Zenarae Antoine serves as the Texas State women's basketball head coach, a title she's held since 2011.
 
After the 2023 season, she added a few more accolades to her name. 
 
Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.
Asian Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
Women of Color Coach of the Year.
 
After her coach of the year campaign, Antoine also signed a contract extension, keeping her in maroon and gold until the 2025-26 season.
 
She is the winningest coach in program history with 187 wins in 12 seasons, making six postseason appearances and leading the Bobcats to its 2022-23 Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championship. 
 
Antoine has coached nine Bobcats to 1,000+ point careers. She coached players all over the Texas State record book like Da'Nasia Hood, Kennedy Taylor, Taeler Deer and Toshua Leavitt, just to name a few. When she came to Texas State in 2011 she immediately oversaw one of the best turnarounds in school history, beginning a history of on the court success that as followed her entire tenure at Texas State.
 
Perhaps more important than those on-court accolades, though, is two other titles Antoine possesses: mother and wife.
 
Antoine has three boys, Zavier, Zachary and Zayden, and is married to her husband Ronald. Ronald is an offensive coordinator for the Johnson Jaguars, a high school team from Buda, Texas. 
 
"It's different when you have a head coach who is also a mother," said Assistant Coach Paige Love. "Every decision that she makes she bases around what she would want someone to do for her kids. When you do that as a coach and as a leader your decisions are different. She's a love-tough person. She's going to love you but she's going to hold the standard high."
 
Her high standard of success has been something that Texas State Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director Tracy Shoemake saw from day one with Antoine.
 
"She just has good character," Shoemake said. "She builds a family environment. From day one I liked what she wanted to do with our entire program. For her, it's about raising young women to be whatever they want to be. The complete program was important to me, not just cutting down nets but building futures for these athletes, and she's just carried through that."
 
Despite a full life off the court as a mother of three and a coach's wife, she has developed a standard of having a players-first team with a family-oriented mentality all while still executing high levels of success on the court.
 
"She wants them to be the best young women they can be," said Associate Head Coach Nathan Teymer. "She wants them to want more, to be better. She loves to see them do well, but she's also going to challenge them. That's her motive, is to try and get the best out of her players." 
 
Getting the best out of her players comes in a lot of different forms. While on-court success is the end goal, Antoine recognizes that getting there requires work off the court as well. Sometimes the biggest object to a player playing well has nothing to do with basketball. 
 
"She brings a perspective that not all of us can," Assistant Coach Jericka Jenkins said.
 
As both a woman of color and an Asian woman, Antoine brings a lot of life experience into her locker room that she shares with her team.
 
"If after someone's done in our program, if they don't learn anything or take any lessons from her down the road, she'll view that as a failure." Teymer said. "That's one of her ultimate goals is to make these ladies somebody that can go out into whatever field they want, any path they take, and be successful in that."
 
To help its players find success after graduation, the Texas State women's basketball coaching staff heavily emphasizes academics and professional development opportunities. The players on Antoine's teams are known for being excellent in the classrooms and getting involved with things outside of basketball. 
 
Antoine's program is not just about basketball. It's about a well-rounded student-athlete.
 
The success on the court, though, is based on that trust and open communication between both players and staff. Though Antoine may be the head coach, she values every member of her team's insight.
 
"Our players need to know that their coaches care about them to give us all they got," Jenkins said. "If they don't know their coaches care, why would they?"
 
Whether it's on the annual team camping trip, at team dinner or something as simple as the Bobcat huddle post-practice, every member of the team knows that they bring value to the table.
 
"She looks at everyone individually and tries to get them better individually and then work them into our team concept," Teymer said. "She's going to be very specific with some things she wants but she's also going to give the staff freedoms to put their stamp on things. She wants to have people with different opinions, but we're still working towards the same goal."
 
The goal may be wins and championships, but Antoine recognizes none of those come without the right mentality. Respect and fairness are a cornerstone of the success of Texas State women's basketball. Not every player is going to need the same thing from her.
 
"Coach is a person that is going to meet you where you're at," Love said. "She's going to give each player what they need. She'll always tell you it's not equal but it's fair." 
 
Coaching basketball isn't a one-size fits all approach. Each season, each game, and each player bring unique challenges and that's Antoine's specialty. 

"She takes the time out of her personal schedule to make sure each players needs are met," Love said. "She creates a safe and welcoming space for player and staff to be unapologetically themselves."