Amber Raisner, a Connecticut native who led Union in scoring for two seasons, joined the Yale women’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach in the summer of 2022. She works primarily with the guards.
In March of 2025 Raisner was named a WBCA Thirty Under 30 honoree. The WBCA Thirty Under 30 is a special recognition program that was established to honor 30 of the up-and-coming women's basketball coaches age 30 and younger at all levels of the game. Criteria for selection include community service involvement; mentorship and impact on others; professional manner and attitude; and professional association involvement.
In 2024-25 Raisner helped the Bulldogs finish in the top three in the Ivy League in offensive rebounds (12.1 per game) and bench points (15.3 per game). They had an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection (Mackenzie Egger) and a CSC Academic All-District honoree (Grace Thybulle).
In 2023-24 Raisner helped the Bulldogs finish in the top three in the Ivy League in offensive rebounds (12.7 per game) and steals (7.52 per game). The Bulldogs earned an impressive 74-68 overtime win at Penn, rallying from an 11 point deficit. Yale made dramatic year-to-year improvements in shooting percentage (up 21 percentage points) and free throw percentage (up 18 percentage points). The Bulldogs also decreased their turnovers by 2.8 per game.and increased their assists by .8 per game. Yale had two CSC Academic All-District selections (Jenna Clark and Brenna McDonald).
In her first season at Yale, Raisner helped coach the Ivy League Co-Defensive Player of the Year (Nyla McGill) and a top 10 finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the best point guard in the country (Clark). The Bulldogs also had a five-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week honoree (Kiley Capstraw) and four CSC Academic All-District selections (Clark, McDonald, Klara Astrom and Haley Sabol). The season was highlighted by a 71-70 overtime win at Harvard on Jan. 7, 2023 -- the Bulldogs' first road win vs. the Crimson since 2012.
Raisner was a leader on and off the court at Union, helping the Dutchwomen advance to the Liberty League Tournament semifinals in her senior year. She led the team in scoring for the second straight season, averaging a career-high 11.3 points per game and shooting 41.5 percent from the field. She also led the team with a career-best 71 assists. She was among the team leaders in steals (second with a career-high 37) and rebounds per game (third, 4.6). She earned honorable mention All-Liberty League recognition.
Raisner finished her career 18th on Union’s career scoring average list (9.9 ppg). She was also 15th in three-pointers made (56), ninth in three-point field-goal percentage (.315) and 11th in assists (182).
Raisner received Union’s Award for Academic Excellence, presented to a senior student-athlete for outstanding performance in the classroom. She earned a B.S. in neuroscience. She was on the Dean’s List every year, was named Union's Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice and won the Wessel Ten Broeck Van Orden Prize (given to a first-year student excelling in English composition). She was named to the Liberty League All-Academic Team three times and was inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society.
In addition to her academic and athletic commitments at Union, Raisner served as a Senior Admissions Intern, Co-President of the Garnet Society, Co-Founder and President of the Ceramics Club and as a Community Service Pre-Orientation Leader.
Raisner is a native of West Hartford, Conn., and a graduate of Hall High School. She was a four-time All-Central Connecticut Conference selection. As a senior she earned All-Hartford Courant honors and was named a CHSCA Scholar-Athlete.
