Skip Gleason is in his fifth season at Eastern Washington University after spending the last five years at Seattle University as a women's basketball assistant coach.
Gleason's fourth season was one of transition, with many new faces and players joining the program in Cheney. Under Gleason's guidance, graduate transfer Peyton Howard led the team in steals (47), while Freshman standouts Jaecy Eggers and Kourtney Grossman led the team in blocks (32) and Defensive Rebounds (247) respectively, with Grossman also leading the Big Sky. Gleason's guidance also continued to rank highly in the Big Sky in turnover margin (+0.52) ranking second in the Conference.
Gleason's defensive coaching improved once again in his third season in Cheney. Eastern improved to 29 wins from the previous 19, matching for the second time the program record in win improvement from season-to-season, as well as setting the new program record for most wins in a season. Gleason again coached guard Jamie Loera to greater heights, with Loera winning Big Sky Player of the Year, as well her second Defensive Player of the Year, and the All-Defense Team. The Eagles ranked first for the second season in a row in the Big Sky in turnover margin (+5.51). The team also had the third highest number of turnovers by the opposing team in program history (597).
Gleason's coaching on the defensive side of the court showed dividens in his second season in Cheney. Eastern improved from nine to 19 wins, matching the program record in win improvement from season-to-season. Gleason helped Jamie Loera earn her first Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honors. The Eagles ranked first in Big Sky in turnover margin (+4.1) and second in turnovers forced per game (16.4). The team also had the fifth best opponent scoring margin in program history (63.5).
In Gleason's first season with Eastern, the team had a 6-13 record in the Big Sky and 9-21 overall. The Eagles set a program record with 18 made threes against Multnomah in a 102-61 win.
At Seattle, Gleason was the recruiting coordinator and added on the primary defensive and scouting coordinator responsibilities as well. During his tenure with the Redhawks, he helped lead the squad to a 2017 WNIT appearance and a 2018 NCAA Tournament bid. He coached two Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Freshman of the Year honorees as well as a WAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Prior to Seattle U, Gleason was the assistant women's basketball coach at Humboldt State University for nine seasons. He also served as the recruiting coordinator for the Lumberjacks and helped lead the squad to multiple NCAA DII Tournaments and two California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships. Gleason was also the SAAC advisor and has annual giving and corporate partnership experience.
Gleason also served as the head men's basketball coach at the College of the Redwoods for two seasons. He was named the 2007 Golden Valley Conference Coach of the Year and led the program to its first-ever outright GVC championship in program history.
He earned his Bachelor's in Liberal Studies at CSU Chico in 1995 and went on to earn a teaching credential from Chapman University in 1999. Skip and
Joddie Gleason have one daughter, Raimee.
