Career Record (through the 2024-25 season): 214-213 (14 seasons)
Record at Texas State (through the 2024-25 season): 214-213 (14 seasons)
The program’s all-time winningest coach and 2023 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year, Zenarae Antoine will enter her 15th season leading the Bobcats with the 2025-26 campaign.
Since the East Texas native’s first season at the helm in 2011-12 – in which she oversaw one of the best turnarounds in school history – Antoine has taken Texas State to new heights. The list of accomplishments includes a regular season conference championship, five postseason tournament appearances, and 16 all-conference honors collected by the Bobcats.
Antoine, a former star post player at Colorado State, has focused the Texas State program on player development on and off the court. She has seen 16 Bobcats who scored 1,000 or more points in their careers. Some of the top Bobcats in program history – including 2018 Sun Belt Player of the Year Taeler Deer, three-time All-Sun Belt First Team selection Da’Nasia Hood and Sun Belt career assists leader Kennedy Taylor – have played for Antoine and helped her total 214 wins in 14 seasons so far at Texas State.
Texas State has also set 21 school records under Antoine and six Sun Belt records. The Bobcats have collected nine conference player of the week awards as well.
The postseason tournament appearances under Antoine include three in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI) in 2014, 2015 and 2017 as well as two in the WNIT in 2018 and 2023.
The last of those postseason appearances includes the 2022-23 season. The Bobcats, behind a core group of six graduate students and returners who chose to come back for their final year of eligibility, were able to win a share of the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship, tie the school record for most wins in its Division I era, and reach the WNIT for the first time in five years.
| THE ZENARAE ANTOINE FILE |
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| Coaching History |
| Ohio University - Graduate Assistant |
1999-2000 |
| College of Charleston - Assistant Coach |
2000-01 |
| Ohio University - Assistant Coach |
2001-03 |
| University of Louisville - Assistant Coach |
2003-07 |
| University of Arkansas - Assistant Coach |
2007-11 |
| Texas State University - Head Coach |
2011-present |
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| Playing History |
| Colorado State |
1994-98 |
All-Sun Belt performers Hood and Taylor – two Bobcats who played all five years at Texas State – led the Bobcats to a 23-win campaign and 13-5 record in conference in 2022-23. Both Hood and Taylor finished their careers with 1,000+ points while Taylor became the program’s and Sun Belt’s all-time leader in career assists.
The Bobcats also led the conference in field goal shooting and three-point shooting and were third in free throw shooting in 2022-23. In conference-only games, the Bobcats were second in scoring margin and third in scoring defense.
The culmination of the 2022-23 season was a result of a multiyear process in which the Bobcats retooled the program and came out of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the upswing. Antoine and the Bobcats improved their conference win total in each year over a four-year stretch that ended with the conference-championship season and an appearance in the conference tournament championship game.
In conference tournament action, Antoine has helped lead the Bobcats to two championship games (2018, 2023) and the semifinals or better five times (2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2023). The Bobcats reached their first conference tournament title game in 2018 after being led by that season’s Sun Belt Player of the Year, Taeler Deer.
Lifted by Deer and fellow all-conference performer Toshua Leavitt, the 2017-18 Bobcats finished second in the regular season conference standings (23-10 overall, 14-4 Sun Belt) and reached the conference tournament championship game. Although the Bobcats fell in the title game by one point, Deer was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Texas State finished that season with a WNIT appearance, its first in 10 years and second overall at the time.
The 2016-17 season, Antoine's sixth, saw the Bobcats finish 16-15 overall, including an 11-7 record in Sun Belt play, and earn an at-large berth to the WBI. The Bobcats, which won 10 of 12 games during the heart of the Sun Belt schedule, were the only team in the league to defeat each of the top three teams in the final conference standings. In addition to conference success, Antoine led the Bobcats to key non-conference wins over Houston, North Texas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Deer earned Third Team All-Sun Belt honors after averaging a career-high 10.8 points per game. Leavitt, meanwhile, sank 77 3-pointers to rank second on the TXST single season list, including a program-record tying seven in the quarterfinal round of the Sun Belt Championship.
Antoine’s fifth season in 2015-16 was highlighted by Deer being named both the Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Week and
CollegeSportsMadness.com National Mid-Major Player of the Week in late November after turning in a 32-point performance to lead the Bobcats to a 64-62 win over a North Texas team that had previously upset then-No. 17 Oklahoma. As a team the Bobcats set the all-time Texas State record for made 3-point field goals in a season with 232, eclipsing the previous record of 207 set in 2014-15.
The 2014-15 season was a success as Antoine led the Bobcats to a 17-15 (11-9 SBC) record and a second consecutive berth into the postseason with an invitation to the WBI. The WBI berth set the program standard as being the first Texas State team in program history to appear in back-to-back postseasons.
Prior to the WBI, the Bobcats made their run in the Sun Belt Conference Championship as the No. 4 seed before ultimately falling in the semifinal game to eventual champion Little Rock. Texas State was just one of three teams to make the league semifinal in consecutive years, despite playing in only its second season as a Sun Belt member.
In its first season in the Sun Belt in 2013-14, Texas State went above and beyond preseason expectations. The Bobcats finished tied for third place after being chosen ninth in the SBC preseason poll. Texas State finished the season with a 16-16 record, the second most wins for Antoine since arriving in San Marcos in 2011. The Bobcats earned a WBI berth, marking the program’s first postseason appearance since 2007-08 season.
During the 2013-14 season, Ashley Ezeh became the 14th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Ezeh finished the season ranked on four different top-10 charts including ninth in points with 1,310, seventh in rebounds with 711, third in blocked shots with 62 and seventh in free throws made with 276. Ezeh was named Second Team All-SBC, her second all-conference recognition after earning All-Southland Conference Third Team honors in 2011-12.
In the 2013-14 season, Texas State earned the WBI invitation after posting a 12-6 Sun Belt Conference record and winning a Sun Belt Championship quarterfinal game against Georgia State by a score of 78-44.
In the 2014 and 2015 SBC Championship, Texas State was one of just three teams to make it to the semifinal game each season. While competing in the 2015 semifinal contest, junior guard Erin Peoples became the 15th player in school history and third under Antoine to reach the 1,000-point mark.
As a member of the WAC in 2012-13, Texas State won its first game against a Big 12 opponent since 2005, beating TCU, 91-80, at Strahan Coliseum. Earlier in the year, the Bobcats won their first game against a Sun Belt opponent since 2005, defeating North Texas, 86-84, in Denton.
Antoine’s high scoring style became evident when the Bobcats led the WAC for the majority of the year in scoring offense, finishing the year ranked 40th in the country with an average of 69.7 points per game. That total was in part due to the team’s 100-67 win against San Jose State in the final regular season game, to mark the first time since 1988 the Bobcats scored 100 points against a Division I opponent.
Also during the 2012-13 season, Diamond Ford scored 644 points, including 27 in the final game of her collegiate career. Peoples was named to the WAC’s All-Freshman team and Ayriel Anderson was the best three-point shooter in the WAC at 43 percent in conference play.
In 2011-12, Antoine coached two players to earn all-conference honors, which was the first time since 2008 the school had two players on the postseason team. Known for offense, Antoine led the team to the highest scoring average in the league and had one of her players, Ford, become the 13th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000 career point mark as well as finishing fourth in single season history in points. She also led the Bobcats to their first conference tournament appearance in four years during her inaugural season. The team reached the Southland Conference Tournament, and recorded its first win at the event since 2003 after beating Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals.
Antoine began her coaching career in 1999-2000 as a graduate assistant at Ohio and has had assistant coaching and recruiting coordinator stops at include Arkansas, Louisville, College of Charleston, and two stints at Ohio.
She came to San Marcos after serving four seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas. In her final season with the Razorbacks in 2010-11, Arkansas went 22-12 to earn a berth to the WNIT, where it advanced to the quarterfinals.
During her time with the Razorbacks, she served as the recruiting coordinator. She helped the Razorbacks sign back-to-back nationally-ranked recruiting classes that included two players who earned All-SEC recognition as freshmen (Lyndsay Harris and C’eira Ricketts).
Prior to Arkansas, Antoine was the recruiting coordinator at Louisville, and guided the Cardinals to nationally-ranked recruiting classes in her four seasons. Her last two recruiting classes were No. 26 for 2006 and No. 25 for 2007. Among the most notable signees for the Cardinals were Kodak All-American and 2007 Big East Player of the Year Angel McCoughtry and Kodak Junior College All-American Helen Johnson.
Antoine went to Louisville after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio University, her second stint at the school. While at Ohio she coached both the guards and the posts and was in charge of scouting opponents.
Between stints at Ohio, Antoine spent one season as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston, where she served as the lead recruiter in the southern region and coached the posts. Her administrative duties included coordinating travel, academics and community service.
Antoine received her master’s degree from Ohio in 2000 where her coaching career began as a graduate assistant. She coached post players and helped with academics.
Antoine played at Colorado State where she was a three-year starter for the Rams. She played her senior season for head coach Tom Collen, with whom she would work later at Louisville and Arkansas. CSU went 24-6 and reached the NCAA second round during his first season as head coach.
Before working with posts and guards during her coaching career, Antoine was an anchor in the middle for CSU as a player. She finished her career ranked third in career blocked shots and seventh in rebounding. She also ranks high for single season rebounds and blocked shots. During her career, CSU won two league titles and made two NCAA appearances.
As a coach, Antoine has reached the postseason a total of 10 times, going twice to the NCAA Tournament (2005, 2006) along with five WNIT appearances (2004, 2009, 2011, 2018, 2023) and three WBI Tournament appearances (2014, 2015, 2017). Including her playing career, her total is 12, after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament twice during her days at Colorado State.
Overall, she has had five recruiting classes receive national recognition. One of her most notable signings was Angel McCoughtry, a three-time WBCA/State Farm All-American and 2009 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick and Rookie of the Year.
Antoine graduated from James E. Taylor High School in Katy, Texas and earned her bachelor’s degree in physical science with minors in geology and statistics at Colorado State in 1998. In 2000, she received her master’s in athletic administration at Ohio.
Antoine is a member of the WBCA, the AFCWA, and a 2002 graduate, the inaugural class, of the former Women’s Coaches Academy and now Alliance of Women’s Coaches. She has also served as the Sun Belt Conference Captain for the WBCA, the Women’s Basketball representative for the Sun Belt Conference Sport Committee, and a member of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional Advisory Committee for the 2016-17season.
Antoine is married to Ronald Antoine and the couple have three sons, Zavier, Zachary and Zayden.
