St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Women’s Basketball Hires Aaliyah Lewis as Director of Recruiting
7/10/2023 10:27:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Lewis, who starred for the Red Storm from 2013-17 will assist in recruiting operations
QUEENS, N.Y. – The St. John's Women's Basketball Head Coach Joe Tartamella announced the addition of former Red Storm standout Aaliyah Lewis to his staff as the program's Director of Recruiting on Monday.
Lewis will be responsible for assisting in all recruiting operations for the program including helping coordinate on-campus visits, assisting in travel arrangements for coaches and prospective student-athletes and much more.
"We are thrilled to welcome back Aaliyah to our program," Tartamella said. "Through her experiences at St. John's as the co-BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and an integral member of a championship team, she will bring valuable knowledge to our student-athletes."
Lewis had a stellar career for the Johnnies from 2013-2017, appearing in 134 games, which ranks second all-time in program history. The 2017 BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year was a stellar point guard under Tartamella and an integral part of the BIG EAST Tournament Championship run in 2016.
The Staten Island, N.Y., native brings a wealth of experience to Tartamella's staff including playing professional basketball overseas, working on a Division I women's basketball staff, teaching high school physical education and health, coaching in the AAU ranks and running her own skill development academy.
Recently, Lewis has been teaching physical education and health at West Side High School in Newark, N.J. Additionally, she has been mentoring top high school and college players in the area through her training academy "Lay A Brick Everyday" and coaching AAU with New Heights Youth Inc.
Prior to returning to the tri-state area, Lewis worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2018-20, where she received her master's of education. During her time with the Flames women's basketball program, she was responsible for coordinating gameday preparation and travel accommodations.
In 2017-18, Lewis signed a professional contract with Forssan Alku in Finland where she played in 13 games overseas.
During her playing days in Queens, the lightning-quick floor general started 102 games and logged over 4,000 minutes. The point guard recorded 892 points (7.2 per game), 532 assists (2nd all-time), and 148 steals for the Johnnies, who made four postseason appearances, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament during her tenure.
In her final year in 2016-17, Lewis logged the best season of her illustrious career posting career-highs in minutes per game (37.3), which ranked sixth in the country, points per game (11.1), assists per game (6.3), which led the BIG EAST. Following an outstanding senior campaign in addition to being named the league's co-defensive player of the year, Lewis earned All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention, All-BIG EAST Tournament Team honors and All-MET First Team recognition.
In 2017, Lewis graduated from St. John's with her bachelor's degree in sports management with a minor in business.
"Aaliyah has fully committed herself to being a coach after her playing career," Tartamella said. "We're excited to have her at St. John's, a place where she created so many significant memories."