Mandi Pierce is in her third season as an assistant coach with the FGCU women's basketball program in 2021-22 after spending the previous three years as the program’s director of basketball operations. Primarily working with the guards at practice, she is responsible for scheduling games and assisting with summer camps in addition to her coaching duties.
This past season, Pierce helped guide the Eagles to another highly successful campaign despite the adversity of Covid-19 and losing over 90 percent of the team’s scoring from the previous campaign. With her assistance, FGCU finished 26-3 overall, including a 16-0 record in conference play, before capturing an ASUN-record fifth-straight tournament title. The season ended with a loss to No. 14 Michigan in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Along the way, the Eagles reeled off a 25-game winning streak, captured the program’s 500th victory, earned a national ranking for the third time in four seasons and became the second team in program history to finish the campaign ranked in both the AP and Coaches Polls. On top of that, the Green and Blue extended their streak of seasons with at least 25 wins to 11-straight, which only Baylor and UConn can also say. That stretch also includes 30-plus wins in four of the past seven seasons - something only South Carolina, Baylor, Notre Dame and UConn can also claim.
In 2019-20, Pierce helped lead the lead the Green and Blue to a 30-3 record, which included a conference-record breaking 10th ASUN regular season championship. The team was slated to take on Liberty in the conference title game before Covid-19 ended the season prematurely. Due to that, FGCU was named co-tournament champs, becoming just the second team in ASUN history to claim four straight such titles. Along the way, the Eagles knocked off Notre Dame, Duke, South Florida, South Dakota State and UCF. They appeared in the Coaches Poll a program-record 10 times before finishing the season at No. 24.
In 2017-18, Pierce coordinated the team’s busy travel schedule that included a two-week non-conference road trip that included stops in Ohio, New York, Las Vegas and Texas. In the summer of 2018, she played an integral role in the organization and management of the team’s summer camp and assisted with recruiting in July, and she organized the team's trip to Hawaii during the 2018-19 season, which eventually saw the Eagles finish 28-5 and claim the ASUN regular season and tournament championships before falling in heartbreaker to Miami (Fla.) on the road in the NCAA Tournament opener.
Pierce, who was born in the Philippines, competed for the Green and Blue from 2006-08. As a guard, she produced 382 points, 186 rebounds, 106 assists and 71 steals while shooting .373 (75-for-201) from 3-point range in her career.
As a senior, Pierce started 28 of 31 games and averaged 7.2 points per contest, while helping lead the Eagles to a 22-9 record in the program’s inaugural Division-I season. The team advanced to the WNIT for the first time in program history and toppled South Florida in the opening round. The year prior, she averaged 4.8 points and saw action in 33 games, while starting 10, for a team that finished 34-1 and concluded the season as the NCAA Division-II national runner-up. She shot a career-high .416 (32-for-77) from 3-point range that season.
Pierce, who came to FGCU following a two-year stint at St. Bonaventure where she started 28 of 52 career games and averaged 5.3 points as a freshman, earned a bachelor’s degree in resort and hospitality management from FGCU in 2008. She is a native of Altoona, Pa., where she scored 1,094 career points and finished her career as Altoona High School’s second all-time leading scorer.
UPDATED: 7/15/21
