.jpg) Fargas atCES 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Las Vegas Aces | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | President | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | WNBA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1972-05-21)May 21, 1972 (age 53) Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Oak Ridge(Oak Ridge, Tennessee) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Tennessee (1990–1994) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Guard | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 1998–2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Tennessee (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Virginia (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2008 | Tennessee (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | UCLA | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2021 | LSU | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||
As player:
As coach:
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Career coaching record | |||||||||||||||||||||
| NCAA | 248–154 (.617) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Yolanda Nicole Fargas (née Caldwell; born May 21, 1972)[1] is an Americanbasketball coach and executive. She is the president of theLas Vegas Aces of theWNBA. Fargas was formerly the head coach for the women's basketball programs atUCLA andLSU.
Born Yolanda Nicole Caldwell inOak Ridge, Tennessee,[2] Fargas was raised by her mother[3] and attended public schools. She graduated fromOak Ridge High School in 1990. She was a member of the school basketball team that won the Tennessee state championship in 1988. As of 2009, Fargas still held the high school's single-season records for total points scored and for successfulfree throws.[4]
Fargas attended theUniversity of Tennessee from 1990 to 1994, playing as aguard under coachPat Summitt on the university'sLady Vols basketball team, which compiled a 118–13 won-loss record during her playing years. Fargas was known for her strong defensive play and her three-point shooting. Her defensive play in the1991 NCAA tournament final game, in which the Lady Vols defeated theUniversity of Virginia in overtime, was considered a key factor in her team's victory. She was named toSoutheastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman team that same year, and in both her junior and senior years she received the university's Gloria Ray Leadership Award. Although she missed portions of two seasons due to injuries, her four-year statistics as a three-point shooter, with 128three-point field goals made out of 364 attempts, place her in the all-time top 10 at Tennessee.[3][5]
After receiving abachelor's degree in public relations from the University of Tennessee in 1994, Fargas became acolor analyst forFox Sports Net South broadcasts of Lady Vol basketball games. In 1995 she added the position of color analyst forFox broadcasts of the SEC Game of the Week, which she continued until 1997, when she became host for sports segments on theShop at Home Network.[5]
Fargas returned to basketball in 1998 as a member of Pat Summitt's coaching staff, serving as graduate assistant for administration.[6] The following season she joined the University of Virginia as an assistant coach, assuming responsibilities for recruiting, scouting, film exchange, player development, monitoring academic progress and camps.[5] In 2002, she left Virginia to return to the University of Tennessee as an assistant coach for the 2002–03 season and recruiting director beginning in the spring of 2003.[5]
Fargas was named the head coach at UCLA on April 17, 2008, with a five-year contract valued at nearly $1.5 million,[7] succeeding Kathy Olivier. In her first season, UCLA compiled a regular-season record of 18 wins and 11 losses.[8] During the 2009–2010 season, UCLA placed second in thePac-10 (25–9) and was defeated by second-ranked Stanford in thePac-10 tournament. She sought a large raise in her contract. Despite a reportedly generous offer by UCLA, the school could not match the $900,000 annually LSU offered, so she returned to coach in the SEC at LSU.[citation needed]
On April 2, 2011,Louisiana State University announced that Fargas would become the head coach for theLSU Lady Tigers team.[9] In seven seasons with theLady Tigers, she posted a 131–90 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in her first seven seasons. She posted her first losing record in 2016 and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time. Fargas resigned from LSU in April 2021.[10]
On May 11, 2021, Fargas was announced as president of theLas Vegas Aces.[11] In her second season with the franchise, they won their firstWNBA Finals in team history.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA Bruins(Pac-10 Conference)(2008–2011) | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | UCLA | 19–12 | 9–9 | T–4th | |||||
| 2009–10 | UCLA | 25–9 | 15–3 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | UCLA | 28–5 | 16–2 | 2nd | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| UCLA: | 72–26 (.735) | 40–14 (.741) | |||||||
| LSU Lady Tigers(Southeastern Conference)(2011–2021) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | LSU | 23–11 | 10–6 | 4th | NCAA Second Round | ||||
| 2012–13 | LSU | 22–12 | 10–6 | 6th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2013–14 | LSU | 21–13 | 7–9 | T–6th | NCAA Sweet Sixteen | ||||
| 2014–15 | LSU | 17–14 | 10–6 | T–4th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2015–16 | LSU | 10–21 | 3–13 | 13th | |||||
| 2016–17 | LSU | 20–12 | 8–8 | 7th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2017–18 | LSU | 19–10 | 11–5 | 4th | NCAA First Round | ||||
| 2018–19 | LSU | 16–13 | 7–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2019–20 | LSU | 20–10 | 9–7 | 7th | Postseason not held due toCOVID-19 | ||||
| 2020–21 | LSU | 9–13 | 6–8 | 8th | |||||
| LSU: | 177–129 (.578) | 81–77 (.513) | |||||||
| Total: | 249–155 (.616) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Year | School | Record | Winning % | Notes | Final RPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | UCLA | 1–1 | .500 | Eliminated by (Nebraska Cornhuskers) in NCAA Second Round | 18 |
| 2011 | UCLA | 1–1 | .500 | Eliminated by (Gonzaga Bulldogs) in NCAA Second Round | 11 |
| 2012 | LSU | 1–1 | .500 | Eliminated by (Penn State Lady Lions) in NCAA Second Round | 17 |
| 2013 | LSU | 2–1 | .667 | Eliminated by (California Golden Bears) in NCAA Sweet 16 | 26 |
| 2014 | LSU | 2–1 | .667 | Eliminated by (Louisville Cardinals) in NCAA Sweet 16 | 15 |
| 2015 | LSU | 0–1 | .000 | Eliminated by (South Florida Bulls) in NCAA First Round | 60 |
| 2017 | LSU | 0–1 | .000 | Eliminated by (California Golden Bears) in NCAA First Round | 40 |
| 2018 | LSU | 0–1 | .000 | Eliminated by (Central Michigan Chippewas) in NCAA First Round | 31 |
| Totals | 7–8 (.467) | 8 NCAA First Round (Won 5) 5 NCAA Second Round (Won 2) 2 NCAA Sweet 16 | |||
In the company ofHolly Warlick, a former assistant coach for University of Tennessee women's basketball, Fargas has conducted three long-distance motorcycle road trips, called "Cruisin' for a Cause", to promote awareness ofbreast cancer and to raise money for research on this disease. In their first trip, in 2007, they rode theirHarley-Davidson motorcycles fromBerkeley, California to Knoxville, Tennessee.[12] As of 2008, the two women'snon-profit organization, Champions for a Cause, had raised nearly $100,000.[3] The 2010 road trip took them throughWashington, DC andNew York City toNiagara Falls and back.
In May 2009, Fargas received the Woman of Excellence Award from theLadyLike Foundation for her excellence as a coach and for fund-raising activities for breast cancer awareness.[13]Fargas was named 2010Pac-10Coach of the Year by the conference coaches and by the media in her second year of coaching at UCLA.[14]
Fargas' uncle,Mike Caldwell, played for thePhiladelphia Eagles in theNational Football League and is currently the linebackers coach for theLas Vegas Raiders.[3]
In March 2012, Fargas gave birth to a girl named Justice[15][16] with her husband, formerOakland Raiders playerJustin Fargas (coincidentally, Raiders ownership acquired the Aces when she joined the team).[16] Her father-in-law is Starsky and Hutch actorAntonio Fargas, who played Huggy Bear.
