Women's Basketball
Erika Bean
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- erika.bean@pepperdine.edu
Assistant Coach Erika Bean enters her third year in Malibu going into the 2026-27 season, hired on as a part of head coach Katie Faulkner's initial staff. As one of two programs in the country without a single returning player for the 2025-26 season, Bean was part of a staff that took four freshman and eight transfers to Pepperdine's first postseason appearance in seven years. Last season, the coaching staff turned an eight-win program into a 21 win program for the fifth-best win turnaround among division one teams last season as well as the school's first 20+ win season since 2018-19. In the NET rankings, the Waves saw the fourth best turnaround in the country, ending the 2025-26 season at 132, compared to 285 at the end of the 2024-25 season. The program also saw the best start in 45 years, ending non-conference 9-3.
Tying the program's record for the longest postseason run, the Waves made it to the Super 16 of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). For the first time ever, Pepperdine hosted two postseason games, ending the short-lived postseason run in Firestone Fieldhouse a perfect 2-0. Pepperdine finished 6th in the West Coast Conference, the team's highest finish in seven years.
Erika Bean was hired on Pepperdine's staff in May 2024 after serving as Gonzaga's Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development. In the 2023-24 season, Bean was part of a Zags team that finished with a 32-4 record, went undefeated in WCC regular-season play, hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as the 4-seed and made the Sweet Sixteen.
She was elevated to an assistant coaching role prior to the 2023-24 season after serving as a graduate assistant for two years at Gonzaga. In her first two seasons, she helped the Bulldogs make two NCAA Tournament appearances, and win back-to-back WCC regular-season titles and the 2022 WCC Tournament title. Gonzaga won at least 27 games in every season Bean was part of the program.
As a player, Bean was a four-year varsity letter-winner at Utah and graduated with a degree in kinesiology in 2019 before playing overseas. Upon graduating from Utah, Bean ranked fourth all-time in career assists, which she accrued in 126 career games (91 of which she started). She also earned her master's in sport and athletic administration in 2022 at Gonzaga.
Tying the program's record for the longest postseason run, the Waves made it to the Super 16 of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). For the first time ever, Pepperdine hosted two postseason games, ending the short-lived postseason run in Firestone Fieldhouse a perfect 2-0. Pepperdine finished 6th in the West Coast Conference, the team's highest finish in seven years.
Erika Bean was hired on Pepperdine's staff in May 2024 after serving as Gonzaga's Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development. In the 2023-24 season, Bean was part of a Zags team that finished with a 32-4 record, went undefeated in WCC regular-season play, hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as the 4-seed and made the Sweet Sixteen.
She was elevated to an assistant coaching role prior to the 2023-24 season after serving as a graduate assistant for two years at Gonzaga. In her first two seasons, she helped the Bulldogs make two NCAA Tournament appearances, and win back-to-back WCC regular-season titles and the 2022 WCC Tournament title. Gonzaga won at least 27 games in every season Bean was part of the program.
As a player, Bean was a four-year varsity letter-winner at Utah and graduated with a degree in kinesiology in 2019 before playing overseas. Upon graduating from Utah, Bean ranked fourth all-time in career assists, which she accrued in 126 career games (91 of which she started). She also earned her master's in sport and athletic administration in 2022 at Gonzaga.
