After leading Northwestern State to a 2025 WNIT appearance and the most Southland Conference wins in 22 seasons this past year, head coach Anna Nimz has resigned her position to take over at North Alabama, NSU athletics director Kevin Bostian confirmed Thursday morning.
“Coach Nimz came to Natchitoches in a very uncertain time, sight unseen, and had a plan to build the program in her image,” Bostian said. “In her six years, she did just that, helping steer our program back to a position where it is on an upward trajectory within the Southland Conference, including the program’s most conference wins in 22 seasons. She leaves the program poised to continue on that track. We want to wish Anna, (wife and associate head coach) Leasa and (pre-school child) Frankie the best as they enter their next chapter at North Alabama.
“We have begun the reach for the next coach — someone who can sustain the momentum that has been crafted across the past six seasons.”
In her six seasons at NSU, Nimz compiled a record of 69-100, but in the past two seasons, she led the Lady Demons to a 34-30 mark, including a 26-16 mark in league play. Those two seasons also included the program’s first postseason berth last year and its first overall winning record since 2015-16 this season.
In 2024-25, she produced the program’s first WNIT berth since 1999 and a 16-16 record. This past season, she did even better, leading NSU to an 18-14 mark and 14-8 record in league competition, the highest win total in SLC play in 22 years.
This past season, NSU gave conference champion McNeese its only SLC loss, a 64-59 win in Lake Charles.
Nimz came to NSU during the COVID-19 pandemic and inherited a team that went 7-22 the year before and had to recruit a brand-new roster. In her first year, the Demons went 1-19, and Nimz earned her first victory against Central Arkansas in the season finale.
Two players during that recruiting class following the 1-win season — Jasmin Dixon and Sharna Ayres — were pillars of the turnaround, starting on the WNIT team as seniors, and leading them to the SLC Tournament quarterfinals.
