Penn State Set to Name Carolyn Kieger as Head Coach

After restoring her alma mater back to its winning ways in a matter of just five seasons, Carolyn Kieger made Marquette look smart for giving the then 30-year-old her first head coaching opportunity.

Now, Penn State has decided to attach themselves to the rising talent that is Kieger, multiple sources have told High Post Hoops, hoping she can duplicate her success at Marquette in State College.

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Penn State and Vice President of Athletics Sandy Barbour have selected Carolyn Kieger as the sixth head coach of the women's basketball program. Kieger (pronounced KEE-ger), a 2019 Naismith Women's Coach of the Year Award semifinalist, guided Marquette University to the top of the Big East Conference and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances as the Golden Eagles' head coach.

Kieger's employment contract is subject to approval by the Committee on Compensation of the Penn State Board of Trustees. The committee is scheduled to meet late Thursday afternoon, April 4.

A public welcome celebration and introductory press conference are planned for Friday, April 12 at noon inside the Bryce Jordan Center Basketball practice facility. More details will be announced in the coming days.

Kieger, a 2006 Marquette graduate, comes to Happy Valley after five years at the helm of her alma mater, posting a 99-64 overall record. During the past three seasons, Kieger led the Golden Eagles to sparkling 76-26 mark (43-11 in Big East), which included a pair of Big East regular-season championships and a Big East Tournament Championship. Marquette made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in 20 years, advancing to the round of 32 the past two seasons.

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Prior to being named head coach at her alma mater, Kieger spent six seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Miami from 2008-14. Following graduation, she was at Miami as the coordinator of basketball operations (2006-07) and then served as director of operations at Marquette in 2007-08.

Kieger returned to Miami as an assistant coach in 2008-09 and was primarily responsible for guard development with the Hurricanes. She helped advance the skills of Miami guard Shenise Johnson, who earned All-America and ACC Player of the Year honors in 2010-11, while the squad was crowned ACC regular-season champions. She also helped guard Riquna Williams earn All-ACC first team accolades and finish as the ACC scoring leader with 21.7 points per game. Miami made three NCAA Tournament appearances and two in the WNIT during Kieger's last five seasons with the Hurricanes.

Kieger was a four-year starter at Marquette, a three-year captain and is MU's all-time assists leader. She is the only player in program history with at least 1,200 career points, 400 career rebounds and 600 assists. Kieger averaged 10.3 points per game during her career and was a second-team All-Big East selection in 2005-06, as well as, a second-team All-Conference USA selection for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.

During her senior campaign, Kieger was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, presented to the nation's top point guard. In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Kieger received the Big East Conference's Sportsmanship award as a senior.

A native of Roseville, Minnesota, Kieger graduated Cum Laude from Marquette with a bachelor's degree in broadcasting and electronic communications in 2006. She received the McCahill Award in 2007, presented to a graduated MU senior student-athlete who demonstrated the highest performance in scholarship, leadership and athletics.

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tripledouble said:

That looks like a very good hire for PSU. The BIG just got tougher, although it may take her a while to build that program up again.

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