Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Former Oregon State women’s basketball standout Mandy Close, a four-year letterwinner from 2003-06 who led her squad to three postseason appearances and spent five seasons on the coaching staff at Montana State, returned to her alma mater as an assistant in May 2013.
Her first two seasons on Scott Rueck’s staff have been the best years in school history, as the Beavers won 24 games in 2013-14 before setting new school record with 27 wins in 2014-15. Close helped the Beavers win their first ever Pac-12 title in 2015, and has coached the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, as the team made its first return to the tourney since 1996.
Among numerous responsibilities, Close works closely with Oregon State’s guards, prepares opponent scouts and also serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator.
Guards Sydney Wiese and Jamie Weisner have thrived under Close’s tutelage, with both players earning All-Pac-12 First Team honors in 2014-15. Wiese and Weisner both earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors over the course of the campaign, and Weisner earned national recognition on Jan. 27 when she was named ESPNW National Player of the Week.
Close also helped Wiese, Weisner and Ali Gibson reach significant milestones during the Beavers’ historic campaign. Wiese became Oregon State’s all-time leader in 3-pointers in just her second season of college basketball, while Gibson and Weisner became the 17th and 18th players in school history to reach the 1,000 point mark. Wiese, Gibson and Weisner all ended the 2014-15 campaign in Oregon State’s top-five for 3-pointers made, and Wiese and Weisner sit one-two on OSU’s career 3-point percentage list.
In 2013-14 the guards under her tutelage collected three All-Pac-12 nods in Wiese, Weisner and Gabriella Hanson. Wiese, the first OSU freshman since Tanja Kostic in 1993 to receive a spot on the All-Pac-12 Team, made a school-record 112 3-pointers, a number which is the most for a Pac-12 freshman, second overall in single-season conference history, tied for 20th in NCAA single-season history and tied for fourth among NCAA freshmen all-time.
Weisner hit 55 3-pointers and was second on the team in scoring at 12.5 points per game. Hanson stepped up big time in conference action, averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds, and led the league by shooting 48.1 percent from behind the arc against Pac-12 opponents. Both earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention accolades.
A native of Bozeman, Mont., Close honed her coaching skills on the bench at Montana State for a half decade, helping the Bobcats finish with a .500 record or better each year and aiding in the development of 12 All-Big Sky honorees. With Close, MSU players also earned two nods as the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year, a Big Sky Newcomer of the Year selection, 33 Big Sky All-Academic picks and one choice as a Kodak/WBCA All-America Honorable Mention.
At MSU, Close handled an array of duties from recruiting, game strategy, scouting, guard development and community service. She also filled roles as the coordinator of the Bobcats’ offense, defense and academics.
In her final year in Bozeman, Montana State made its seventh consecutive Big Sky Conference Tournament appearance, finishing with a 17-13 overall record. The Bobcats were fourth in the league in scoring margin (+2.3) and second in steals (10.9/game).
During the 2011-12 campaign, MSU held opponents to 28 percent from 3-point range and 37 percent from the field. That season the team was also first in the Big Sky in defensive rebounds per game, averaging 30.4 each contest.
As the Bobcats’ point guard coach, Close developed MSU freshman Ausha Cole into the Big Sky Conference leader in assists to turnover ratio as well as the leading 3-point field goal percentage shooter in 2010-11.
Prior to the 2010-11 season, Close was instrumental in the development of two-time Big Sky All-Conference point guard Erica Perry. Under her direct supervision, Katie Bussey had an impressive debut season and was named Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year in 2008-09. Bussey went on to be selected as a First Team All-Conference performer and broke a number of school and conference scoring and shooting records in 2011-12.
The Bobcats’ academics were also steady under Close’s supervision. MSU’s team GPA was nationally ranked by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) three times during her tenure. Montana State was 11th in that category in 2011-12, 12th in 2010-11 and an fourth in 2008-09.
Close returned to Corvallis where she spent four seasons as a player (2003-06) and two as the program’s assistant director of operations (2007-08). A two-year team captain, she played in 121 total games at OSU and ended her career with an outstanding senior campaign, averaging 13.3 points and dishing out 149 assists as the Beavers advanced to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT).
During that senior season, Close scored in double figures 23 times and led the Beavers with 4.8 assists per game, second in the Pac-10 and 46th in the nation. She played 3,423 minutes over her four-year career, including every minute in 16 games as a senior.
Her 289 career assists are 11th in program history and her 149 in 2005-06 are the fifth-most for any OSU senior. Close’s 84 career 3-point field goals also place her 11th in the Beaver record books.
Close was also a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic honoree and a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection in 2005-06. She had her most memorable game in a Beaver uniform on Jan. 25, 2006 in a 63-61 Civil War victory. On that night Close scored 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting against the Ducks, including going coast-to-coast for the game-winning layup with 3.4 seconds remaining.
Like Rueck, Close has earned two degrees from Oregon State; one in human development and family sciences and the other in elementary education. At Bozeman HS, she was a two-time basketball all-state selection, four-time track all-state selection and a volleyball all-state selection.
