Former Cowgirl Hillary Carlson Joins UW Coaching Staff

LARAMIE -- Wyoming head basketball coach Heather Ezell has announced the hiring of former Cowgirl Hillary (Carlson) Baker as an assistant coach, joining the staff for the 2026-27 season.

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Baker spent this past school year as an assistant coach and mathematics teacher at her alma mater, Cheyenne Central High School. Prior to Central, Baker spent the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at Weber State.

"Hillary is a tremendous addition to our staff, program, and Wildcat nation," WSU's Jenteal Jackson said back in 2023. "She brings a lot of experience, knowledge, and expertise. She exudes the qualities and characteristics that we want to cultivate within our program. I'm so excited she'll be joining us here at Weber State and I can't wait to get to work with her."

Before Weber State, Baker was an assistant coach and the post-player development coach at the Air Force Academy from 2019 to 2023. Baker began her collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Central Washington from 2017-19.

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Baker will be inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame during the annual induction ceremony September 11. The 2013 UW graduate was a three-time All-Mountain West selection. Baker is 12th in program history with 1,485 career points, 16th in career rebounding with 678 and is second all time in career blocks with 212.

Prior to her coaching career, Baker played professionally in Lisbon, Portugal. There  she suited up for Quinta do Lombos Athletic Club. She then moved on to Australia where she played one season for Nunawading Basketball Club in Melbourne.

Baker replaces another former Cowgirl player, Fallon Lewis, who was on the staff for seven seasons. Baker will join Candace Thornton, Natalie Baker, Monica Brooks, Marquelle Dent and Taylor Ignoto on the bench this fall.

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* A UW press release contributed to this article

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