FLORENCE, Ala. (June 23, 2025) – University of North Alabama head women's basketball coach Candi Whitaker announced Monday the addition of Chayla Cheadle to the coaching staff for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

Whitaker, who enters her second season, continues to round out her staff, as Cheadle arrives in Florence with seven years of coaching experience. Cheadle will enter her first year of coaching collegiate basketball after recently serving as the head girls basketball coach at Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kan.

"Chayla brings a variety of experience to our staff," said Whitaker. "I love that she's been a head coach at the high school level, has coached on the summer circuit as a club coach and played at a high level in college. Her ability to connect with our young women and future prospects will have an immediate impact on our program. We are excited to welcome her to UNA!"

During her tenure at Blue Valley Northwest, she led the Huskies to 26 wins in her two seasons from 2023-2025. Cheadle led the team to back-to-back sub-state championship appearances, and she was nominated for Kansas Class 6A Coach of the Year in 2024. Her experience also includes serving as a club coach for the Missouri Phenom 14U and 16U teams from 2023-2025. In 2024, her 16U team reached the Final Four at Nike Nationals.

"I'm incredibly excited and honored to join the University of North Alabama as an assistant coach," said Cheadle. "This opportunity means a lot to me, and I'm eager to contribute to the program's success while learning from Coach Whitaker — whose leadership and vision I greatly admire!"

Her initial coaching experience came from 2018-2023, serving as the varsity assistant coach in the Olathe School District of Columbia Public Schools.

She coached at Olathe North High School for the 2018-19 season before moving on to Rock Bridge High School for the 2019-20 season. Cheadle additionally served as the junior varsity head coach at Rock Bridge. She returned to Olathe North High School to coach from 2020-2023 before assuming her head coaching role at Blue Valley Northwest.

Cheadle also has the distinction of being a former collegiate and professional basketball player.

She was a four-year standout at the University of Kansas, appearing in 118 games while starting in 90 from 2014-2018.

Cheadle scored 575 points in her collegiate career, while proving to be a force on the boards with 450 rebounds. She led the team in rebounds during the 2016-17 season (4.7 per game), and she was also a three-time Academic All Big 12 selection in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

Cheadle's professional basketball experience comes in the form of a one-year stint with Portuguese basketball club S.L. Benfica. She played during the 2018-19 season, averaging 11.3 points per game and five rebounds per game. She scored in double figures seven times across the season, including a career-high 27 points against CAB Madeira on March 10, 2019.

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