A year ago, Chandler would have been in the center of the huddle — celebrating as a player.
Now, in her first season as an assistant coach with the Miami women’s basketball program, she watched the scene unfold from the sideline as the RedHawks captured just their second Mid-American Conference Tournament championship in school history.
And for Chandler, it was a moment that carried a deeper meaning than simply cutting down a net.
She said it represented growth, reflection and the unique perspective that comes from seeing the game on both sides of the court.
“It’s a great feeling,” Chandler said, while holding a piece of the net. “It’s honestly a whole bunch of self-growth and reflection and maturity.
“You go through this cycle when you’re in college and then when you get out, you’re like, ‘If I would have known, if I would have been a little more mature, if I would have done this.’”
She gets to help players navigate those same moments in real time.
“Being able to see things from the outside now and give perspective to the kids of what I know — I’ve just been right there,” Chandler said. “Being able to be an example from the mistakes I made and from all the good things I did… that’s something I wish I would have had when I was playing.”
Chandler’s return to Oxford came quickly.
After finishing the 2024-25 season with Miami, she was named an assistant coach in July 2025 — transitioning almost immediately from the locker room to the coaching staff.
The opportunity arrived through a phone call from RedHawks third-year coach Glenn Box.
“I had a great experience my fifth year,” Chandler said. “I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do next. And then Coach Box called me and told me about the position.”
At first, Chandler wasn’t certain what the conversation meant — or even what the position entailed.
“When he called, I was like, ‘What exactly is this you’re offering me?’” she recalled. “There’s a lot of different things it could have been.”
But when Box explained the opportunity, Chandler quickly realized it was something special.
“I thought I was going to play overseas basketball for a while,” Chandler said. “So I was weighing my options. But honestly, after thinking about it and talking to my family, it was really a no-brainer.
“If I was ever going to step into coaching, this is the most perfect opportunity to jump into it.”
Part of that comfort came from the relationship she already had with Box.
“He’s awesome,” Chandler said. “He knows how to command a team. He knows how to draw things up. He knows how to take what your best assets are on the floor and put you in situations to use them.
“I would not have signed up for this if I didn’t think very highly of him.”
Chandler also sees similarities in their personalities.
“If you know him, you know he’s a big-picture guy,” Chandler said. “That’s kind of how I am. I go with my gut a lot.
“So it was really a phone call and a gut feeling — and here I am.”
A career built across three programs
Before returning to Miami as a coach, Chandler built an accomplished college career across three Division I programs.
She began at Loyola Chicago, where she played from 2020 to 2023.
As a freshman, Chandler was named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year after averaging 8.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Over three seasons with the Ramblers, she appeared in 87 games and made 79 starts while developing into a consistent scoring guard.
She later transferred to SMU for the 2023-24 season, starting 18 games and averaging five points and two rebounds per game while completing her economics degree in 2024.
Her final collegiate stop came at Miami.
During the 2024-25 season, Chandler started all 31 games for the RedHawks and averaged 11.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. She scored in double figures 18 times, highlighted by a career-high 26 points on Senior Day in a win over Northern Illinois.
The season also included standout performances of 25 points at Central Michigan and 23 against Kent State in the MAC Tournament.
And beyond basketball, Chandler also spent summers working as a personal trainer in Indianapolis and volunteered with community organizations including Care for Real, the Desert Rose Foundation and youth basketball camps.
Those experiences helped shape the mentorship role she now embraces as a coach.
Seeing the game differently
Standing on the sideline during Miami’s MAC Tournament run, Chandler found herself noticing things she never fully saw as a player.
“When you’re playing, you don’t see everything good that other people do,” Chandler said. “When you’re a coach, you see everything — good and bad.”
That perspective changed the emotions of victory.
“When we cut down the net, it’s just a symbol of ‘we did it,’” Chandler said. “You get to carry something with you forever.”
But the feeling itself was different from winning as a player.
“The emotion is different,” she elaborated. “It’s a different type of joy. There’s no weight on yourself in the same way it is as a player.
“I just get to see them do things we work on, things we practice, things they’ve been trying to accomplish. And it just fills me with joy.”
Chandler’s unique role also allows her to connect with players in ways few coaches can.
She’s close in age. She’s been in their shoes.
But most importantly, some of them were even teammates.
“I’m a little bit different,” Chandler said. “They love all of our coaches, but I’m younger and I’m a girl, so it’s easier for them to come to me with stuff.
“I’ve played with some of them.”
For a first-year coach, the transition could have been awkward — especially when coaching former teammates.
Instead, Chandler says the team made the transition seamless.
“You would think it would be hard to have authority and then coach kids you played with,” Chandler said. “But there couldn’t be better kids. I could not have asked for a better group to start my first year coaching.”
Watching the team celebrate a championship only reinforced her belief in the program’s culture.
Miami is now 28-6 and will face fourth-seed West Virginia at 5 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Morgantown on ESPN2.
“You know they’re going to win,” Chandler said. “Groups like this don’t come around very often.”
And as Chandler continues to grow in her new role, the path that once felt uncertain now seems clear.
“I feel like there was a reason I came to Miami. I didn’t always know what the purpose was.
“I’m starting to see it now.”
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