Zak Buncik returns for his second tenure as a coach for Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball this season after making his debut in 2023.

Buncik spent the 2025 WNBA season as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Sparks, helping Head Coach Lynne Roberts’ squad secure a 21-23 record.

A 2007 graduate of UT Arlington, Buncik previously spent three seasons with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings from 2022-24. The Wings fashioned an 18-18 record and secured a spot in the WNBA Playoffs after placing sixth in 2022 before upping its mark to 22-18 in 2023 while advancing to the WNBA Semifinals.

Buncik, who spent his first two seasons in Dallas as a player development coach, was elevated to assistant coach during his final campaign with the Wings in 2024 before departing for Los Angeles.

Prior to joining the Wings’ staff, he ran a skills development business where he worked with all levels of basketball players, including several WNBA and NBA players.

Buncik spent nine seasons as a member of Coach Scott Cross’ men’s basketball staff at his alma mater, guiding the Mavericks to the 2012 Southland Conference West Division and 2017 Sun Belt Conference regular season championships. UT Arlington also made three postseason tournament appearances, including a berth in the 2017 National Invitation Tournament.

Buncik, who served as a student assistant coach during his three years at UT Arlington, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science with an emphasis in pedagogy.

Edniesha Curry brings a wealth of basketball into her first season as an AU Pro Basketball coach in 2026.

The first woman to be named head coach of a FIBA men’s national team, Curry led the U.S. Virgin Islands staff during the 2022 AmeriCup. She also served as the bench boss for the team in several other international tournaments.

A 2002 graduate of Oregon, Curry also broke barriers when she joined the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers as an assistant coach for the 2021-22 season. Before joining the Trail Blazers, Curry spent three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Maine, holding the distinction of being the only full-time female assistant coach at the Division I men’s basketball level when she began her tenure with the Black Bears in 2018-19.

Curry began her college coaching career as an assistant coach with the Maine women’s basketball team in 2015-16, mentoring the Black Bears to a 26-9 record and berth in the WNIT.

Prior to Maine, Curry served as an international development coach in Vietnam, China and Israel, including a stint as the head coach for SSA Basketball in Ho Chi Minh City. She participated in the Assistant Coaches’ Program and the Atlanta Classical Academy as the women’s athletic program manager in 2017.

Selected by the Charlotte Sting in the 2002 WNBA Draft, Curry played for the Phoenix Mercury in 2003 before joining the Los Angeles Sparks for the 2005 season. She also played overseas in Israel, Greece, Hungary and Poland over a six-year span from 2003-09 and earned All-Star recognition while playing for Thessaloniki in Greece.

A three-year letter winner at Cal State Northridge, Curry ranks ninth on the Matadors’ all-time scoring list with 1,254 points over 73 games, including a program single-game record 40 points against Loyola Marymount on December 1, 1999. She also stands third in program history after making 168 three-point field goals.

A two-time First-Team All-Big Sky Conference performer, she was honored as the Big Sky Freshman of the Year in 1998 after averaging 17.0 points per game.

Curry transferred to Oregon for her final two seasons, guiding the Ducks to the WNIT championship in 2001-02 along with a berth in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

Curry has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from American Intercontinental in 2006.

Chaz Franklin makes his AU Pro Basketball debut as a coach for the 2026 season.

Franklin returned to the WNBA coaching ranks as the head of player development for the Connecticut Sun in 2025 after previously serving in the same role with the Chicago Sky from 2023-24.

Between stints with the WNBA franchises, Franklin was the director of player development for the Marquette women’s basketball team in 2024-25, helping the Golden Eagles win 21 games and finish fourth in the BIG EAST Conference standings. Marquette also paced the league by averaging 37.5 rebounds per game.

A 2005 graduate of Roberts Wesleyan with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Franklin joined the coaching staff of the New Zealand women’s national team during the summer of 2024. He also spent the 2022-23 campaign at Millersville University, helping the NCAA Division II Marauders compile an 18-12 record.

Franklin added to his coaching resume by working as an assistant with USA Basketball in addition to coaching Team Brotherly Love during the 2021 The Basketball Tournament (TBT).

After completing his collegiate playing career at Roberts Wesleyan, Franklin enjoyed a 15-year professional career overseas and competed in several countries, including Germany, Iceland, Finland and the Czech Republic.

Kia Vaughn, an established veteran across multiple levels of basketball, joins AU Pro Basketball as a coach for the 2026 season.

A 14-year WNBA veteran, Vaughn was selected by the New York Liberty with the eighth overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft. The Bronx, New York, native spent four seasons with her hometown team, earning the league’s Most Improved Player award in 2011 after posting a career-high 10.1 scoring average while starting all 34 games.

Vaughn played four seasons with the Washington Mystics after joining the team in 2013. She contributed 7.1 points per game over 121 appearances before returning to New York for two more seasons with the Liberty.

Vaughn, who guided her teams to the WNBA Playoffs eight times during her career, saw action in 50 total games over the 2020 and 2021 seasons with Phoenix before completing her WNBA career with Atlanta in 2022.

In addition to her WNBA careers, Vaughn played 13 seasons overseas where she was part of three championships in the Czech Republic in addition to claiming three more titles in the Turkish League. A dual citizen of the United States and the Czech Republic, she was a member of the Czech Republic national basketball team for the 2017 EuroBasket Women’s Tournament.

Vaughn also claimed the 2015 EuroLeague title in addition to being named the league’s Most Valuable Player while competing for USK Praha in the Czech Republic.

Vaughn graduated from Rutgers in 2009 as one of four players in program history with more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. She also left as the program’s career leader with 135 games played while ranking second with 279 blocks and 1,079 total rebounds.

Vaughn piloted the Scarlet Knights to the 2007 BIG EAST title in addition to a berth in the NCAA Final Four. She was honored as the 2007 Player of the Year by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in addition to garnering First-Team All-BIG EAST laurels.

A veteran coach with nearly 30 years of experience in the NBA, Dee Brown joins the AU Pro Basketball coaching staff as a player enhancement specialist for the 2026 season.

Brown, the father of five-year AU Pro Basketball veteran Lexie Brown, currently serves as the executive senior associate athletic director for athletics strategy and innovation at his alma mater, Jacksonville University, where he has worked since 2021. He is also a member of the university’s Board of Trustees along with several advisory boards at Jacksonville.

Before arriving in Jacksonville, Brown was the general manager for the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, the NBA G-League affiliate of the Los Angeles Clippers, from 2017-21. He helped launch the team, which went on to win 71 games during his tenure. In addition, he was the vice president of integrated development and G-League Operations for the Clippers.

Brown served as an assistant coach with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings from 2013-15 after a two-year stint with the Detroit Pistons from 2011-13. He joined the Pistons’ staff after working as the head coach and head of player development for the NBA Development League’s Springfield Armor from 2009-11.

In addition, Brown also spent one season with the Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach and director of player development along with one year as director of player development for the Orlando Magic. He started his coaching career in charge of the WNBA’s Orlando Miracle in 2002 before venturing to the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2004 for the same role.

Selected by the Boston Celtics with the No. 19 overall pick in the 1990 NBA Draft, Brown quickly established himself in the league by earning All-Rookie First Team distinction in 1990-91 while helping the Celtics win the Atlantic Division. Brown, who won the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest as a rookie, played for the Celtics until 1998 when he joined the Toronto Raptors.

Brown, who spent 12 total years as a player in the NBA, led the league with 135 made three-point field goals in 1998-99 while playing in just 49 games. After two seasons with Toronto, Brown finished his NBA playing career with two seasons in Orlando.

In 608 career NBA games, Brown averaged 11.1 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest. He also guided his teams to six playoff appearances, including three straight berths with the Celtics from 1991-93.

A 1990 and 2024 graduate of Jacksonville with degrees in mathematics and computing science, Brown was a two-time All-America performer for the Dolphins who collected First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors as a senior. He still owns the program’s single-season record with 88 steals during the 1988-89 season while holding fifth place on the school’s career list with 201 takeaways.

Brown sits 12th in Jacksonville history with 1,503 career points and paced the Dolphins in scoring during each of his final two seasons. His No. 4 jersey number was retired by Jacksonville, while the No. 20 jersey he donned during his scholastic career at The Bolles School was retired on January 15, 2021.

Brown launched EDGE Basketball, LLC, in 2005 and served as the CEO. The company focused on training players from middle school age up to the professional ranks.

Making history has been a major part of Danielle Viglione’s basketball career and she hopes to help the Athletes Unlimited players make history as she embarks on her fifth season with AU Pro Basketball, including her fourth as a player enhancement specialist.

After serving as a facilitator during the inaugural 2022 season, Viglione pivoted into the role of player enhancement specialist for the 2023 campaign and will again hold that position in 2026.

Viglione, who joined the coaching staff for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks for the 2023 campaign, ranks fifth in the University of Texas record book after collecting a 15.8 scoring average over 105 games from 1993-97. The Sacramento, California, native, who earned a trio of All-Conference accolades, knocked down a school-record 293 three-pointers and ranks seventh in Texas women’s basketball history with an .812 career free throw percentage.

In her rookie campaign with the Longhorns, Viglione averaged 21.0 points per game and set the program’s freshman single-season record by finishing with 629 points. The 1994 Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year also established the Longhorns’ single-season mark with 115 made three-pointers, a mark that still stands today.

Viglione, the only player in Texas history with two career 40-point games, secured the Texas single-game standard when she erupted for 48 points, including a school-record 11 three-pointers, against Houston on January 29, 1994. She also netted 40 points earlier that season against Marquette.

With 1,658 career points, Viglione ranks 14th on the Longhorns’ all-time list and is one of five players to average 20.0 or more points in a season.

Viglione played one season in the WNBA, appearing in six games with the Sacramento Monarchs during their inaugural season in 1997. She went on to play 10 years overseas, spending time in Israel, Turkey and Italy.

Prior to her time at Texas, Viglione earned a pair of California State Player of the Year commendations at Del Campo High School while racking up 3,089 points in three varsity seasons. The holder of 10 California state records and five national marks, she sank 379 three-point field goals and eclipsed Cheryl Miller’s single-season record by scoring 1,300 points.

The owner of the Sacramento Skills Academy, Viglione was inducted into the CIF Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Sacramento Hall of Fame in 2015 before earning her spot in the UT Athletics Women’s Hall of Honor in 2019.

A 1998 graduate of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, Viglione was the recipient of the NCAA’s Postgraduate Scholarship in 1997.