Cherie Cordoba comes to Wake Forest with over 30 years of experience as a player and coach including two stops at Power-5 institutions.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest women's basketball and head coach Jen Hoover announced the hiring of Cherie Cordoba as assistant coach on Thursday.
In her role, Cordoba will work closely with the Demon Deacon wing players and assist with other areas of the program.
"Cherie will bring a wealth of knowledge to our program not only in the college game, but internationally as well," head coach Jen Hoover said. "Her resume speaks for itself in terms of the high-level players she has been able to develop along the way as well as helping her programs achieve postseason success. There is no better example of this than the integral role she played in developing the Buffalo program into a perennial top-25 team as they reached the Sweet 16 in 2018. Along with her coaching acumen, she is also a woman of great character that will not only be a tremendous member of the staff, program and community, but also an incredible role model for our young women."
A native of Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia, Cordoba most recently helped groom LSU's Khayla Pointer into an All-SEC performer during her time in Baton Rouge, La. During her two seasons, Pointer saw an increase in points per game as well as rebounds per game each season. Additionally, Pointer was selected as one of 20 players for the USA Basketball Americup Trials roster in 2021.
During her first season with the Tigers, Cordoba helped lead the team to a 20-10 record and a winning record in conference play. LSU was on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season.
The summer before moving to Baton Rouge, Cordoba served as an assistant coach on the national team of Australia that took gold in the 2019 University Games with the help of former Wake Forest guard Alex Sharp.
During her five seasons at Buffalo, the Bulls compiled a record of 131-56 (.701) while earning the first three trips to the NCAA Tournament and the first NCAA Tournament victories in program history. Buffalo guard Cierra Dillard became the first Bull in program history to be drafted by the WNBA. Dillard, the 2019 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament MVP, went in the second round to the Minnesota Lynx.
In the 2017-18 season, UB posted a program-best 29-6 record while earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and earning upset victories in the first and second rounds. The Bulls also earned their first national ranking, closing out the season ranked No. 21. UB had a potent offensive attack, averaging 78.1 points per game and recording a program record 633 assists. Her key recruit Stephanie Reid, a fellow Australian, set the school record for career assists as she notched 681 career helpers over her illustrious career in a Buffalo uniform.
A quartet of Australian-born players led the Buffalo squad in 2016-17 as Reid, Courtney Wilkins, Katherine Ups and Liisa Ups provided UB with depth that led UB to a 22-win season. Reid set the single season assists record with 233. The 2015-16 squad earned the program's first MAC tournament championship and NCAA bid. The Bulls entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and became the lowest seed to ever win the tournament crown. In 2014-15, Cordoba helped UC turn in a great season on the court that culminated in an invitation to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The WNIT appearance was the first in program history.
Prior to Buffalo, Cordoba spent two seasons as an assistant at Indiana and two seasons at Hofstra. While with the Hoosiers from 2006-08, she helped guide the team to 37 combined wins with postseason WNIT victories in both seasons. At Hofstra, the Pride advanced to the 2006 WNIT and Hofstra ranked in the Colonial Athletics Association's (CAA) top three in nearly every statistical category.
Cordoba preceded her time at Hofstra with two years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, UNLV. She played a large role in several areas of the Lady Rebels program, including scouting, recruiting, compliance, academic liaison and summer camps.
Prior to Cordoba's tenure as a UNLV assistant coach, she played professionally in her native Australia, as well as Holland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. While playing in Australia, she helped the Adelaide Lightning to a national championship in 1996. In 2000-01, she led the Rhondda Rebels in Wales, U.K. to a 37-1 record and National League, National Playoff and National Cup titles. Cordoba followed that season by helping Puig Den Valls in Ibiza, Spain, to a 30-2 record and the Premier Division championship in 2001-02.
Her professional playing career also included coaching stints with youth programs affiliated with her professional clubs in Holland and Australia. Additionally, she served as a police officer for the South Australian Police Department from 1997-2000.
Cordoba enjoyed a stellar playing career at UNLV that culminated with the Rebels appearing in the 1994 NCAA Tournament. One of four players in UNLV history to record 100 assists and 100 steals in the same season, she still holds the Lady Rebels single-season mark for steals (129) and three-point field goal percentage (.456) and the single-game record for steals (11). Cordoba currently ranks seventh on the UNLV career steals list with 231 and finished her two-year career with 319 assists. She was an All-Big West honorable mention selection as a junior and a first-team pick as a senior.
A 1994 UNLV graduate with a bachelor's degree in athletic training, Cordoba (nee Hogg) was the 1992 California Community College Athletic Association Player of the Year at Lassen Community College in Susanville, California and is a member of the CCCWBCA Hall of Fame Class of 2019. She began her basketball career as a member of the Australian "train-on" teams from 1986-88 and earned an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship in 1988
Cordoba has a son, Kruze, and a daughter, Jett.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest women's basketball and head coach Jen Hoover announced the hiring of Cherie Cordoba as assistant coach on Thursday.
In her role, Cordoba will work closely with the Demon Deacon wing players and assist with other areas of the program.
"Cherie will bring a wealth of knowledge to our program not only in the college game, but internationally as well," head coach Jen Hoover said. "Her resume speaks for itself in terms of the high-level players she has been able to develop along the way as well as helping her programs achieve postseason success. There is no better example of this than the integral role she played in developing the Buffalo program into a perennial top-25 team as they reached the Sweet 16 in 2018. Along with her coaching acumen, she is also a woman of great character that will not only be a tremendous member of the staff, program and community, but also an incredible role model for our young women."
A native of Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia, Cordoba most recently helped groom LSU's Khayla Pointer into an All-SEC performer during her time in Baton Rouge, La. During her two seasons, Pointer saw an increase in points per game as well as rebounds per game each season. Additionally, Pointer was selected as one of 20 players for the USA Basketball Americup Trials roster in 2021.
During her first season with the Tigers, Cordoba helped lead the team to a 20-10 record and a winning record in conference play. LSU was on the cusp of making the NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season.
The summer before moving to Baton Rouge, Cordoba served as an assistant coach on the national team of Australia that took gold in the 2019 University Games with the help of former Wake Forest guard Alex Sharp.
During her five seasons at Buffalo, the Bulls compiled a record of 131-56 (.701) while earning the first three trips to the NCAA Tournament and the first NCAA Tournament victories in program history. Buffalo guard Cierra Dillard became the first Bull in program history to be drafted by the WNBA. Dillard, the 2019 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament MVP, went in the second round to the Minnesota Lynx.
In the 2017-18 season, UB posted a program-best 29-6 record while earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and earning upset victories in the first and second rounds. The Bulls also earned their first national ranking, closing out the season ranked No. 21. UB had a potent offensive attack, averaging 78.1 points per game and recording a program record 633 assists. Her key recruit Stephanie Reid, a fellow Australian, set the school record for career assists as she notched 681 career helpers over her illustrious career in a Buffalo uniform.
A quartet of Australian-born players led the Buffalo squad in 2016-17 as Reid, Courtney Wilkins, Katherine Ups and Liisa Ups provided UB with depth that led UB to a 22-win season. Reid set the single season assists record with 233. The 2015-16 squad earned the program's first MAC tournament championship and NCAA bid. The Bulls entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed and became the lowest seed to ever win the tournament crown. In 2014-15, Cordoba helped UC turn in a great season on the court that culminated in an invitation to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The WNIT appearance was the first in program history.
Prior to Buffalo, Cordoba spent two seasons as an assistant at Indiana and two seasons at Hofstra. While with the Hoosiers from 2006-08, she helped guide the team to 37 combined wins with postseason WNIT victories in both seasons. At Hofstra, the Pride advanced to the 2006 WNIT and Hofstra ranked in the Colonial Athletics Association's (CAA) top three in nearly every statistical category.
Cordoba preceded her time at Hofstra with two years as an assistant coach at her alma mater, UNLV. She played a large role in several areas of the Lady Rebels program, including scouting, recruiting, compliance, academic liaison and summer camps.
Prior to Cordoba's tenure as a UNLV assistant coach, she played professionally in her native Australia, as well as Holland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. While playing in Australia, she helped the Adelaide Lightning to a national championship in 1996. In 2000-01, she led the Rhondda Rebels in Wales, U.K. to a 37-1 record and National League, National Playoff and National Cup titles. Cordoba followed that season by helping Puig Den Valls in Ibiza, Spain, to a 30-2 record and the Premier Division championship in 2001-02.
Her professional playing career also included coaching stints with youth programs affiliated with her professional clubs in Holland and Australia. Additionally, she served as a police officer for the South Australian Police Department from 1997-2000.
Cordoba enjoyed a stellar playing career at UNLV that culminated with the Rebels appearing in the 1994 NCAA Tournament. One of four players in UNLV history to record 100 assists and 100 steals in the same season, she still holds the Lady Rebels single-season mark for steals (129) and three-point field goal percentage (.456) and the single-game record for steals (11). Cordoba currently ranks seventh on the UNLV career steals list with 231 and finished her two-year career with 319 assists. She was an All-Big West honorable mention selection as a junior and a first-team pick as a senior.
A 1994 UNLV graduate with a bachelor's degree in athletic training, Cordoba (nee Hogg) was the 1992 California Community College Athletic Association Player of the Year at Lassen Community College in Susanville, California and is a member of the CCCWBCA Hall of Fame Class of 2019. She began her basketball career as a member of the Australian "train-on" teams from 1986-88 and earned an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship in 1988
Cordoba has a son, Kruze, and a daughter, Jett.
