De La Pena Heads to Michigan St.

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball head coach Suzy Merchant announced today the hiring of David De La Pena as Coordinator of Basketball Operations. De La Pena moves on to the Spartans after spending the last two seasons as the video coordinator and graduate assistant coach at Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas.

"We are excited about the addition of David to our staff," said Merchant. "He is an extremely hard working individual and came in with high recommendations from Texas and Lubbock Christian. David has worked for two of the great coaches in women's basketball history in hall of famer Jody Conradt and current Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors."

At LCU, De La Pena served as video coordinator for the Lady Chaps, creating scouting reports and highlight packages, in addition to training the student assistants to film, record and set up the video equipment. During skill development sessions with the varsity squad, he worked with the guards, while also acting as the head coach of the junior varsity team. Lubbock Christian advanced to the NAIA Tournament in each of his two seasons, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2009, where the Chaps finished No. 10 in the nation.

A graduate of the University of Texas, De La Pena spent two seasons as a student manager and practice player for the women's basketball program. While at Texas, he also served as a manager for the NBA D League's Austin Toros and volunteered as an assistant coach at Bedichek Middle School.

De La Pena earned his master's of science degree in leadership from Lubbock Christian in Dec. 2009, after completing his bachelor's of science degree in kinesiology from Texas in Dec. 2007.

De La Pena replaces Monique Govan, who was hired as the Director of Basketball Operations at Georgia Tech University.