Glendale Community College has a new women’s basketball head coach.

Ernest Shand takes over the Gauchos program, which opens the 2023-24 season in November at the Phoenix College Bears Tip-Off Tournament. Shand most recently was a men's basketball assistant coach at Benedictine University Mesa.

His tenure with the Redhawks included a Cal-Pac championship runner-up finish in 2021-22. After beating the No. 3 and 2 seeds, the Redhawks earned a bid to the NAIA National Tournament for the second year in a row.

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Shand relocated to Arizona in 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from SUNY Poly and earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Prior to moving back to the Valley in 2021, Shand coached at the NCAA DII and NAIA levels at both Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, and Albany State University in Albany, Georgia.

Throughout his career, Shand has also coached at the NCAA DIII (SUNYIT), NJCAA DI (Mesa CC) and DII (Genesee CC) levels. His career includes leading programs at two Arizona high schools, Horizon Honors and Salt River, as well.

Shand has coached and mentored 14 student-athletes who have gone on to play at the professional level overseas, along with six All-Americans and 13 All-Conference selections.

GCC struggled to a 6-23 overall record last year that included a 4-18 run through the ACCAC.