Rae Boothe was named as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at UT Permian Basin in August of 2017. She is the fourth women’s basketball coach in program history and holds the all-time win record for UTPB. Boothe is a coach known for building a culture of excellence in all areas. She values relationships and strives to develop and empower leaders. Her teams are fun to watch because of the passion in which they play. In 12 of her 15 seasons as a head coach, her teams have been in the top-two of their respective conference in steals and forced turnovers. Boothe currently has a record of 245-202 (.548 pct.) as a head coach, and in eight seasons as head coach at UTPB, she has a career record of 86-133.
UTPB finished its 2024-25 season at the LSC tournament. This was the second year in a row and the second time in school history the Falcons advanced to the LSC Tournament. That season saw the Falcons win their second-most LSC games in a season and earn their second-highest finish in the LSC regular-season standings. UTPB started its 2024-25 season 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference, its first time starting 3-0 in conference play since joining the LSC in 2016-17. The Falcons ultimately started 7-1 in the LSC, their best start in the league since joining the conference. UTPB ranked 28th in the country in 3-pointers made per game. The Falcons also led the LSC and ranked 25th in the country in turnover margin. Fifth-year guard Taysha Rushton was a Second-Team selection for the 2024-25 D2CCA All-South Central Region Team and was both the LSC Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-LSC. Rushton was the second-straight Falcon to be named a First-Team All-LSC selection while also earning an individual LSC award and then earning Second-Team D2CCA All-South Central Region honors. In addition, Graduate students and team captains Avalon Munoz and Morgan Helgesen both reached the 1,000 career-point scoring mark during the season. Munoz was an LSC All-Defensive Team selection during her final season and leaves the program as UTPB's all-time leader in minutes played while Helgesen is second, and Helgesen leaves as the Falcons' career leader in games played while Munoz is second. Munoz also finished her career second in all-time assists and second in all-time steals.
The 2023-24 season was by far the most successful season in UTPB women’s basketball history. This team set a record for most wins in a season (24), most LSC wins (17), and the highest regular-season standing in LSC history (3rd), made its first appearance in the LSC Tournament since joining the league in 2016. The Falcons advanced to the LSC Tournament Championship game and then were the No. 4 seed in their first NCAA South Central Regional Tournament. The Falcons finished their 2023-24 season with a record of 17-5 in the LSC and 24-8 overall, and were second in the LSC West Division with a record of 11-3. UTPB was the No. 3 seed in the LSC Tournament, their first appearance since joining the league in 2016, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the the first time since 2013. UTPB set a school record for most wins in a season, beat No. 7/No. 8 Texas Woman's University (Feb. 24), had four players go over 1,000 career points, and were receiving votes in the D2CSC Media Poll for five straight weeks. UT Permian Basin also cracked the top-25 twice during that stretch. UTPB was the darling of the LSC Tournament, defeating Angelo State University by 20 points, 71-51, in the quarterfinals and upsetting The University of Texas at Tyler 70-68 in the semifinals. The Falcons came up short, 70-60, against No. 11 TWU in the 2024 LSC Tournament Championship game. In that championship game, UTPB took advantage of turnovers and scored 23 points off 16 TWU turnovers. It was the first time that UTPB had advanced to the Lone Star Conference Championship game. Coach Boothe received LSC Co-Coach of the Year honors alongside four all-conference players including, Alexus Quaadman, Kamryn Lemon, Andrea Mancha and Morgan Helgesen. Graduate student Alexus Quaadman was a four-time LSC Defensive Player of the Week, was the LSC Defensive Player of the Year, was First-Team All-LSC, was on the LSC All-Defensive Team, and was the first UTPB player to earn all-region honors (D2CCA All-South Central Region Second Team). She was the first UTPB player to earn an individual Lone Star Conference award and ultimately had her jersey retired (November 2024).
In 2022-23, the Falcons won the most LSC games in program history (10) at the time and finished off the season by having the best week in their history as they beat two nationally-ranked teams who ultimately advanced to the NCAA tournament. Coach Boothe earned her 200th career win on Thursday, December 8, in a 68-53 win at Oklahoma Christian University, a game in which the Falcons forced the third-most turnovers in program history (37). During the season, Avalon Munoz became only the fourth UTPB women's basketball player to record a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists at Midwestern State University.
2019-20 was a historic season for Boothe and the Falcon program. The team showed major improvement, including a six-win jump from the year prior. Freshmen Alexus Quaadman was a force down low with a monster season. She set program single-season records for rebounds, blocks, and double-doubles while setting the career record for blocks in just one season. She also tied the program record for double-doubles in a career as just a freshman. Fellow-freshman Rory Carter had a huge year with 288 points, the third most by a freshman in program history. The team had one of its biggest wins of Boothe's Falcon career when they upset regionally-ranked Eastern New Mexico University 71-63 on January 11, 2020. In the newly expanded Lone Star Conference, the Falcons came just short of their first LSC playoff appearance, missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker. Down the stretch the Falcons played some closely contested games. The young team, played five games decided by 10 points or less, and were down by four in the fourth quarter to eventual LSC champion and No. 3-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce. Once again the Falcons led the conference in steals with 353.
In her first season at UTPB in 2017-18, the team Boothe inherited showed great improvement as they doubled the amount of LSC wins from the season before. They also lead the LSC in steals and turnover margin.
Boothe’s players continue to fill the record books at UTPB. After the 2024-25 season, Avalon Munoz ranked first all-time in minutes played (4,063) and was second in games played (134), second in assists (525), second in steals (273), second in free throws made (383), third in rebounds (531), third in points (1,059) and sixth in field goals made (311). She finishes her career just two steals away from passing the school record of 274 steals and just 12 assists away from overtaking the school record of 536 assists. In addition, Helgesen ranked first in program history in games played (133) and was second in minutes (3,745), second in rebounds (662), fourth in assists (189), fifth in field goals made (356), fifth in 3-pointers made (176), sixth in points (1,032), sixth in steals (153) and seventh in free throws made (144). Another standout who has her name all over the top of the UTPB record books is Alexus Quaadman. Quaadman first arrived on the campus of UTPB in 2019 and made her presence felt on the court, leading her team in rebounds (214) and breaking the school record for blocks (49) in a single season. During her senior season in 2023-24, Quaadman set the single-season UTPB record for rebounding (338), became the fourth player in school history to score 1,000 career points, and was the first basketball player at UTPB to earn 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Quaadman graduated with a total of 1,074 career points, 1,029 rebounds, 153 blocks and 150 steals. She is UTPB’s leader in single-season and career rebounds, single-season and career blocks, and single-season and career double-doubles. In addition, she was the first UTPB player to have their jersey retired.
Coach Boothe came to UTPB from Friends University in Wichita, Kansas, where she served as Head Coach for seven seasons. At Friends, Coach Boothe held an overall record of 159-69 (.697 pct.) and a conference record of 103-29 (.780 pct.). Boothe led the Friends Falcons to six straight 20-plus win seasons, five national tournament appearances, two trips to the Sweet 16 (including the first in program history), and three regular-season Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) titles.
Coach Boothe has coached 10 All-Americans, 12 First Team All-Conference Players, 34 Conference Players, four Newcomers of the Year, seven Defensive Players of the Year, two Players of the Year, and has received Coach of the Year honors four times. Academically she has coached 12 Academic All-Americans. Every year, her teams have had a Team GPA of a 3.0 or higher. In addition, every player that has completed their eligibility has earned their degree.
Coach Boothe holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership, both from Brenau University.
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Boothe at UTPB
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| Year |
Season at UTPB |
Overall Record |
Conference Record |
Conference Finish/Accolades |
| 2017-18 |
1st |
8-20 |
6-14 |
9th LSC |
| 2018-19 |
2nd |
4-24 |
1-19 |
11th LSC |
| 2019-20 |
3rd |
10-18 |
7-15 (3-7 in the Division) |
15th LSC (5th in the Division) |
| 2020-21 |
4th |
6-12 |
5-12 (1-5 LSC West Division) |
13th LSC (4th West Division) |
| 2021-22 |
5th |
8-20 |
4-12 |
T-13th LSC |
| 2022-23 |
6th |
13-15 |
10-12 (4-10 West Division) |
T-7th LSC (7th West Division) |
| 2023-24 |
7th |
24-8 |
17-5 (11-3 West Division) |
3rd LSC (2nd West Division)
Advanced to LSC Tournament Championship Game
Advanced to NCAA First Round
Named LSC Co-Coach of the Year |
| 2024-25 |
8th |
13-16 |
11-11 (7-7 West Division) |
T8th LSC (5th West Division)
Advanced to LSC Tournament Quarterfinals |
| Overall |
86-133 (.393 pct.) |
61-100 (.379 pct.) / 26-32 Divisional Record (.448 pct.) |
One-Time LSC Coach of the Year
Two LSC Tournament Appearances
One NCAA Division II Tournament Appearance |
