According to multiple reports, new women's basketball coach Beck Burke is hiring Julie Brase-Hairgrove, the granddaughter of Lute Olson, as a top assistant. Brase-Hargrove spent 17 seasons as an assistant in the WNBA, winning three WNBA titles with the Phoenix Mercury.
Brase-Hairgrove is a former Arizona High School Basketball Player of the Year and holds nine state records, including the all-time scoring record with 2,913 points. After her four-year career at Arizona, Brase-Hairgrove spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount before moving on to the WNBA.
Brase-Hairgrove remained on the Mercury staff through five head coaches. In her four seasons as a player at Arizona, the Wildcats were 99-53 overall and 57-33 in the Pac-10. Brase-Hairgrove is currently a realtor with Long Realty in Tucson.
Multiple reports also emerged on Wednesday that James Ewing, who was an assistant under Burke at Buffalo, is also expected to join her staff at Arizona. Burke is beginning to build her staff a week after being introduced as the new Arizona head coach.
Julie Brase-Hairgrove will be part of Becky Burke’s first coaching staff at Arizona. Local legend who is Lute Olson’s granddaughter. State’s career leading scorer in girls hoops while at Catalina Foothills. She has experience as an assistant at the WNBA level with the Phoenix…
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) April 17, 2025
Burke has added three guards via the transfer portal since being hired as head coach. News came out on Wednesday that Tanyuel Welch was the latest transfer portal addition for Arizona from Memphis. Arizona previously added point guard Noelani Cornfield from Buffalo and Mickayla Perdue from Cleveland State.
Burke, Brase-Hairgrove and potentially Ewing have a huge task ahead of them rebuilding an Arizona roster that only has Montaya Dew returning from its 2024-25 roster. Dew provides Arizona with size at 6-2 to team with the additions of Cornfield, Perdue and Welch.
Hiring Brase-Hairgrove is an important step for Burke in connecting to the Arizona past and adding an experienced assistant coach with a depth of knowledge of what it takes to succeed at the highest level of women's basketball.