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UCF hires Gabe Lazo as women’s basketball coach

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — UCF hired Gabe Lazo as its women’s basketball coach on Saturday.

Lazo had been set to join Kim Mulkey’s staff at LSU before taking the job at UCF, which will be his first head coaching gig. He spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Tennessee.

Lazo will replace Sytia Messer, who was fired earlier this week following four straight losing seasons.

UCF went 49-69 under Messer.

Before joining Kim Caldwell’s staff at Tennessee, Lazo spent two seasons as an associate head coach at Mississippi State. The Miami native is entering his 10th season in coaching.

“I am incredibly honored and excited to be named the head coach at UCF,” Lazo said in a statement. “This is a special place with tremendous potential. … As a Florida native, this opportunity means a great deal to me. I look forward to building meaningful relationships with our student-athletes, competing at a high level in the Big 12 and making Knight Nation proud.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

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