Lauren Zuniga enters her third season as the Fort Lewis College head women's basketball coach in 2026-27.
Zuniga's second season at the helm marked a drastic turnaround from year one, with an overall record of 18-11 and a conference mark of 11-9. For the team, 18 wins is the most since the 2017-18 season, and the Skyhawks advanced to the RMAC Tournament for the first time since that year. Fort Lewis won its final four games of the regular-season before narrowly falling to No. 2-seeded UCCS in the RMAC Tournament Quarterfinal. Junior Makaya Porter and sophomore Katie Lamb were named Second Team All-Conference, and four players earned All-Academic nods. Highlighted by defensive prowess, four players ranked in the top 16 in conference standings in steals per game, and in hte NCAA DII standings, Fort Lewis was 14th in steals per game (13.3) and 22nd in turnovers forced per game (22.2).
In her first year as head coach for the Skyhawks, Zuniga's squad went 6-22 overall and 3-17 in conference standings. Four of the team's wins came at home. Junior Deniece Ryan was named Honorable Mention All-Conference after leading the team with 11 points per game. Three players were named as RMAC All-Academic honorees.Â
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.Â
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, Zuniga 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 Bachelor of Art in Broadcast/Mass Communications as well as a minor in Speech Communication.
Â
