Kentucky Hoops: UK Assistant Danielle Santos Hired Away By Florida State

Tonight comes word that Florida State has ired coach Danielle Santos away from Kentucky, leaving coach Matthew Mitchell with a position to fill. From Seminoles.com come the details of the hiring:

Known as a young coach with a great deal of knowledge in a variety of coaching realms, Santos has risen through the coaching ranks since starting her career as an assistant coach at Hofstra from 2006 to 2010. She has enjoyed successful stops with the Pride, Illinois State (2010-2012) and most recently Kentucky (2012-14).

“I look at Danielle as one of the young stars in our coaching profession,” Semrau said. “She is someone who has made a great impact in each of her stops at Hofstra, Illinois State and Kentucky. Danielle brings both the knowledge and passion to excel in this profession and is a perfect complement to our staff. We are very excited to have her.”

While at Kentucky in her two seasons, Santos played a large role in helping the Wildcats to an NCAA Elite Eight run in the 2012-13 season and a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2013-14. Responsible for coaching guard play, Santos was heavily involved in the progression of backcourt mates Jennifer O’Neill (All-SEC guard) and Linnae Harper (All-SEC freshman guard) in the 2013-14 year.

Jenn Smith at the Herald-Leader broke the news in my Twitter feed:

Just noticed Florida State finally announced hiring of UK assistant Danielle Santos. That means Mitchell is looking for a new assistant.

— Jen Smith (@jenheraldleader) June 4, 2014

Santos played for Florida while Matthew Mitchell was an assistant coach there, and was a head coach at Illinois St. before coming to Kentucky. She has developed a reputation as an excellent recruiter as well as a strong coach, particularly of the back-court players.

Santos will be missed, and we wish her much success at Florida State.