LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Lindy La Rocque didn’t just come home. She came back to change the game.
The Las Vegas native and UNLV women’s basketball head coach has turned the Lady Rebels into a championship contender — all while raising a young family and rewriting what leadership looks like in college sports.
“Can I do both at a high level? For me, it was like, well, I have to try,” La Rocque said. “I had the same doubt that every woman has.”
Taylor Rocha recaps Lindy La Rocque's path from ball girl to baller:
A standout at Durango High School and a former ball girl for the Lady Rebels, La Rocque’s connection to the program runs deep. After playing and coaching under Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer at Stanford, she returned to Las Vegas in 2020 to take the reins of the program she once watched from the sidelines.
“To be the head coach here at UNLV just really is an honor and a privilege,” she said. “I get to represent our community and help young women achieve their dreams.”
Since taking over, La Rocque has led UNLV to multiple conference titles and was recently named Mountain West Coach of the Year. But beyond the accolades, she’s become a symbol of balance and resilience.
“I have a 2-and-a-half-year-old that thinks she is the boss — and she is — and an 8-month-old that just started crawling,” La Rocque said. “There are a lot of sleepless nights and early mornings, but I wouldn’t change it.”
La Rocque returned to the sideline just days after giving birth to her second child.
“My water broke during the third quarter of an exhibition game,” she said. “Six or seven days later, I coached again…because being around the team — it filled me up.”
She credits a strong support system — family, staff, and players — for helping her succeed on and off the court.
“It takes a village,” she said. “But you can do it.”
La Rocque’s story is more than a homecoming — it’s a blueprint for women in leadership. As she puts it, “You can do whatever you want to do. It might not be perfect. But you can do it.”
