Zuniga comes to Fort Lewis College after leading Northwest College (NJCAA) as its head coach for three seasons. In her first season at the helm, the Trappers finished with a winning record while advancing to the Region 9 Tournament. That season, Zuniga's squad earned more wins than the program's three previous seasons combined. The following season was a particularly special one under Zuniga's guidance as the team finished with a 21-9 record while placing second in the conference. The Trappers advanced to the Region 9 Tournament as well. The team was 15-15 in the 2023-24 season and advanced to the Region 9 Tournament for the third straight year.
During her time in Powell, Wyoming, Zuniga developed five All-Region players, three All-Defensive Players of the Year, and one Honorable Mention All-American. In addition to the accomplishments on the hardwood, her student-athletes maintained a grade point average above 3.6 each year. The team was active in the community as well, devoting at least 30 hours per season to the community's efforts.
Before her three seasons at Northwest College, she was the assistant coach at Angelo State University (NCAA DII). During the 2020-21 season, she was directly responsible for the team's academics, admissions, recruiting efforts, and community service, and served as an advisor for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Zuniga's coaching career kicked off at the University of Saint Mary (NAIA) where she worked as a graduate assistant. Her work with the Spires included creating practice plans and scouting reports, analyzing film, conducting community outreach, and fundraising among other day-to-day tasks.
A native of Loveland, Colorado, Zuniga began her collegiate playing career at Gillette College (NJCAA) in Wyoming. There, she played in 23 games while shooting 37.7 percent from the field. She went on to transfer to Wayne State College (NCAA DII) where she played in 30 games and served as team captain. She was an All-Academic award winner and graduated in 2017 with a degree in Bachelor of Art in Broadcast/Mass Communications as well as a minor in Speech Communication.
"We are thrilled to welcome Lauren to the Skyhawks family as our women's basketball head coach. At every step of our process, she demonstrated that student-athletes are at the center as well as a commitment to graduating champions," said Director of Athletics, Travis Whipple. "We were impressed by how she has built successful programs as a head coach, including academic, community, and on-court success. She displays a natural ability to foster relationships, lead with expectations, be a great role model, and develop student-athletes. She also brings valuable experience at the DII level as a student-athlete and coach"
