UBC Seasons: 2
Overall record: 49-14 (.778)
Conference record: 35-5 (.875)
*As of March, 2025
Isabel Ormond has completed her second season at the helm of the UBC Thunderbirds, after guiding the program to its best season in a decade in 2024-25.
2024-25:
The successful 2024-25 campaign began with a 7-0 start to the regular season, leaving the T-Birds as the last team to take their first Canada West loss. The blue and gold lost just twice in conference play, one of them in overtime, topping the Pacific Division with an 18-2 record. A 77-55 win over Regina in the quarterfinal round opened the Canada West playoffs, before a monumental 80-66 comeback win over Alberta punched their ticket to the Canada West Final for the first time since 2015. There, the T-Birds fell on the road to reigning champs Saskatchewan. UBC hosted both the women's and men's U SPORTS Final 8 tournaments in a historic event in Vancouver, where the T-Birds defeated the AUS champs Saint Mary's in the opening round before falling to Saskatchewan in the semifinals and the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the bronze medal game.
The T-Birds were dominant in the 2023-24 regular season, finishing second in the conference with a 17-3 record, the program’s best mark since 2014-15 when they also finished 17-3. After winning the first four games of the season, Ormond’s group stumbled a little with losses to powerhouse Saskatchewan. That didn’t deter the team at all though, as the ‘Birds then ripped off an incredible 13 wins in a row as they took on all comers, finishing with an 8-1 record at home. Unfortunately, the Thunderbirds were upset in a 66-63 nailbiter by UVic in the first round of the Canada West playoffs.
Ormond was named T-Birds head coach in 2023, following six years as the lead assistant for the Alberta Pandas. In her last season in Edmonton she helped guide the Pandas to their first-ever Canada West title and a bronze medal at the 2023 U SPORTS National Championships.
Ormond is a key member of the Canada national team pipeline, having served as lead assistant coach for the U16 women’s national team, as well as coaching at the 2021 U19 FIBA World Cup and the 2022 U19 FIBA Americas. She won a gold medal as head coach of Team Alberta at the Western Canada Summer Games in 2019.
Prior to her coaching career, Ormond played for four years at McMaster, where she went from a walk-on to serving as team captain in her final two years. During her time as a marauder she was a three-time Academic All-Canadian and graduated with honours while earning a Bachelor of Science.
