Yanni Hufnagel

Last updated
Yanni Hufnagel
Yanni Hufnagel.jpg
Lemon Perfect Founder and CEO Yanni Hufnagel
Current position
TitleFounder & CEO of The Lemon Perfect Company
Biographical details
Born (1982-08-26) August 26, 1982 (age 41)
New York City, New York
Alma mater
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2007–2009 Oklahoma (graduate asst.)
2009–2013 Harvard (asst.)
2013–2014 Vanderbilt (asst.)
2014–2016 California (asst.)
2016–2017 Nevada (asst.)

Yanni Hufnagel (born August 26, 1982) is an American entrepreneur, former college basketball coach, and the founder and CEO of Atlanta-based The Lemon Perfect Company, maker of the enhanced water brand Lemon Perfect. [1] [2] Before starting Lemon Perfect, he served as an assistant coach of the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team under Eric Musselman. [3]

Contents

He previously served as an assistant coach for the California Golden Bears, Vanderbilt Commodores, and Harvard Crimson. [4] Hufnagel was regarded as one of the top recruiters in college basketball. [5]

Early life and education

Hufnagel was raised in Scarsdale, New York and is Jewish. [6] He played lacrosse for Scarsdale High School and was a team captain. [7] [8] After being cut from Scarsdale High School's varsity basketball team, he took a position as the color commentator for the team's games on a local access cable TV channel. [9] [8]

He attended Pennsylvania State University for one year, where he was a defenseman on the lacrosse team. [10] [8] Hufnagel then transferred to Cornell University, where he served as a student manager for the Big Red men's basketball team. At Cornell, Hufnagel earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations in 2006. [10] [3]

Hufnagel began his coaching career as an intern with the New Jersey Nets before attending the University of Oklahoma, where he served as a graduate assistant coach for the Sooners men's basketball team. Hufnagel is credited with helping develop Blake Griffin while at Oklahoma. [11] At Oklahoma, Hufnagel earned a master's degree in Adult and Higher Education with an Emphasis in Intercollegiate Athletics Administration in 2010. [12] [10]

Career

Coaching

Harvard Crimson, Maccabiah Games

In June 2009, Hufnagel joined the Harvard Crimson men's basketball program as an assistant coach under Tommy Amaker. In 2011, he was voted by his peers in a CBS Sports survey as the mid-major assistant coach most likely to "make it big time due to his recruiting ability." [13] He was named to a CBS Sports college basketball "dream team" of assistant coaches before the 2012–13 season and labeled "one of the most relentless and energetic recruiters in the game." [14] He is also noted for his role in helping develop Jeremy Lin and Wesley Saunders at Harvard. [15] In Hufnagel's four years with Harvard, the school went 90–30, and in his final season, Harvard upset New Mexico in the 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. [3] [16]

Hufnagel was appointed to coach the Team USA Youth Team at the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel but declined in order to accept an assistant coaching position with the Vanderbilt Commodores. [17]

Vanderbilt Commodores, California Golden Bears, Nevada Wolf Pack

In May 2013, Hufnagel joined the Vanderbilt Commodores as an assistant coach under Kevin Stallings. [18] He was credited by ESPN with helping Vanderbilt land the 29th-ranked 2014 recruiting class, which included Wade Baldwin IV and Matthew Fisher-Davis. [19] [20] After one season, Hufnagel left the program. [21]

In 2014, Hufnagel joined the California Golden Bears coaching staff, led by Cuonzo Martin. Hufnagel is credited with helping recruit Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb to the team. The pair helped lead the Golden Bears to a 2016 NCAA Tournament berth. [22] [23]

In 2015, a reporter covering the Golden Bears filed a sexual harassment complaint against Hufnagel. [24] [25] [26] Following an investigation, Hufnagel was fired on March 14, 2016. [27] In response, Hufnagel's lawyer, Mary McNamara, asserted the extent of the relationship was a "flirtation that never went anywhere" and noted that the reporter told investigators Hufnagel "never touched her." [28]

On April 8, 2016, Hufnagel accepted an assistant coaching position with Eric Musselman and the University of Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team. [29] [30] [31] Hufnagel and Nevada mutually parted ways after one season. [32]

Lemon Perfect

In December 2017, Hufnagel founded Lemon Perfect, a flavored lemon water brand in the enhanced water category. [2] Lemon Perfect was named one of the "Best New Products" at BevNET's Best of 2019 Awards. [33]

In January 2020, the company received a viral boost after the product was spotted in a photo on Beyoncé's Instagram. [34]

In August 2020, the company announced that it had raised $11.6 million in funding to date from a network of investors, including Spencer Dinwiddie, Channing Frye, Lindsay Gottlieb, Blake Griffin, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Meyers Leonard, De'Anthony Melton, and Nick Young. [35] [36] [37]

In April 2022, Lemon Perfect closed a $31 million Series A funding round. [38] Beyoncé was a Series A investor, along with Beechwood Capital, NNS Capital, and Trousdale Ventures. [39] The investment gives Lemon Perfect total funding of over $42.2 million and a total valuation of over $100 million. [40] [41]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Levens</span> American basketball player and coach

Amanda Kay Levens is an American women's college basketball coach. She is currently the head coach at the University of Nevada. Previously, she was hired as head coach at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) in 2008, when the school began a five-year transition to the NCAA's Division I. From 2012 to 2017, she was associate head coach at Arizona State before being hired at Nevada as head coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryce Drew</span> American basketball player and coach (born 1974)

Bryce Homer Drew is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Previously he served as the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores and in the same capacity at his alma mater, Valparaiso, having succeeded his father, Homer Drew. Drew has led his teams to the NCAA tournament on four occasions, including at least once at each of the three schools he has been the head coach of.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Musselman</span> American basketball coach (born 1964)

Eric Musselman is an American college basketball coach who is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas. He is the former head coach of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Between head coaching stints at Golden State and Sacramento, Musselman served as an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies under Mike Fratello. He moved to the college coaching ranks in 2012 as an assistant at Arizona State. From 2014–19, he was the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack. The son of former NBA head coach Bill Musselman, Eric Musselman was a head coach in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) before becoming an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, and Atlanta Hawks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trent Johnson</span> American college basketball coach

Trent Aubrey Johnson is a former American college basketball coach. Johnson had previously been the head coach at Cal State Northridge, Texas Christian University, Louisiana State University, Stanford University, and University of Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Gottfried</span> American basketball player and coach

Mark Frederick Gottfried is an American men's college basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Fox (basketball)</span> American basketball coach

Mark Leslie Fox is a men's college basketball coach who is the Director of Student-Athlete Relations at Georgetown University. He last coached for the California Golden Bears of the Pac-12 Conference. He spent nine seasons as the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs and was previously the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack for five seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevada Wolf Pack</span> American athletic program of the University of Nevada, Reno

The Nevada Wolf Pack are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno. They are part of NCAA's Division I's Mountain West Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1896 with football as the Sagebrushers in Reno, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Carter (basketball)</span> American college basketball coach

David Allen Carter is an American college basketball coach who is an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armon Johnson</span> American basketball player

Armon Deshawn Johnson is an American former professional basketball player who played two seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Nevada.

Peter L. "Pete" Padgett is an American high school basketball coach. He is best known, however, for his playing career between 1972–73 and 1975–76 while on the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team.

The 2012 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolf Pack were led by Chris Ault in his 28th overall and 9th straight season since taking over as head coach for the third time in 2004 and later resigned from coaching at the end of the season. They played their home games at Mackay Stadium and were first–year members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 7–6 and 4–4 in Mountain West play to finish in fifth place. They were invited to the New Mexico Bowl where they lost to Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsay Gottlieb</span> American basketball coach (born 1977)

Lindsay Catherine Gottlieb is an American basketball coach who is the women's head coach for the USC Trojans of the Pac-12 Conference. She was previously the head coach of the California Golden Bears women's team before becoming an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The 2016 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolf Pack were led by fourth–year head coach Brian Polian and played their home games at Mackay Stadium. They were members of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 5–7 and 3–5 in Mountain West play to finish in a three–way tie for third place in the West Division.

David Grace is an American basketball coach who has coached with a high degree of success at multiple levels such as D1 college, high school, and AAU, and is retired from the United States Air Force. He is currently the Head Coach at Campbell Hall School in Studio City, CA. He was previously Head Coach at Centennial HS in Peoria, AZ. At the D1 college level he was most recently the associate head coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores of the Southeastern Conference under former NBA great Jerry Stackhouse.

The 2018 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolf Pack were led by second–year head coach Jay Norvell and played their home games at Mackay Stadium. They were members of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 8–5 and 5–3 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for second place in the West division.

The 2017–18 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolf Pack, led by third-year head coach Eric Musselman, played their home games at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 29–8, 15–3 in Mountain West play to win the Mountain West regular season championship. They defeated UNLV in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament before losing in the semifinals to San Diego State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Texas in the first round, then made a stunning 22-point comeback in the final 11 minutes of the game to beat Cincinnati. This tied the second largest comeback in terms of deficit in NCAA Tournament history. They then lost to eventual Final Four team Loyola Chicago in the Sweet Sixteen.

The 2018–19 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolf Pack, led by fourth-year head coach Eric Musselman, played their home games at the Lawlor Events Center on their campus in Reno, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference (MW). They finished the season 29–5, 15–3 in Mountain West play to share the regular season Mountain West championship with Utah State. They defeated Boise State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament before losing in the semifinals to San Diego State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Florida.

Zachary Arthur Claus is an American basketball coach who was most recently head coach of the Idaho Vandals men's basketball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yanni Wetzell</span> New Zealand-born basketball player

Yannick Clemens Thomas Wetzell is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the St. Mary's Rattlers, the Vanderbilt Commodores, and the San Diego State Aztecs.

The 2004–05 Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Reno during the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolf Pack, led by former assistant and first-year head coach Mark Fox, played their home games at the Lawlor Events Center on their campus in Reno, Nevada as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

References

  1. ↑ Coulter, Christina (January 21, 2021). "L.A.-Based Lemon Perfect Relocating To Atlanta". What Now Atlanta. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Check out the pitch deck that convinced investors like Beyoncé to pour $31 million into beverage brand Lemon Perfect's Series A". Business Insider .
  3. 1 2 3 ""Yanni Hufnagel; Assistant Coach; Vanderbilt Basketball 2013-14"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-17. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  4. ↑ Parrish, Gary (April 8, 2016). "Former Cal Assistant Yann Hufnagel is Joining Nevada's Coaching Staff". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ Borzello, Jeff; Finkelstein, Adam (March 2, 2016). "Duke's Jeff Capel Tops CBB Recruiter Rankings". ESPN. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Meet Yanni Hufnagel, the Jewish Coach on Harvard Basketball's Bench" – Tablet Magazine
  7. ↑ Alumni Directory - Scarsdale High School Lacrosse | VNSports
  8. 1 2 3 "Turning the (Crimson) tide; Scarsdale grad Yanni Hufnagel is part of historic run at Harvard," The Scarsdale Inquirer.
  9. ↑ Roisman, Jon (February 25, 2016). "Talking With an Up-and-coming Basketball Coach". J Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 "Yanni Hufnagel - Harvard"
  11. ↑ "Men's Basketball". Harvard. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Yanni Hufnagel". Nevada Wolf Pack Men's Basketball. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  13. ↑ Cohen, Ben (January 17, 2013). "Harvard Basketball's Whiz Kid". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  14. ↑ "2012-2013 College Basketball Previews". CBS Sports. October 8, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Yanni Hufnagel Joins Cal Men's Basketball Coaching Staff". Cal Bears. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  16. ↑ Jones, Lindsay (March 22, 2013). "Harvard Pulls NCAA Tournament Shocker vs. New Mexico". USA Today. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  17. ↑ Thursday News – princeton basketball
  18. ↑ "Vandy's Stallings Hires Harvard Assistant Yanni Hufnagel". Boston Herald. May 23, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Vanderbilt Men's Basketball Yanni Hufnagel". Vanderbilt. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  20. ↑ "2014 Basketball Class Rankings". ESPN. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  21. ↑ Thomson, Josh (August 24, 2014). "Star Rising at Cal for Scarsdale's Yanni Hufnagel". The Journal News. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  22. ↑ Letourneau, Connor (April 8, 2016). "Cal Basketball Coach Hufnagel, Accused of Harassment, Resigns". SFGATE. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Cal Meets Hawaii in NCAA Tourney First Round". Cal Athletics. March 13, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  24. ↑ Updated with new documents: Evidence UNR used in support of hiring coach
  25. ↑ "Assistant coach Yanni Hufnagel leaves the Wolf Pack"
  26. ↑ "Documents and exhibits from University of Nevada call into question some elements of Yann Hufnagel sexual harassment complaint" - Cal - Scout
  27. ↑ Grautski, Amara. "Cal men's assistant basketball coach Yann Hufnagel fired for violating sexual harassment policy". New York Daily News .
  28. ↑ "Nevada defends hire of Cal assistant accused of harassment". USA Today . Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  29. ↑ McAndrew, Siobhan (April 18, 2016). "Updated with New Documents:Evidence UNR Used in Support of Hiring Coach". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Nevada Defends Hire of Ex-Cal Assistant Accused of Sexual Harassment". ESPN. April 15, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Cal assistant coach rebuts sexual harassment accusation".
  32. ↑ Murray, Chris (March 22, 2017). "Assistant Coach Yanni Hufnagel Leaves the Wolf Pack". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  33. ↑ "BevNET's Best of 2019 Awards". BevNet. 18 August 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  34. ↑ "Ex-Nevada basketball assistant coach now has a $100 million water brand, Lemon Perfect". Nevada Sports Net. 11 May 2022.
  35. ↑ Taylor, Isaac (August 18, 2020). "Lemon Perfect Raises $6.6 Million to Boost Expansion". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  36. ↑ Caballero, Martín (August 18, 2020). "Lemon Perfect Closes Convertible Note, Capping $11.6M Seed Round". BevNet. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  37. ↑ "Enhanced Water Company Lemon Perfect Raises $6.6 Million In Seed Funding". Forbes .
  38. ↑ "Beyoncé Invests In Lemon Perfect, Bringing Its Series A To $31 Million". Forbes. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  39. ↑ "From 'Lemonade' to Lemon Water, Beyonce Is Ready to Serve Up Another Smash". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Two years after Lemon Perfect was spotted in Beyoncé's limo, the superstar is now a backer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  41. ↑ "Atlanta startup backed by Beyoncé gets $36M". Atlanta Business Chronicle. American City Business Journals. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.