Adam Tandez is entering his eighth season on the coaching staff of the NIU women's basketball team and his fifth as Associate Head Coach. Tandez is in charge of the program’s recruiting efforts and offensive coordination, as well as working with the team’s post players and the organization of the team’s camps.
NIU has made the MAC Tournament quarterfinals four times in the last five seasons. The Huskies finished fourth in the MAC in 2021-22 with an 11-9 record, led by All-MAC First Team forward A'Jah Davis. Davis led NIU with 16.6 points while leading the MAC with 12.0 rebounds per game. She set NIU single-season records with 349 rebounds and 24 double-doubles. In 2022-23, Davis finished her career as NIU's all-time career leader in double-doubles (54) and second all-time leading rebounder (1,048). NIU has had 12 All-MAC selections in his tenure, including a program-record three in the 2021-22 season.
In his first three seasons in DeKalb, Tandez contributed to three consecutive seasons with a .500 win percentage or better. This included the 2016-17 season when the squad went 21-12, advanced to the Mid-American Conference Championship and made its first postseason berth since 1995 with an at-large bid to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). In 2017-18, Senior post player Kelly Smith earned MAC Honorable Mention honors. She finished her Huskie career with 1,357 points and 623 rebounds good 16th and 18th, respectively, in NIU history.
Over three campaigns at Truman State in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), Tandez helped the Bulldogs reach new heights as a program, including their 2014 GLVC Tournament Championship and automatic NCAA Tournament berth. Working primarily with post players while assisting in game-planning, scouting and recruiting under head coach Amy Eagan at TSU, Tandez contributed to the Bulldogs posting a 58-30 overall record, with a 40-20 mark in the GLVC since 2013.
Tandez led all recruiting efforts and individual workouts at Truman State, mentoring 2014 GLVC Player of the Tournament Bianca Szafarowicz and All-GLVC selections Cassidy Clark, Rachel Edmundson, Courtney Strait and Michalina Tomczak. He was instrumental in recruiting Katie Jaseckas, who earned GLVC Freshman of the Year honors and Sloane Totta who was named to the GLVC All-Freshman team. While working with the Bulldogs, Tandez coached against Coach Carlsen’s Lewis teams twice in 2014 and again in 2015 as they competed head-to-head for GLVC championships both seasons.
Prior to his accomplishments as the assistant women’s basketball coach at Truman State, Tandez excelled in the same role for NAIA program Ashford in Clinton, Iowa, from 2011-13. Serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator, he helped bring in a future NAIA All-American, Sarah Vozel, and built the foundation for a program that improved each year until its 25-8 campaign in 2014-15. Tandez also worked with forward Quinn Rear on her way to scoring 1,166 points and amassing 414 rebounds leaving the university as its fourth all-time leading scorer.
Beyond his experience in collegiate coaching, Tandez has also made a name for himself with his involvement in clinics and camps across the country. He has spoken at the last three WBCA Final Four Conventions. In 2016, he presented about “25 ways a young assistant coach can contribute to a program” in Indianapolis, IN. In 2017, he presented “BLOBs, SLOBs, and drills to have in your back pocket,” in Dallas, TX. In 2018, he presented “9 Necessary Actions Needed to Climb the Coaching Ladder,” in Columbus, OH. Tandez also has experience as a two-time clinician at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Coaches Clinic among his various appearances as a guest coach at summer camps at the University of Tennessee, DePaul University, and the University of Wisconsin Green Bay among others.
Tandez was named to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Thirty Under-30 program in March 2016 as one of the highlighted up-and-coming women’s basketball coaches under 30-years old at all levels of the game in addition to being selected as a new member of the WBCA Assistant Coaches Council. He was selected again to the WBCA Thirty Under-30 program again in March of 2017. Further, Tandez is currently in his second year as a Mentor in the WBCA’s Coach-to-Coach Mentorship program.
He started his coaching career at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School in Milwaukee in 2010 while also spending time as the head coach of the Wisconsin Impact Under-17 AAU team in the area.
A 2011 bachelor of science graduate from Marquette University, Tandez organized and directed a women’s club basketball team during his undergraduate studies and worked two seasons in game operations for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. He obtained a master’s degree in organizational management from Ashford University in 2012. He is currently pursuing another Master’s Degree at NIU in Sport Management with a Certificate in Sports Psychology.
Adam and his wife, Julia, married in 2013. The couple has two children.
