Edmonds Announces Additions of Miller, Perez to WBB Staff
6/12/2024 12:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON – Shelley Pennington and Friends Head Coach Lindsay Edmonds announced the additions of Madi Miller and Raina Perez to the women's basketball staff for the 2024-25 season. Miller will join as the Director of Player Personnel, while Perez will be an Assistant Coach.
Miller will join the Owls after previously serving as a graduate assistant at SMU last season. Prior to being a Mustang, she was a five-year athlete at Abilene Christian, where Miller earned 83 starts and appeared in 147 games. During the 2022-23 campaign at ACU, she was second on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game. Miller dropped a career-high 29 points against UT-Arlington and finished her final season at ACU reaching double digits in 18 games.
Miller played against Coach Edmonds when the Wildcats visited Tudor Fieldhouse back on Nov. 13, 2022, where she finished the game with eight points and three assists. Miller was on the WBI team in 2021 and ACU's Southland Championship and NCAA Tournament qualifying team in 2019.
"I am so excited to have Madi Miller join our staff on South Main. Madi immediately stood out in the interview process as someone I not only wanted on my staff, but also as someone who would seamlessly fit into our program and culture," Edmonds said. "Her professionalism, values and work ethic were evident from my first interaction with her, and these attributes, combined with the passion she has for the game, make Madi a perfect addition to our family. Madi will play an integral part in elevating our program to new heights this season and beyond."
"I am so thankful for this opportunity to come join the special things going on with Rice women's basketball," Miller said. "I couldn't be more excited to be a part of a winning program and learn from people like Coach Edmonds and her staff. Go Owls!"
Perez joins the Owls after serving as assistant coach at UC Riverside. This past season, the Highlanders went 18-14, earning a trip to the WNIT, the team's first postseason trip since the 2015-16 season. UC Riverside finished the regular season winning 13 of its final 17 games and saw the program's largest season turnaround in program history with a 12-game win improvement.
Perez began her career at Northern Arizona, later transferring to Cal State Fullerton, before ending her career with Coach Edmonds at NC State. While with the Wolfpack, she started in 59 games, averaging just over nine points per game in two seasons. Perez helped lead NC State to the Elite Eight in 2022 and had the game-winning shot against Louisville in the 2021 ACC Championship game. At Cal State Fullerton, she was named the Big West Player of the Year in 2019-20, leading the league in scoring with 19.8 points per game, which ranked 14th nationally. Her freshman season she led all Big Sky freshmen in scoring with 10.1 points per game.
"I am thrilled to announce Raina Perez as an Assistant Coach. As a player, Raina was a selfless teammate, a tireless worker and an infectious leader, all qualities which I have already seen transfer into her coaching career," Edmonds said. "Raina will be able to relate extremely well to our young ladies while dedicating her time and energy to their development both on and off the court. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach Raina, and it is a blessing to be able to add her to our Owl family. Raina is certainly a rising star in this business."
"I could not be more excited to be a part of the Rice family," Perez said. "Coach Lindsay and her staff's energy and vision for Owl women's basketball is contagious, which speaks to the growing excitement surrounding the program. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to be welcomed into the rice community."
Miller will join the Owls after previously serving as a graduate assistant at SMU last season. Prior to being a Mustang, she was a five-year athlete at Abilene Christian, where Miller earned 83 starts and appeared in 147 games. During the 2022-23 campaign at ACU, she was second on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game. Miller dropped a career-high 29 points against UT-Arlington and finished her final season at ACU reaching double digits in 18 games.
Miller played against Coach Edmonds when the Wildcats visited Tudor Fieldhouse back on Nov. 13, 2022, where she finished the game with eight points and three assists. Miller was on the WBI team in 2021 and ACU's Southland Championship and NCAA Tournament qualifying team in 2019.
"I am so excited to have Madi Miller join our staff on South Main. Madi immediately stood out in the interview process as someone I not only wanted on my staff, but also as someone who would seamlessly fit into our program and culture," Edmonds said. "Her professionalism, values and work ethic were evident from my first interaction with her, and these attributes, combined with the passion she has for the game, make Madi a perfect addition to our family. Madi will play an integral part in elevating our program to new heights this season and beyond."
"I am so thankful for this opportunity to come join the special things going on with Rice women's basketball," Miller said. "I couldn't be more excited to be a part of a winning program and learn from people like Coach Edmonds and her staff. Go Owls!"
Perez joins the Owls after serving as assistant coach at UC Riverside. This past season, the Highlanders went 18-14, earning a trip to the WNIT, the team's first postseason trip since the 2015-16 season. UC Riverside finished the regular season winning 13 of its final 17 games and saw the program's largest season turnaround in program history with a 12-game win improvement.
Perez began her career at Northern Arizona, later transferring to Cal State Fullerton, before ending her career with Coach Edmonds at NC State. While with the Wolfpack, she started in 59 games, averaging just over nine points per game in two seasons. Perez helped lead NC State to the Elite Eight in 2022 and had the game-winning shot against Louisville in the 2021 ACC Championship game. At Cal State Fullerton, she was named the Big West Player of the Year in 2019-20, leading the league in scoring with 19.8 points per game, which ranked 14th nationally. Her freshman season she led all Big Sky freshmen in scoring with 10.1 points per game.
"I am thrilled to announce Raina Perez as an Assistant Coach. As a player, Raina was a selfless teammate, a tireless worker and an infectious leader, all qualities which I have already seen transfer into her coaching career," Edmonds said. "Raina will be able to relate extremely well to our young ladies while dedicating her time and energy to their development both on and off the court. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach Raina, and it is a blessing to be able to add her to our Owl family. Raina is certainly a rising star in this business."
"I could not be more excited to be a part of the Rice family," Perez said. "Coach Lindsay and her staff's energy and vision for Owl women's basketball is contagious, which speaks to the growing excitement surrounding the program. I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to be welcomed into the rice community."
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