Monique Ambers joins Monarchs head coach Maura McHugh, Michele Cherry and Steve Shuman to complete the coaching staff.

This is Ambers’ second coaching position, having been an assistant coach at George Washington University from 1994 – 1997. During that time, the Lady Colonials amassed an 80-19 record. The former professional basketball player was initially drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the fourth round of the 1997 WNBA draft. Ambers reached the WNBA Semifinals with this team. In 1997, Ambers averaged .444 field goal percentage, .400 free throw percentage and 1.2 rebounds per game in 19 games played for Phoenix. Ambers will focus on developing the skills of the post players and advanced scouting for the Monarchs.

A 1993 graduate of Arizona State University, Ambers holds a bachelor of science degree in Child Development.

Ellsworth Madsen is a former American NBA player and current head coach of Utah Valley University. Due to his hustle and physical style of play, he received the nickname ‘Mad Dog’ while playing for the San Ramon Valley HS Wolves. The Los Angeles Lakers selected Madsen in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft and contributed to the Lakers’ winning the NBA Championships in 2001 and 2002.

Madsen signed with the Timberwolves as a free agent before the 2003 NBA season and played with them for six seasons before Madsen waived on playing with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2009.

On April 14th 2019, Mark Madsen was named head coach at Utah Valley University. Prior to joining Utah Valley, Madsen spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. During those six seasons, Madsen coached Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, LeBron James, Steve Nash and many others. In his first year as head coach at Utah Valley, some highlights of the season included road wins at UAB, Grand Canyon, and North Dakota State University. Additionally, in a road game against Kentucky, Utah Valley played the Wildcats to a 1 point game with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game.