University of North Texas Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Director of Basketball Operations
- Email:
- laderica.paul@unt.edu
- Alma Mater:
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 2019
LaDerica “LD” Paul recently wrapped up her third season with UNT women’s basketball as the director of basketball operations.
Her first season at North Texas saw the team win a then-record 23 games, including 13 in conference play to clinch a share of the program’s first conference championship since 1986. It also earned a berth to the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, marking the sixth postseason appearance ever at UNT.
The Mean Green then continued their success in Paul’s second season, reaching new heights with 25 wins for the first time. After compiling a 15-3 record in conference play, UNT appeared in the WNIT and won a national postseason tournament game for the first time since 2019 in its run to the round of 16.
Most recently, UNT went 19-14 during the 2025-26 season to cap off the program’s winningest three-year stretch of all-time. The Mean Green ranked top three in both scoring offense and defense and once again reached the American Conference tournament semifinals.
Paul held the same title in her one season at Incarnate Word prior to her arrival at UNT. There, she helped the Cardinals win 15 games and earn the fourth seed in the Southland Conference Tournament. No stranger to Denton, Paul spent the 2021-22 campaign as an assistant coach nearby at Texas Women’s University.
Before her stint at TWU, she was an assistant coach on the 2021 North Central staff that led the program to its first regular season championship and Upper Midwest Athletic Conference championship.
A graduate and former player at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Paul excelled in academics and leadership while balancing the life of a college athlete. She was named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll each year from 2017 to 2019 and received the 2019 Lee Denmonn III “Island Way” Award, an honor recognizing a student for their excellence in leadership. An active leader on Corpus Christi’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee, Paul was an executive board member for three years, including serving as president in 2019.
Following her playing career, Paul remained on campus as a graduate assistant for the Islanders’ 2019-20 season, which saw them win their first Southland Conference regular season championship.
Paul originates from the surrounding area in Dallas, where she played high school basketball at Dallas Skyline and led it to the 6A state championship game as a senior.
Both from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Paul earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2019 and a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in public management the following year.
COACHING HISTORY
2023-Present: UNT, Director of Basketball Operations
2022-23: Incarnate Word, Director of Basketball Operations
2021-22: Texas Woman's University, Assistant Coach
2020-21: North Central University, Assistant Coach
2019-20: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Graduate Assistant Coach
PLAYING HISTORY
2016-19: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
2015-16: University of Missouri-Kansas City
