 points per contest.

A two-time Ms. Basketball honoree for the state of Illinois in high school, Buss starred for Mt. Carmel High School. Buss helped lead Mt. Carmel to a 112-16 (.875) record while being named Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year, a Parade High School All-American and the National High School Coaches Association Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year in 2014.

Ryan Combs – Men’s Basketball Graduate Assistant

 Ryan Combs will be joining head coach Todd Lickliter’s staff as the Graduate Assistant.  The Vincennes, Indiana native graduated from UE in May 2020 with a degree in Statistics & Data Science.  He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Leadership.

Combs will be entering his fifth year with the team after serving as a student manager for the Aces from 2016 to 2018 and then as the Program Coordinator for the 2019-2020 season.

Brandon Crone – Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

 Brandon Crone joins the UE men’s basketball staff after spending the last six seasons working on the staff of his alma mater – Butler.  In his work as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations, he handled a variety of organizational and administrative duties for the Bulldogs, including team travel and scheduling.

The Bulldogs made five consecutive postseason appearances to begin Crone’s tenure on the Butler staff and were on pace for a sixth in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the season.   Four NCAA Tournament berths and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2017 highlighted his tenure.

Crone enjoyed a successful playing career at Butler, helping the Bulldogs to 78 victories and two postseason tournament berths over his four seasons. He was named Butler’s Most Valuable Player in 2006-07, after leading the Bulldogs to a 29-7 record and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16.

After graduating from Butler, Crone went on to play professional basketball for three seasons in Europe. He returned to the U.S. in 2010 and accepted a position as assistant basketball coach at Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis, where he helped lead the Panthers to the 2011 Indiana Class 2A state championship. He went on to serve as an assistant coach for three seasons at Nova Southeastern, an NCAA Division II school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

A 2007 Butler graduate with a marketing degree, Crone and his wife, Morgan, are the parents of two children: son, Kellar, and daughter, Arlowe.

 Danyyil Gayuk – Swimming and Diving Graduate Assistant

 Danyyil Gayuk joins the Purple Aces swimming and diving program as a graduate assistant.  He comes to Evansville after graduating from Delta State University in the spring.  Gayuk majored in Exercise Science while earning a minor in coaching.

As a swimmer at Delta State, Gayuk earned numerous accolades in his senior season.  The 2-time New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Scholar-Athlete was the conference champion in the 200 Medley Relay and 100 Breast races.  Gayuk earned NCAA All-American honors in the 200 Medley Relay while garnering College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America recognition in the 100 Breast, 400 Free Relay, and 200 Medley Relay.  He set the Delta State 200 Medley Relay record in back-to-back years and was the league champion in that event.

A native of Donetsk, Ukraine, Gayuk earned multiple national championships in his home country and was a European Championship qualifier.  He qualified for a World Championship in 2014 in his age group.

Thomas Jackson – Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

 Thomas Jackson joins the UE men’s basketball program after serving as an assistant coach with the Northern Arizona Suns during the 2019-20 season, his first year with the team.  It marked his third year as an assistant coach in the NBA G League, spending 2018-19 with the Maine Red Claws and 2017-18 with the Erie BayHawks.   In his year with Erie, he helped lead the BayHawks to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Jackson enjoyed a long playing career, including 12 years professionally in Europe. He is one of the best players in Butler University history (1998-2002), a school Hall of Fame inductee. Jackson holds school records for career assists (540), career steals (207, tied), and single-game assists (15). He is still the only player in school history to record 1,000 points and 500 assists.

As a senior at Butler during the 2001-02 campaign, Jackson and head coach Todd Lickliter (in his first season as head coach with the Bulldogs) led the program to a then-school record of 26 wins.

 Hannah Krukewitt – External Affairs Intern

 Joining the Aces External Affairs staff is intern Hannah Krukewitt. She studied at Greenville University in Southern Illinois, earning her degree in Marketing and Sport Management while on the women’s basketball team.

She brings experience in sports marketing, graphic design, fan engagement, game-day operations, ticketing and sales, and business/compliance from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Western Illinois University, and Greenville University.

Hannah is originally from the small town of Ipava, IL.

Grace McConnell – Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach

 The University of Evansville has announced the hiring of Grace McConnell as Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach, following two seasons as the Purple Aces graduate-assistant.

McConnell played three seasons at Post University, capturing CACC All-Tournament Team honors and was a three-time CACCA All-Academic Team award winner.

“I had the privilege of working with Grace in the fall and really enjoyed how much she not only loved the game but how much she loved being around college players,” Evansville head women’s soccer coach Chris Pfau said.

McConnell graduated in the spring from Evansville with a master’s in public service administration, while serving as the Graduate Assistant Women’s Soccer Coach for two seasons.

 Joe Nash – Athletic Training Intern

Joe Nash is an Intern Assistant Athletic Trainer primarily working with baseball and cross country. Prior to his start here, he spent two years as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Youngstown State University, primarily working with the softball and football programs.

He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Athletic Training from Liberty University in 2018. After his time at Liberty, he earned a Master’s of Health and Human Services from Youngstown State University in 2020 while serving as a graduate assistant. During his time at Liberty, he was a summer intern with the University of Alabama football program.

Nash is certified in CPR/First Aid, Personalized Blood Flow Restriction (PBFR), and AT’s Utilization & Clinical Establishment of IV Access & Fluid Administration. He is also a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) and the College Athletic Trainers’ Society. He is from New Kent, Virginia, and a graduate of New Kent High School and currently resides in Evansville.

  Ramon “Kiké” Negron – Athletic Equipment Manager

Ramon “Kiké” Negron brings over 8 years of experience in Olympic, professional and collegiate athletic events. His experience includes managing all aspects of the athletic equipment operations and event logistics for the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee, a group of about 400 athletes and staff of 30 federations.

He joined the PR Olympic Committee after managing for four years the Morale, Wellness and Recreation program for the United States Coast Guard in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Kiké was a Division I soccer student-athlete at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise, Sport and Health Education with a major in Coaching and Commercial Fitness. After graduating from Radford, he worked as an Assistant Director of Athletics Support Services and Volunteer Assistant Soccer Coach for the men’s soccer program. In 2009 he completed a Master’s degree in Sports Management from High Point University in High Point, North Carolina.

He was also a member of the Puerto Rico National Soccer team from U12 to the senior team representing the Island in various tournaments and CONCACAF qualifiers.

Jordan Seneca – Softball Graduate Assistant

Jordan Seneca joins the UE softball staff as a graduate assistant following two seasons as an assistant coach at LaSalle.

A four-year letter winner at Saint Francis, Seneca helped the Red Flash win back-to-back NEC Championships in 2017 and 2018. During that span, the team was a perfect 38-0 in conference play.

Over the course of her career, the former shortstop accumulated 48 home runs, which sits as the SFU and NEC record. Seneca also holds school records in runs (181), walks (154) and steals (56), while finishing second for RBIs (156).

No stranger to accolades, Seneca was a two-time NFCA All-Region Third Team selection, while also accumulating three All-NEC Team selections throughout her career.

She completed her bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology, with a concentration in fitness professionals before beginning work on her MBA at LaSalle.

FOOTNOTES: For all of the latest information on the University of Evansville athletics, log on to the sports page on GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthletics. 

DONATE: For information on giving to UE Athletics or its individual athletics programs, visit the DONATE tab on the top of GoPurpleAces.com.

TICKETS: To purchase tickets for University of Evansville athletics events, log on to GoPurpleAces.com and click on the TICKETS tab on top of the page