OREM, Utah — Utah Valley women's basketball head coach Dan Nielson announced that assistant coach McKenzie (Mangino) Lai has been promoted to associate head coach. Lai will continue her current responsibilities on staff and will now serve as the program's recruiting coordinator.
 
"I'm thrilled to move Kenz into this new role," Nielson said. "Over the last couple of seasons, she has played an integral role in our reaching back-to-back WNITs and recording the most wins in a season in program history. She is a fantastic recruiter and on-court coach. Kenz consistently brings positivity and preparedness to the office and believes in what we are building at UVU. I felt this was a natural progression for her and our program."
 
During her tenure at Utah Valley, Lai has helped the Wolverines secure back-to-back postseason berths for the first time in program history and reach new heights, posting 19 wins in the 2024–25 season. That campaign included the program's first postseason victory, a 70-64 win over Air Force.
 
"I'm honored to take on the associate head coach role and continue pushing our program forward," Lai said. "This program means a lot to me, and I'm grateful to continue working alongside Dan. We have a special group, and I'm looking forward to helping our program reach new heights."
 
This past season, Utah Valley ranked among the top seven nationally in several defensive categories, including third in steals per game (15.2), fourth in turnovers forced per game (25.1) and seventh in turnover margin (7.48).
 
Rising junior point guard Cambree Blackham earned multiple conference honors, including second-team All-WAC recognition and a selection to the All-Defensive Team. Teammates Kylee Mabry and Tahlia White also received conference accolades during the 2024–25 season.
 
Before joining Utah Valley, Lai had successful coaching stints with the Utah State Aggies and Hawai'i Pacific Sharks women's basketball programs. She progressed from graduate assistant to head assistant coach and later to associate head coach, helping lead the Sharks to a 25-game winning streak during the 2019–20 season while developing two All-Americans and five All-PacWest selections.