Ellen Holton is in her second stint on the North Alabama coaching staff. After coaching a year at the University of Denver, she returned to UNA prior to the 2021-22 campaign.Â
She helped the Pioneers earn a No. 3 seed in the Summit League Championships. Denver finished in the top-20 in the NCAA in four statistical categories, including scoring offense, free throw percentage, free throws made and free throw attempts. The team's 77.1 percent from the free throw line was also a new single-season school record.
Before going to Denver, Holton spent four years at North Alabama, including two as a graduate assistant before being promoted to assistant coach in the summer of 2018. She came to UNA after serving as a graduate assistant coach for the Wheeling Jesuit University women’s basketball team for one season. While at WJU, the Cardinals had an overall record of 27-6, tying the program’s all-time win record and advancing to the NCAA tournament for the first time in over a decade.
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Prior to WJU, Holton played Division II basketball at Northern Kentucky University for her sophomore and junior years before NKU transitioned to the Division I level for her senior season. At NKU, Holton averaged 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and was a part of the first team in NKU’s history to participate in post-season play at the Division I level in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI).
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Before arriving at NKU, Holton was recruited out of high school to play at Tusculum College by then-head coach Missy Tiber and assistant coach Adrianne Harlow. The TC Pioneers made their deepest post-season run in school history, advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
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Holton is a 2009 graduate of Elgin High School in Illinois. She lettered in basketball, averaging 14 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. She was a two-time all-tournament selection and four-time academic all-conference pick.
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