Desma Thomas Bateast

Biography

Desma Thomas Bateast was hired in July of 2023, bringing in a versatile assistant coach who has great experience in several facets of the game. Bateast enters her fourth season in 2026-27. Bateast has helped the Seminoles to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two 20-win seasons, including a 13-3 record in ACC play 2024-25. Bateast, who serves as the team's recruiting coordinator, helped bring in a talented signing class that includes 2024 portal transfers Malea Williams (Cincinnati), Raiane Dias Dos Santos (Gulf Coast State), Sydney Bowles (Texas A&M) and Morelia Chavez (Eastern Arizona). Prior to Florida State, Bateast saw success at Cleveland State, helping the Vikings record their second 20-win season in three years in 2022-23, winning the Horizon League title and making an appearance at the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Bateast had a large oversight in recruiting, opponent scouting, game preparation and game strategy in her three years with Cleveland State. From 2017-20, she served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida Atlantic where she helped engineer the second-best turnaround for a coaching staff in a debut season at an NCAA Division I program. The Owls had their highest scoring average in several years at 70.6 points per game in that 2017-18 season, where she focused on skill development for guards and wings, among other responsibilities. She was part of a successful run at USF from 2013-17, helping the nationally-ranked Bulls make four po