A former WNBA All-Star and one of the top players in UConn women’s basketball history, Nykesha Sales joined UCF’s coaching staff in June 2016, marking her first Division I coaching position. Her primary responsibilities include the development of guards, scheduling, opponent scouting reports and recruiting.
A historic 2021-22 campaign saw the Knights win an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in program history as the highest seed by a UCF squad. The Black and Gold were the No. 7 seed in the Bridgeport Region
The Knights finished with a 26-4 record, winning the American Athletic Conference regular season with a 14-1 mark and captured The American Championship trophy for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UCF defeated Florida, 69-52, in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, marking the first NCAA Tournament win by a Knights squad in program history.
The accolades were plentiful throughout the season, and UCF made its debut in the national polls for the first time in program history, climbing to No. 23 in the USA Today/WBCA Top 25 and No. 24 in the Associated Press poll.
In her first four seasons at UCF, she helped guide the Knights to the program’s first four-consecutive 20-win seasons in the Division I era, and only missed a fifth-straight after the COVID-19 pandemic led to fewer contests in the 2020-21 campaign. She helped the Knights to their best finish in the American Athletic Conference in all six seasons, including their first-ever appearance in The American Championship title game in 2018-19, a return to the title game in 2020-21 and the tournament title in 2021-22.
UCF has also made five postseason appearances - one in each season in which a postseason tournament was held. In 2018-19, UCF earned the program’s first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19 and, after the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of all 2020 spring championships, rebounded with a second-straight NCAA bid and the highest seed in program history.
In her first season as a collegiate coach, Sales helped Aliyah Gregory become the first Knight to earn American Athletic Conference First Team accolades, while also assisting Zykira Lewis to all-conference honors.
In 2018-19, she helped Kayla Thigpen to The American’s Sixth Player of the Year honor - the first time that a Knight has earned an individual regular season award in The American. Thigpen was UCF’s second-leading scorer and tallied career-highs in points, field goals made, free throws made, assists, blocks and minutes played.
The 2020-21 campaign proved to be a breakout season for Tay Sanders, leading to American Athletic Conference Second Team honors under Sales’ guidance. One of the most improved players in the league, she more than doubled her scoring average and posted a pair of double-double performances with the Black and Gold. The Bartow, Fla., native was UCF’s leading scorer at 10.4 points per game and registered 11 double-figure scoring contests after having just three in her first season as a Knight. Sanders picked up all-conference honors again in 2021-22 after helping UCF to its first regular season title as members of the American Athletic Conference.
Sales played for the Orlando Miracle/Connecticut Sun from 1999-2007 and was selected as an eight-time WNBA All-Star. Sales led the Connecticut Sun to two WNBA Finals and still reigns as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer (3,955 points; 14.3 ppg), which ranks among the WNBA’s all-time top 30. In addition, she finished her career with 1,157 rebounds, 683 assists and 490 steals.
Sales, who has lived in Orlando for the past 14 years, played professionally in Europe during WNBA off seasons in the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Prague, Turkey and Bosnia.
She has also devoted her time as an ambassador and guest coach for NBA Basketball Without Borders and the U.S. Sports Envoy Program. Using basketball clinics and community outreach to create positive social change within these programs, she impacted more than 2,500 children in countries including Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Venezuela, South Korea and Haiti from 2009-15.
Sales graduated from UConn in 1998 with a degree in business management. She left as the Huskies’ all-time leading scorer and still ranks among their top five with 2,178 points. In addition, she owns the school record for career steals (447).
Her stellar career at UConn was highlighted by the 1995 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship, a Final Four appearance in 1996 and two Elite 8 berths. She acquired numerous accolades including:
• 1995 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year
• 1995, 1996 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
• 1997, 1998 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
• 1997, 1998 BIG EAST All-Conference First Team
• 1995, 1996 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
• 1997 BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player
• 1998 BIG EAST Player of the Year
• 1997, 1998 WBCA and Associated Press All-American
• 1994, 1995, 1996 Conference Academic All Star
In 1997, she earned a gold medal with Team USA at the Women’s World University Games in Sicily, Italy. Sales was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game. Later in 2000, she was named an alternate on the 2000 USA Basketball Olympic Team.
Sales was a member of the inaugural class (2006) of inductees to the University of Connecticut women’s basketball “Huskies of Honor” recognition program.
From 2013-16, she worked with the Connecticut Sun as a community liaison.
*Updated September 2021
