Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach/Director of Operations
- Email:
- Houston_Fancher@ncsu.edu
- Phone:
- (919) 515-5157
Houston Fancher has completed seven seasons on NC State's staff, approaching year No. 8 in 2025-26. Head coach Wes Moore announced the addition of Fancher to the staff on May 17, 2018, and he was promoted to an assistant coach role ahead of the 2023-24 season after the NCAA voted to allow two more assistants on Division I women’s basketball staffs.
In his second year with coaching duties at NC State, the Pack shared the 2025 ACC Regular Season Championship and made the ACC Tournament Title game for the second straight year. With a 28-7 record and 16-2 mark in the ACC, the Pack finished the season with its sixth Sweet 16 trip in the past seven seasons and a No. 9 ranking in the final Associated Press Poll.
In his first season as an on-court coach with NC State, the Wolfpack enjoyed a historical season. The 2023-24 season ended in the program’s first Final Four appearance since 1998, as well as a 31-7 record, a top four final AP ranking and nine top 25 wins.
During his tenure in Raleigh, Fancher has been a part of helping the Pack to three ACC Tournament titles, two ACC regular-season crowns, six NCAA Tournament appearances, six final top 10 rankings and a Final Four in 2024.
Fancher joined the Wolfpack after serving as the interim head coach of the Charlotte men’s basketball program from December 2017 through the remainder of the 2017-18 season. He was a member of the Charlotte 49ers coaching staff for a total of three seasons.
Prior to joining the Charlotte staff, he had 12 years of experience as a college head coach, including nine seasons as the head coach of the Appalachian State University men’s program.
While leading the Mountaineers, his teams won Southern Conference North Division championships in 2003, 2007 and 2008. He was named SoCon Coach of the Year in 2003. In 2007, he was a finalist for the mid-major National Coach of the Year award after guiding Appalachian State to 25 wins (school record), the San Juan Shootout title and a berth in the NIT.
Fancher also worked on the coaching staffs at the University of Tennessee (2009-13) and at UNC Wilmington (2013-14). He began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Division III program Maryville College from 1988-92. He then took over as head coach at North Greenville from 1992-95 before taking a position as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt for the 1995-96 season. From 1996-00, Fancher worked as an assistant coach (1996-98) and associate head coach (1998-00) at Appalachian State.
A native of Newport, Tennessee, Fancher earned an undergraduate degree in physical education from Middle Tennessee in 1988 and a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial University in 1990.
Fancher and his wife Cathy have two sons - Hayden and Ethan - and a daughter - Cameron. Cathy played college basketball at Maryville College when Moore was the program’s head coach and was one of his first recruits. Houston and Cathy’s sons, Hayden and Ethan, both attended or currently attend NC State. Ethan was most recently a four-year manager and practice player for the women's program from 2020-24.
COACH MOORE'S TAKE:
"It’s great to add someone with the basketball background of a Houston Fancher. With over 30 years of college basketball coaching experience, including nine years as a Division I head coach, he will bring a wealth of knowledge to our staff. I can’t wait to get started as we look to build on the momentum our program has generated over the past few years.”
