What better way to maintain the popularity of Arizona women’s basketball in Tucson — and even attempt to elevate it — then hire to the coaching staff an alum who is the community’s high school state-record holder in career scoring and also happens to be Lute Olson’s eldest grandchild?
Julie Brase–Hairgrove was officially announced as part of Becky Burke’s first staff at Arizona on Friday. Her previous assistant coaching tenure was with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for 18 years (2005 to 2022).
“Looking at Tucson women’s basketball and seeing it grow, I cannot imagine a person more suited to be in this role; I am getting emotional thinking about this,” said Patty Patton–Shearer, Brase-Hairgrove’s coach while at Catalina Foothills High School from 1995-98. “Not only is she a wonderful human being, role model, mentor and still holds the scoring record in the state, but beyond all of this, she understands our community,
“I think to build in Tucson, the community matters. She understands all of it and that will be significant for Arizona.”
Burke mentioned in a press release, “The bloodline of Arizona basketball is strong, and there’s no one it’s stronger in it than Julie.”
“We are so fortunate to not only hire an incredible coach that is an alum of our university and program, but also a woman of great character,” Burke added. “Julie’s experience in the WNBA and ties to this university and region will be invaluable when it comes to recruiting the best players in the country. I am thrilled that our players will be able to learn and grow under someone like Julie.”
Brase-Hairgrove coached with Carrie Graf, Paul Westhead, Corey Gaines, (former Arizona men’s interim head coach) Russ Pennell and Sandy Brondello with the Mercury and helped lead the franchise to WNBA titles in 2007, 2009 and 2014.
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After Brondello was hired in 2014, the Mercury training camp opened with Brase-Hairgrove serving as the acting coach while Brondello completed her coaching duties with UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian Premier League.
“She tells me what she thinks and she doesn’t have to sugarcoat anything, and that’s what you want in an assistant coach,” Brondello said in a 2015 interview about Brase-Hairgrove with the Arizona Republic.
Brase-Hairgrove handled player development, scouting, draft preparation, scheduling, and male practice squad coordination with the Mercury. She also coached in the WNBA All-Star Game in both 2018 and 2024.
Hairgrove worked with some of the league’s top players, including Diana Taurasi, Penny Taylor, Cappie Pondexter, Brittney Griner, DeWanna Bonner, Skylar Diggins, and Tina Charles.
She joined the Mercury’s coaching staff in 2004, a year after Taurasi’s first season.
“That’s crazy, right there,” Bonner told the Arizona Republic after the Mercury won the title in 2014. “It just shows (Brase-Hairgrove’s) commitment. Even through the tough seasons, she’s always been here. She’s a hard worker, and it just shows how much she loves us and the organization.”
Before joining the Mercury, Brase-Hairgrove spent two seasons as an assistant at Loyola Marymount (2003–05), helping the program win the West Coast Conference championship and earn an NCAA Tournament berth in 2004.
She also served on Pete Fajardo’s staff at Catalina Foothills, her alma mater, during the Mercury’s off-seasons from 2009 to 2014. Fajardo coached when Jody Brase, Brase-Hairgrove’s mom and Olson’s daughter, was the Catalina Foothills principal.
Brase-Hairgrove graduated as the career leading scorer in Arizona girls’ basketball history with 2,913 points — a record she still holds today. She led her team to a state championship in 1996-97 and was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Falcons’ 1996-97 championship team will be inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in November.
“I think that’s such a huge addition for Coach Burke,” Fajardo, now an assistant coach at Pima College, mentioned about Brase-Hairgrove’s hire. “Her background in coaching in the WNBA alone is merit enough for her to be an assistant coach. I think it will draw recruits because of her development of players like Taurasi, Griner, etc.
“Plus, there’s the added element of being a local high school legend, UA women’s basketball alumna, and Coach Olson’s granddaughter. I think it’s such a no-brainer and a great get for Coach Burke and the program.”
Patton-Shearer added that Brase-Hairgrove’s background in this region will benefit Burke as Burke gets acclimated to Tucson after her four coaching stints elsewhere, most recently at Buffalo.
“Julie’s grandfather built a dynasty at Arizona, but she stands on her own,” said Patton-Shearer, who coached at Nebraska-Omaha and remains at the school as the coordinator of recruitment and academic support services in the Goodrich Scholarship Program.
“She stood on those shoulders, but has been just as strong on her own as just a dynamic young woman. She really understands the coaching landscape and development of women’s basketball in that area, including Pima College with Todd Holthaus, the high schools with (Seton Catholic coach) Karen Self and the U of A in the past with Sue Darling. Beyond her passion, Julie will bring her love and expertise of the game to Arizona.”
Fajardo compared the type of respect Brase-Hairgrove will earn from Arizona’s players to that of Jim Rosborough at Pima. Rosborough, an assistant under Olson for almost two decades at Arizona, has been a Holthaus assistant for more than a decade with the Aztecs.
“Our girls don’t know who Ros is and all of his background, but they respect him,” Fajardo said. “When he comes in the gym, they know it’s like business, and they respect what he does for them. They get better just by being with him.
“I think it’s kind of the same thing with Julie at Arizona. She’ll command that respect from Arizona’s players because of her WNBA background. I’m happy for her and Arizona. That’s a big home run hire.”
Brase-Hairgrove played at Arizona from 1998–2003 under Joan Bonvicini, serving as team captain for two seasons while helping lead the Wildcats to three NCAA tournament appearances.
An interesting note is when Arizona’s basketball team and Olson visited the White House in the fall of 1997 after winning the national championship, Michelle Marciniak and Tennessee were also there as the women’s hoops champions.
Olson, called “Papa Lute” by Brase-Hairgrove and his other grandchildren, including former Arizona player Matt Brase, brought his granddaughter with him to the White House.
Brase-Hairgrove told the Tucson Citizen she spent most of the time talking with Tennessee’s players, which could have also included Marciniak, with whom she will be working with at Arizona. Marciniak was hired by Burke as the program’s first general manager on Thursday.
The White House trip was at the outset of Brase-Hairgrove’s senior season with the Falcons.
Olson was a regular in the stands watching his granddaughter.
“She probably leads the country in floor burns,” the late Olson told the Citizen about Brase-Hairgrove’s aggressive style.
When his granddaughter was 8, she was the only female participating in her grandfather’s summer camp at Arizona.
“She was guarding the best player on the other team and was totally frustrating him,” Olson recalled to the Citizen. “Finally, he just knocked her down.”
His granddaughter got back on her feet and in the boy’s face.
“That to me, was the first time I was sure she would be a good one,” Olson said. “She wasn’t going to back down to anyone.”
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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