ELLENSBURG, Wash.—Ellensburg native and former Great Northwest Athletic Conference standout Lexie Bland has joined the Central Washington women's basketball coaching staff, head coach Randi Richardson-Thornley announced today.
 
Bland, who lettered four seasons at GNAC rival Western Washington, began her duties as assistant coach on Sept. 1.
 
"We are very fortunate and excited to be adding Lexie to our staff," Richardson-Thornley said. "Her first-hand experiences as an elite player at our level will be of great value to our players and program. I'm excited to see the positive impact Lexie will have immediately with our team from a coaching and competitive standpoint. Beyond that, Lexie will be a great mentor for our ladies too look up to from a playing and personal standpoint. I couldn't be more excited to welcome Lexie home to Ellensburg and have her on our side of the gym this season."
 
As a player, Bland appeared in 114 games for the Vikings, making 87 starts over the course of her career.  A two-time All-GNAC selection, Bland ended her career with the Vikings ranking 12^th in program history with 344 assists. She was a 3-time GNAC All-Academic team selection.
 
"I'm really grateful for this opportunity and all the experiences, relationships, and memories that are going to come with it," Bland said. "It's going to be a great season." 

Bland was a 2-time All-State pick at Ellensburg High, leading the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in 2A stet tournament as a junior.
 
Bland graduated from Western Washington in 2020 with a degree in Kinesiology – Pre-Healthcare.