George Fox University

Lauren Howard joined the George Fox women's basketball program as head coach in April 2023, and is entering her third year with the Bruins in 2025-26.

In her first year as a head coach, Howard inherited a young roster with only four seniors on the squad. The team battled it out throughout the year, and despite some close losses, still finished the year with a 6-10 conference record. 
Her second season, meanwhile, featured the biggest single-season turnaround in program history. Fox moved from a 6-17 overall mark to a 20-7 record, second-best in the NWC. The Bruins had a 9-1 nonconference mark, including a win over No. 15 Hardin-Simmons, and qualified for the NWC Championship for the first time since 2020. Though Fox narrowly lost to No. 5 Whitman in the Championship, the Bruins put three players on All-NWC teams, including two first-teamers in Hanne Hopkins and Alyssa Wells.

Prior to her team at the helm in Newberg, Howard coached with former Bruin head coach Michael Meek at the University of Portland as the director of basketball operations for one season. In Howard's one year with the Pilots, the team qualified for their first NCAA Tournament in 26 years. The Pilots beat Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Tournament, 64-60, before falling to Oklahoma in the first round. 

Prior to her time in Portland, Howard served as head coach of her alma mater, Sherwood High School. In three seasons as coach, Howard compiled a record of 39-29, qualifying for the playoffs in both seasons where they were offered. In her final season as head coach, Sherwood finished 15-10 overall and a perfect 12-0 in league play, advancing to the second round of the OSAA 6A State Championships.

Then known as Lauren Codling, Howard played for the Bruins from 2013-15; after playing two seasons for both Mount Hood CC and Chemeketa CC, she arrived at Fox and appeared in 60 contests for the team during those seasons. Howard started all 33 games in the Bruins' 2014-15 national championship run as Fox started the year 32-0 before falling to the Thomas More Saints in the NCAA Division III National Championship.

She led the team in six different categories in the Bruins' storied 2014-15 season, earning First-Team All-NWC Honors. In her senior season, she averaged 11.4 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest— becoming the fourth player in George Fox history to average a double-double for a season. 

Her name currently appears nine times in the Bruin record books, recording the most rebounds in a season (372) and steals in a season (110), both in 2014-15. Howard currently resides in Sherwood with her husband Jonny and children Cooper, Presley, and Quinn.