From player, to coach, to student – some at the same time – Aylin Fernandez fills the assistant coach position for Point Loma Nazarene University’s women’s basketball team as Grace Ricafranca has been promoted to associate head coach.
Fernandez was at The Master’s University (TMU) last year and said it’s been a challenge transitioning from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Still, she has loved being a part of higher level play.
The new coach started her own athletic career as a soccer player until she wanted to try basketball in the third grade. Immediately falling in love with the sport, she joined a recreation league and continued through high school as a point guard where she was on varsity for three years at Santa Monica High School.
Basketball is more than just winning games to Fernandez, she said. She loves the grit, ambition and memories that come with it.
“You see how the game comes, and it just flows within [players] because of how much hard work they put [in],” Fernandez said.
Ricafranca said it’s rewarding to step into a management role and play a part in the decision making as she now gets a taste of leading a program. After leaving her role as assistant, she said she’s happy with Fernandez being the one filling it.
“Aylin has such a big heart for the girls, so her ability to connect and be an encourager has been really great for our team,” Ricafranca said. “She’s the person that grounds us and she has a very calm temperament that brings a really important dynamic.”
When Fernandez began looking at colleges post high school, she knew she wanted to attend a Christian university and still be involved in the basketball world, she said. She found herself on Vanguard’s team, a Christian university in Costa Mesa, CA, until she decided she wanted to coach instead while studying kinesiology.
Russ Davis, Vanguard’s head coach at the time, hired Fernandez as their team manager for the 2017-2018 season. The assistant coach, Jana Pearson, taught Fernandez the ins and outs of being a coach.
Fernandez was interested in going into physical therapy or athletic training with her degree but soon realized coaching was her calling.
She transferred from Vanguard in 2020 to TMU to finish her bachelor’s degree then stayed to pursue a master’s in business administration. There, she was the graduate assistant for the basketball team and was quickly promoted to assistant coach.
Being a student and coach was difficult, Fernandez said. She was the same age as the players, which made it tough at first to establish boundaries, but her promotion to assistant coach earned her even more respect.
After graduating from TMU in 2023, the coaching staff was shifting and Fernandez began looking elsewhere to expand her career. Ricafranca knew of Fernandez through Pearson, a mutual coaching friend at Vanguard, who recommended her for the assistant position at PLNU.
Fernandez said she applied to multiple jobs, but PLNU felt like the right choice.
“I found Point Loma, and everything just was so easy,” she said. “The more I prayed, it was open door after open door. This is where God wants to place me.”
Fernandez said her favorite part about coaching is fostering deeper relationships with the players and helping guide them toward their future vocations.
“It’s more about having those connections with the players and seeing them grow because at the end of the day, it’s not just about basketball, it’s about ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’”
Players on the team confirmed Fernandez’s sentiment and said she pushes them to their potential while expressing deep care for them as individuals.
“[Fernandez’s] positivity and caring heart create an environment where everyone feels valued and motivated to give their best,” Shayla O’Neil, a fourth-year guard on the team, said in an email interview. “[Her] dedication and genuine belief in each player’s potential have made her an irreplaceable part of the team.”
Fernandez credits her family and previous coaches for her achievements and support.
She said her parents, Jackie and Jose, and sister, Ariana, pushed her to reach her potential when playing and studying.
She also remains in contact with her community at Vanguard and TMU for support and encouragement, she said.
Among the connections Fernandez keeps up with is Lisa Zamroz, her head coach at TMU, and a coaching friend at Vanguard, who PLNU will play this season. These friendships have made her a better coach, Fernandez said.
Her goal for her first season is to “be a sponge and absorb” what Ricafranca and Head Coach Charity Elliott teach her as she wants to eventually be a head coach herself somewhere, she said.
Off the court, Fernandez enjoys rock climbing with her fiance, Misael Villegas, watching movies and trying new foods.
With 15 wins and five losses so far this season, PLNU’s next home game is on Jan. 29 against Azusa Pacific at 5:30 p.m.
Cade Michaelson 
Luke Mallery