Malone Graham - Women's Basketball Coach - Abilene Christian Athletics

Malone Graham

Title:
Assistant Coach / Director of Basketball Operations
Email:
mxg23g@acu.edu

Malone Graham enters her third season on the Abilene Christian women's basketball staff in 2025-26 as the program's director of operations and an assistant coach. She was promoted to her current role prior to the 2024-25 season after joining the wildcats in 2023-24 as a graduate assistant.

The Wildcats launched back-to-back 20-win campaigns with a 22-9 showing in the 2025-26 regular season. ACU placed second in the final season of the Western Athletic Conference with a 13-5 mark in conference action. Goodenough and the Wildcats picked up their most conference victories since 2019-20 and their first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 2018-20. ACU built Moody Coliseum into one of the conference's top home-court advantages with a 14-2 record at home. It marked its most home victories since 2019-20. The Wildcats returned to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament's Super 16 with an automatic berth, matching the program's deepest postseason run.

Hull was named the WAC Player of the Year with spots on the All-WAC First Team and All-WAC Defensive Team, while Erin Woodson earned All-WAC Second Team honors. A Wildcat was named the WAC Player of the Week on six occasions between Hull (3), Woodson (2) and Meredith Mayes (1). Woodson and Jazmyn Stone received CSC Academic All-District recognition, while Hull, Woodson, Emma Troxell and Aimee Flippen earned Academic All-WAC honors.

ACU experienced its deepest postseason run in the program’s 12-year Division I history in 2024-25. The Wildcats reached the Super 16 round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament for the first time ever, building a 22-13 record with a 9-7 mark in Western Athletic Conference play. ACU accrued its most victories, highest overall winning percentage and highest conference winning percentage since 2020.

Four-year veteran Bella Earle led the charge on the All-WAC First Team and WAC All-Defensive Team, while Mayes was an All-WAC Second Team selection. The Wildcats made a living on the defensive side of the ball, forcing the 14th-most turnovers in the nation at 21.5 per game and ranked 30th with 10.5 steals per game.

In Graham's first year with the program, ACU built a 14-16 record with a 10-10 mark in the WAC. Freshman guard Payton Hull burst onto the scene as the WAC Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-WAC Second Team alongside Earle after leading the league with 79 three-pointers and a 35.3% clip from long range. The Peaster, Texas product’s 57 three-point makes in conference play were tied for the second-most in WAC history.

Prior to joining the Wildcats' staff, Graham served as a student assistant for two years for Texas Tech's women's basketball program. There, she assisted in practice management, drill assistance, statting, on-campus recruiting, facility upkeep, clock operation, event setup and management and other various tasks. Graham also served as a producer for Ramar Communications and a sports director for KTXT 88.1 FM - The Raider.

Graham graduated from Texas Tech in 2023 with a Bachelor's degree in journalism and minors in creative media industries and public relations and strategic communication management.