A STEP UP Announces 2025 Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Assistant Coach Fred Applin of the UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's basketball coaching staff has been named to the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2025, the organization announced Wednesday.

In 2019, A STEP UP, Inc. became the first to exclusively recognize NCAA men and women assistant basketball college coaches with the distinction of the Hall of Fame honor at the inaugural induction ceremony hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. This year's A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class of 2025 includes coaches from the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and The Southern Conference (SoCon).

Applin was a part of the coaching staff that most recently led UNCG women's basketball to its first NCAA Tournament since 1998. During the 2024-25 season, the Spartans won the SoCon Regular Season and the SoCon Tournament. UNCG concluded the campaign with a 25-7 overall record and 13-1 conference mark. It was the winningest season in the Division I era and the best overall season in the SoCon.

"I am incredibly grateful and humbled to receive this honor," said Applin. "My heartfelt thanks to A Step Up for their commitment to recognizing and supporting assistant coaches in basketball. I also want to express my deep appreciation to the players and staff I've had the privilege of coaching and working with—this achievement wouldn't have been possible without them. Most importantly, I thank God for blessing me with an amazing support system my wife, Cora Applin, and my children, Anaiah, Hillary, and Michael, whose unwavering support means everything to me."

The Class of 2025 will be inducted into the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina, at Queens University during the 15th Annual A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Symposium at 6:00 p.m.
 
More About A STEP UP
A Step Up (Athletic Symposium to Elevate Professionals & Uplift Performance). Our mission is to Educate, Connect, Equip, and Inspire current and future generations of coaches. A Step Up helps coaches gain knowledge, discover coaching insights and develop strategies, techniques and tactics to help them reach their full coaching and leadership potential. The inaugural symposium was held in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2010. Thereafter, the Symposium moved to Chicago (2011), Dallas (2012), Charlotte (2013, 2023), Fort Lauderdale (2014), Charlotte (2015, 2016), Atlanta (2017, 2018, 2019), hosted virtually (2020, 2021) and in person in Charlotte (2023, 2024).
 
A Step Up, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization that also owns two (2) additional Professional Development Symposiums that include NEXT LEVEL (for 'aspiring' head coaches with more than five (5) years college coaches experience); and the HEAD COACHES EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY (for current and former college head coaches – all sports – all levels). To date, thanks to the generous contributions of Coaches, friends, and sports leaders, A STEP UP has been able to award close to 400 Anne Donovan Memorial UPLIFT Registration Scholarships to attend its professional development symposiums. For more information about A STEP UP, Inc., and its Symposiums, visit www.AStepUpLive.com, follow us @astepupfha #astepup25 #astepuphof25 or call 704-968-1987.