Faculty Category: Staff
BELLA ROBERTS
Back to All FacultyIn her first season as the full-time assistant coach with the women’s soccer program, Roberts helped lead the Phoenix to their seventh NAIA National Tournament appearance while assisting six student-athletes earn All-Conference honors.
As a player, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native played for University of Tennessee at Martin for five seasons (2017-2021) and was a part of two regular season championship teams in 2018 and 2021. Roberts netted thirteen goals with three of those being game winning goals and earned eight assists over her career. She was awarded All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team honors in 2019 and earned one Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week in 2021 scoring three goals in two games. Roberts was also named team captain her senior year.
Academically, Roberts graduated magna cum laude in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and was awarded the Medal of Honor by attaining a 4.0 all year from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021. She also received OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll all five years. She is now pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching.
MATT RISKO
Back to All FacultyMatt Risko enters his first season as an assistant baseball coach in 2022-23, overseeing all pitching duties for CU.
Risko pitched for the Phoenix from 2019-2021 as a reliever out of the bullpen. During his time with the Phoenix, Risko earned NAIA Scholar-Athlete and Mid-South Conference All-Academic honors.
Most recently, Risko worked as a scout with the SoBro Agency in Nashville. While working for SoBro, he also analyzed the state-of-the-art Trackman data and worked on pitch design with represented athletes at Ward Sports Performance. He also has past experience as a video scout with Baseball Info Solutions in Coplay, PA.
He received his bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Cumberland in the spring of 2021. Prior to Cumberland, he played baseball at De Anza Community College.
JOSHUA RIAL
Back to All FacultyLAUREN POWELL
Back to All FacultyCHRIS PADILLA
Back to All FacultyJOSH NELSON
Back to All FacultyZACHARY MCCRARY
Back to All FacultyZach McCrary enters his first season as an assistant coach with the Cumberland women’s basketball program in 2022-23 after spending the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Lindsey Wilson College.
McCrary helped lead the Blue Raiders to a 19-6 overall record in 2020-21 and a 13-4 record in the Mid-South Conference. The Blue Raiders went onto appear in the semifinals of the Mid-South Conference tournament and the NAIA Opening Round.
In 2019-20, he helped guide the Blue Raiders to a 26-6 overall record and a 13-3 performance in the Mid-South Conference. LWC advanced all the way to the MSC Tournament semifinals at the conference championship.
Prior to Lindsey Wilson, McCrary served as a student assistant on the Middle Tennessee State University women’s basketball team for four years. During his tenure as a student assistant, McCrary helped develop players on and off the court by helping prepare daily practices and drills during the regular season and offseason. McCrary helped assist the Lady Raiders to an 88-44 overall record, a 2015-16 Conference USA Championship, one NCAA tournament and three NIT tournament appearances.
As an assistant coach for the women’s basketball program at Lindsey Wilson, McCrary’s main duty includes contributing to player development for preseason and regular season action. Other duties include helping plan practices, assisting in game plan development, assisting with travel and accommodations for road trips, organizing game film, helping implement defensive drills and strategies, assisting in recruiting, and working with players to increase shooting percentages.
A native of Readyville, Tennessee, McCrary earned his bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University in May of 2019 in Leisure, Sport, and Tourism Studies.
DANIELA DORANTES
Back to All FacultyMs. Dorantes joined the staff of Cumberland University in August 2022. She is the administrative assistant for the Oakley School. She lives in Cookeville, TN with her two children. Prior to coming to Cumberland, Daniela worked as a Family Support Specialist providing in home visitations to first time parents sharing activities to promote bonding, milestone screenings, access to community resources, and prenatal/parent support.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, shopping, and exploring new places with her children.