Krystal Thomas - Women's Basketball Coach - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Krystal Thomas

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
krystal.thomas@gcu.edu
Phone:
602-639-6029

Follow @KThomasGCU

Krystal Thomas joined GCU in June of 2015 and is entering her second season coaching at Grand Canyon University. Her duties will include recruiting coordinator, player development, and assisting with defensive coordination.

Thomas, an Orlando native, was a standout high school basketball player during her time at The First Academy. She led her team to back to back state titles, while being named the MVP on both championship teams. While competing at the high school level, Thomas earned many prestigious awards, such as being a member of the 2007 McDonald’s All American team and 2007 WBCA All-American team. She was also the 2007 Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Florida Basketball and Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. She finished her high school career being ranked in the top 10 nationally for the class of 2007.

The elite play of Thomas earned her an invitation to play for the USA U19 World Championship team. Thomas led this team to a 9-0 record and a gold medal in Bratislava, Slovakia in the summer of 2007. She averaged 7.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and hit 60.4 percent of her field goals. Her 60.4 percent field goal percentage ranked second for the World Championship.

After graduating from high school, Thomas was a 4-year varsity letter winner at Duke University. She was the captain of the team her senior year. She led the Blue Devils to back to back ACC regular season titles, back to back ACC tournament titles, and back to back Elite 8 appearances. For her senior year Thomas was 3^rd team All-ACC, led the ACC in rebounding, and was Full Court Press Defensive Player of the Year. She left her mark in many categories in the Duke record books as well. She ranks 6^th in career rebounds with 776 and 3^rd all-time in blocked shots with 196. She was also one of only two players to pull down 300 rebounds in a single season.

Upon graduating from Duke, Thomas was drafted 36^th overall to the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. Thomas played for the Seattle Storm, Phoenix Mercury, and Indiana Fever throughout her professional career from 2011-2014. She was the 5^th overall rebounder in the WNBA during the 2012 WNBA season. She also appeared in 2 Western Conference Finals, and 1 Eastern Conference Final.

During her off-season, Thomas played professional basketball overseas in France, China, and Spain. While in Spain. Thomas played for the highly decorated club Perfumerias Avenida. While competing for this club, Thomas won La SuperCopa, La Copa De La Reina, and reached the Final 8 in the Euroleague Playoffs.

Thomas is the oldest of five siblings. Loren is a graduate of Liberty University and plays professional volleyball overseas. Erika is a senior volleyball player at the University of Connecticut. Victor is a midshipman candidate and linebacker at the Naval Academy Preparatory School, and Kelli is a high school sophomore.