Zakiya Saunders joined the women's basketball staff in June of 2023 and will assist with the guards. She also has responsibilities in recruiting, scouting, mentoring and serve as the academic liaison.
She finished her first season as an assistant coach in 2023-24 and worked primarily with the guards. Freshman guard Kendall Carruthers earned NEC Rookie of the Year, First Team All-NEC and NEC All-Rookie Team honors under Saunders’ guidance.
She joined Saint Francis after serving the 2022-23 season at Binghamton as the director of operations. During her time with the Bearcats, Saunders assisted with budgeting, team travel and community outreach, among other responsibilities.
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During her playing career, Saunders was a three-time America East Champion at the University at Albany from 2013-16. She was Second Team All-Conference with a program-record 227 assists during her junior season.
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Saunders finished her collegiate career at the University of Central Florida, where she was a Second Team All-Conference selection in the 2017-18 season. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in 2018. After college, Saunders played two seasons professionally in Sweden and Poland from 2018-20.
