By: Nate Sagan - Associate Media Relations Director

ANCHORAGE (May 9) – The University of Alaska Anchorage women's basketball program has entered its next era as athletic director Ryan Swartwood announced Friday that Matt Thune has been named the Seawolves' new head coach.

"We are excited to welcome Matt Thune to the Seawolf family," Swartwood said. "Matt's energy, passion and diligence in planning was evident throughout the search process. With him leading the way, we are confident we can sustain success, and look forward to the next chapter of UAA Women's Basketball."

An Indiana native, Thune begins his head coaching career after assistant stints at five NCAA Div. I programs, helping to spark major turnarounds during stops at Utah Tech, Eastern Kentucky and Weber State. He has developed strong connections to the West Coast, first at Weber State and now in his most recent assignments at Utah Tech (2022-24) and Seattle University (2024-25).

"I would like to thank Chancellor (Sean) Parnell and Ryan Swartwood for entrusting me with the opportunity to lead UAA Women's Basketball, a program with a prestigious tradition and the capability to compete annually at a championship level," Thune said. "I will work tirelessly to continue the winning tradition and hold the program accountable to the highest standard of excellence as we strive to win in everything we do. My family and I are excited to get to Anchorage and set our roots within the community."

At Utah Tech, Thune was promoted to associate head coach in the 2023-24 season after helping the Trailblazers to a nine-win improvement the previous year. Utah Tech's 19-12 record in 2022-23 marked its most wins in 12 years, achieving the first postseason berth and victory in its Div. I era. He was a vital part of the Trailblazers' fourth-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference in his second season as they broke school records in seven offensive categories and ranked sixth nationally with 327 three-pointers made.

Thune joined Utah Tech's staff following a three-year stint at Eastern Kentucky (2019-22), including two seasons as the program's associate head coach. At EKU he assisted in rebuilding a program that had not won a Division I contest the year prior to his arrival, helping the Colonels to the fourth-best turnaround in D-I his first year, along with the team's highest GPA mark in program history. Thune continued to help build the EKU program during the 2021-22 season, earning its most overall wins (15) since 2015-16 and first postseason victory since 2017.

Prior to EKU, Thune served as an assistant coach at Binghamton University in New York. He aided in the development of two All-America East second team selections and an all-rookie team honoree. The Bearcats were the second-best rebounding team in the America East Conference and ranked third in blocked shots. He also worked part of the 2018-19 season at Boston College, managing all video analysis and recruiting media production.

Thune spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Weber State from 2015-18, helping the Wildcats to achieve the most wins in program history (23) and a runner-up finish in the postseason WBI tournament in 2016. The 2017-18 season saw Weber State finish with a 21-12 overall record, marking the most conference wins (12) in program history as the Wildcats advanced to the quarterfinals of the WBI.

Thune got his coaching start on Jeff Walz's staff at Louisville from 2012-15, assisting in the Cardinals taking 89 of a possible 110 contests. The Cards won at least 25 games each season, appearing in three Sweet 16s, two Elite 8s and finishing national runner-up in 2013.
 
After working as assistant video coordinator in his first year at Louisville, Thune was promoted to video coordinator in 2013 and served as an interim assistant coach for recruiting. He produced highlight and recruiting videos during his tenure, which signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class in 2015.

The Indianapolis, Ind., native graduated from Indiana University in 2012 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in management. He went on to earn a master's degree in sports administration from Louisville in 2014. Thune and his wife Kaitlin have two children, son Vance and daughter Chandler.