Coaching Staff

Connor McNeils | Assistant Coach

Connor McNelis is entering his first season as an assistant coach at Arkansas State. He joined the Arkansas State women’s basketball staff in October 2021 as an assistant coach after two seasons in the same position at Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La.

In two seasons at Nicholls under longtime coach DoBee Plaisance, McNelis' responsibilities included working primarily with the guards, in addition to fundraising, film and video operations, organizing the male practice squad and assisting with recruiting, day-to-day operations, practice planning and game preparation.

Prior to his stint in Thibodaux, McNelis spent two years in Boca Raton, Fla., at Florida Atlantic as video coordinator/ player development. With the Owls, he utilized Synergy and iMovie for highlights, game and practice breakdown and recruiting highlights. He also assisted in practice planning and scouting.

McNelis grew up around women's basketball as his mother, Joye Lee McNelis, has been coaching collegiately for over 30 years and is entering her 18th season at the helm at Southern Miss. Since 2005, he has worked the annual Joye Lee McNelis Basketball Camps, assisting in all aspects of the individual, positional, team and elite events.

He also spent three seasons at USM, serving in multiple capacities for the Golden Eagles. Beginning in 2014, he served as the men's basketball team manager in addition to being a women's basketball student assistant. With the men's team, McNelis assisted with skill development and practices while playing a vital in-game role of relaying opponent play calls to coaches as well as providing a breakdown of opponent strategy at halftime and post-game. With the women's team, McNelis was responsible for film breakdown and assisting the coaching staff with all special assignments, as well as organizing and maintaining practice plans and player shot charts.

The Hattiesburg, Miss., native graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports coaching from Southern Miss in the summer of 2017. He also played one season (2012-13) at Emmanuel College before transferring to USM.

Lizzie Nessling | Associate Head Coach

Lizzie Nessling joined Daniel’s staff as an assistant coach prior to the 2020-21 season after two seasons as an assistant at Seward County CC in Kansas.

This past season, Nessling helped coach Seward to a 25-7 mark and the Region VI tournament semifinals. She aided in coaching two WBCA All-Americans, including A-State newcomer Karolina Szydlowska, while also being responsible for recruiting both 2019-20 KJCCC Co-Freshmen of the Year (Tianna Johnson and Leilani Augmon). In the summer prior to the 2019-20 campaign, Nessling was selected to coach in the NJCAA Top 40 Showcase.

In 2018-19, she helped guide the Lady Saints to a Jayhawk West Conference Championship, Region VI Runner-up, NJCAA Sweet 16 appearance and a regular-season No. 2 finish in the national poll with a 30-4 overall record. She took part in coaching multiple all-region and all-conference players, including Szydlowska.

Prior to Seward, Nessling spent two years as an assistant at University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas, where the Lady Spires won 37 games in her two years, reaching the semifinals of the KCAC Tournament in both seasons.

As a player, she was a 2-time captain for Lincoln University's women's basketball team where she received the Glue Guy Award for two straight years and was recognized as the True Blue 2016 Athlete of the Year her senior year. She also took the program from a 5-win season to tying the program history record for most MIAA conference wins and the best conference finish.

Nessling earned her master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Saint Mary in 2018 and her bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Lincoln University in 2016.