Eight-time Canada West Coach of the Year and four-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year Lisa Thomaidis took over as head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies prior to the 1998-99 season.
During her tenure at USask, the Huskies have won the 2015-16, 2019-20, 2024-25, and 2025-26 U SPORTS National Championships, ten Canada West titles (2005-06, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2023-24, 2024-25), and have advanced to the U SPORTS Final 8 a total of 16 times, including in 15 of the last 16 seasons.
Thomaidis owns the Canada West record for regular season wins (369 & counting), and holds program records for Canada West playoff wins (60) and U SPORTS National Championship wins (28).
In 2013, Thomaidis was appointed the Head Coach of the Canadian Women's National Team. Since that time, Lisa has coached the Team to a 7th place finish at the Rio Olympics in 2016, a Pan Am Gold Medal (which was the first-ever Gold Medal in Basketball at the PanAms) and FIBA Americas Gold Medal in 2015, a 5th place finish at the 2018 FIBA World Championships in Turkey in 2014, a 7th place finish at the 2018 FIBA World Cup and a silver medal at the FIBA Americas Championships in Mexico in 2013. Heading into the 2020 (21) Tokyo Summer Olympics, Thomaidis guided Canada to the rank of #4 in the world.
In the summer of 2012, Thomaidis was an Assistant Coach with the Women's National Team at the London Olympics. There, the team made a dramatic run to the Quarter-Finals, before falling to the USA, the eventual gold medalists.
In the summer of 2024, Thomaidis was back in the Olympics, this time at the helm of the German Women's National Team. In Paris, Thomaidis guided Team Germany to their first ever win on the Olympic stage before leading the team to the quarter-finals.
Her seven Canada West Coach of the Year awards came in 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011 2016, 2023 and 2025. She was also inducted into the McMaster University Hall of Fame in October 2006. In 2008-09, she became the first women's USask basketball coach to be named the U SPORTS Coach of the Year and won the award again in 2010-11 and 2023-24. She was also named a YWCA Woman of Distinction in 2009 and Recipient of the CAAWS Women of Influence Award on two occasions.
Thomaidis was an assistant coach with the Canadian Women's National Team from 2001-12. In 2011, she led Canada's women's basketball entry at the World University Games in China to a sixth place finish. It was the best since 2001. Thomaidis coached at the World Championships in Czech Republic in 2010 and in Brazil in 2006, two PanAm Games (2007 in Rio de Janiero, and 2003 in Santo Domingo), as well as Olympic qualification tournaments (Mexico in 2003, Chile in 2007, Colombia in 2011). She was also the Saskatchewan provincial team coach from 1998-2001 and coach of the Canada Games team in 2001.
Thomaidis played two seasons of professional basketball in Europe in the Greek 1st Division. She was a student athlete for five years at McMaster University where she was a three-time OUA All-Star, and was on the Dean's Honour List for three years. She finished her career with McMaster by winning the OUA Coaches Award of Excellence.
In 2025-26, Thomaidis led the Huskies to the program’s second-ever undefeated regular season (20-0) and just the second in program history (only other was in 1971-72, 6-0) and the sixth in the history of the University of Saskatchewan athletics. The perfect season also marked the 17th in Canada West and 65th in U SPORTS women’s basketball. Despite falling in the Canada West Semifinals, Thomaidis' Huskies went on to claim the program's second consecutive National title and 4th U SPORTS Championship at the U SPORTS Final 8 in Quebec City.
* Denotes CW Championship
^ Denotes U SPORTS Championship
| SEASON |
NON CONFERENCE RECORD
(U SPORTS OPPONENTS) |
CONFERENCE
RECORD |
CW PLAYOFF
RECORD |
NTL. CHAMPIONSHIP
RECORD |
| 1998-99 |
6-4 |
5-15 |
|
|
| 1999-00 |
3-5 |
6-14 |
|
|
| 2000-01 |
3-2 |
7-15 |
0-2 |
|
| 2001-02 |
3-3 |
7-13 |
|
|
| 2002-03 |
4-3 |
6-14 |
|
|
| 2003-04 |
8-3 |
11-9 |
0-2 |
|
| 2004-05 |
10-1 |
11-9 |
0-2 |
|
| 2005-06* |
7-2 |
17-3 |
4-1 |
1-2 |
| 2006-07 |
7-1 |
15-7 |
3-2 |
|
| 2007-08 |
6-4 |
9-13 |
3-2 |
1-2 |
| 2008-09 |
4-1 |
18-4 |
1-4 |
0-2 |
| 2009-10 |
9-0 |
14-6 |
3-1 |
2-1 |
| 2010-11* |
6-1 |
22-2 |
4-0 |
2-1 |
| 2011-12 |
6-1 |
15-5 |
3-1 |
1-2 |
| 2012-13 |
- |
- |
|
|
| 2013-14* |
5-0 |
17-5 |
4-1 |
1-2 |
| 2014-15 |
5-2 |
17-3 |
3-1 |
1-2 |
| 2015-16*^ |
6-1 |
18-2 |
5-0 |
3-0 |
| 2016-17* |
3-4 |
15-5 |
4-1 |
1-2 |
| 2017-18 |
2-3 |
17-3 |
4-2 |
2-1 |
| 2018-19* |
4-1 |
16-4 |
5-0 |
1-2 |
| 2019-20*^ |
7-0 |
18-2 |
3-0 |
3-0 |
| 2020-21 |
Cancelled due to COVID |
Cancelled due to COVID |
Cancelled due to COVID |
Cancelled due to COVID |
| 2021-22* |
2-2 |
14-2 |
3-0 |
1-2 |
| 2022-23 |
4-1 |
17-3 |
1-1 |
|
| 2023-24* |
6-0 |
19-1 |
3-0 |
2-1 |
| 2024-25*^ |
6-0 |
18-2 |
3-0 |
3-0 |
| 2025-26^ |
6-0 |
20-0 |
1-1 |
3-0 |
| TOTAL |
138-45 |
369-161 |
60-24 |
28-22 |
