Tom Batsell

Tom Batsell, who spent the previous nine years with Portland head coach Michael Meek at George Fox University, was hired as an assistant coach during April of 2019. Batsell and Meek combined to lead the Bruins to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, and they reached the NCAA Division III championship game in 2012 and 2015.

“I am thrilled to be adding Tom to the University of Portland coaching staff,” Meek said. “Tom and I have worked together for 18 years. He has proven himself as one of the best post coaches around by developing multiple All-Americans. He knows our system inside and out and can teach it at a high level, which makes Tom a perfect fit. He cares about the student-athlete experience, is a great person and a loyal coaching colleague, and I am elated to add him to our coaching staff.”

“I am very excited and thankful to join coach Meek’s staff and the entire UP Community,” said Batsell. “I look forward to working with the staff and team to move the Pilots women’s basketball program forward.”

With Batsell on staff since 2009, George Fox won six Northwest Conference (NWC) championships, and the Bruins were ranked at the end of the year seven times. He helped coach four players to All-America recognition, while Hannah Munger also earned Academic All-America honors in 2012.

Batsell was also an assistant coach with Meek at Southridge High School (Beaverton, Ore.) prior to their stint at George Fox. The Southridge girls’ varsity program won five Oregon state titles over a six-year span between 2005 and 2010. A total of 20 players went on to play college basketball from those rosters, with eleven student-athletes playing at the NCAA Division I level. All five starters on the 2006 squad signed with schools currently in the Pac-12.

Batsell was previously an assistant coach at Westview High School when they won the 2000 Oregon State Championship, and he had a stint as an assistant coach at Glencoe High School.

Batsell graduated from Pacific University in 1995, and he received a master’s in teaching from Pacific in 2001.