Oregon head women’s basketball coach Kelly Graves announced the hiring of Eugene native Lisa O’Meara as the Ducks’ director of creativity and assistant coach on June 29, 2023.
O’Meara joined Graves’ staff after spending the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach at Montana. She spent the previous nine seasons at Saint Mary’s, six as an assistant coach and three as the team’s director of operations.
“We are really excited to have Lisa join our program and come home to Eugene,” Graves said. “Her experience as a player and a coach, in addition to being from Eugene, will really help her connect with our student-athletes. We love what she will bring to the staff and she will be a great fit. ”
The Gaels qualified for the WNIT in each of O’Meara’s nine seasons at SMC while averaging more than 21 wins a season – and never winning fewer than 19. Twice Saint Mary’s advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals and five times advanced past the opening round. In her only season in Missoula, O’Meara helped the Grizzlies to a 14-16 mark and a 10-8 record in Big Sky play.
“It’s hard to express how excited and grateful I am to join Coach Graves and his staff,” O’Meara said. “It’s a special opportunity to not only learn from the best and grow as a coach, but also to come back to my hometown and join the Ducks.”
O’Meara played one season at Saint Mary’s, one season at Lane Community College and two seasons at Oregon Tech. An NAIA Academic All-American, O’Meara graduated from Oregon Tech with a degree in management in 2010 and completed her master’s degree in kinesiology from Saint Mary’s in 2012.
While at Lane, O’Meara was part of a team that won 83 straight home games while she set records at Oregon Tech for 3-pointers in a game (8), career 3-point percentage (41.8) and free throw percentage (85.9).
Following the 2018-19 season, O’Meara accepted a position with PGC Basketball, an organization that focuses on the development of high school coaches and players through clinics and camps.
She is married to Brendan O’Meara, who was a USA Rugby Collegiate All-American at Saint Mary’s and was an assistant coach at SMC with teams that won three national club championships.
