Former Wayne State guard and Northern Michigan assistant coach Kristen Rogers has been named head women’s basketball coach at Lake Superior State, Director of Athletics Kris Dunbar announced today.
Rogers replaces Shannon Eggers, who resigned in June in order to pursue career opportunities in Texas. Eggers coached the Lakers for two seasons.
Rogers, a 2006 graduate of Wayne State, has enjoyed success as a player and coach in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and looks forward to new challenges against familiar GLIAC rivals.
“I’ve always wanted to be a head coach, and the fact that I can continue coaching in this conference, in a league with coaches and players I respect, means a lot,” said Rogers, who arrives on LSSU’s campus on Aug. 4. “I’m excited to be part of the Laker family, and to get to work with the student-athletes, staff and members of the community.”
“I am extremely pleased that Coach Rogers is joining the Laker Athletics staff,” Dunbar said. “She’s had a lot of success as a player and coach in the GLIAC and has developed a strong recruiting network as an assistant with two Division II schools. She has a passion for DII basketball and is ready to take on the task of rebuilding the Laker women’s basketball program.”
Rogers was a starting guard at Wayne State from 2002-06, during LSSU’s run to four straight GLIAC titles. She was part of a 2002-03 Warriors team that lost an 84-83 GLIAC semifinal thriller to the Lakers, but went on to earn a NCAA Tournament berth. She was WSU’s team captain in 2005 and ’06.
Rogers remembers and respects the program that Dunbar built more than a decade ago.
“I’d like to create a family environment where there is a lot of toughness and pride in being a Laker, and pride in the conference,” Rogers said. “I hope to build a hard-working, blue-collar team that will get after it every night…Players have to have that toughness in them, for the most part. But if you can find that one leader, she can set the tone for everyone else.”
Rogers was an assistant coach at NMU during the past three seasons, working under long-time Wildcats head coach Troy Mattson. She was involved in all aspects of coaching, recruiting and organizational responsibilities. She helped lead the 2013-14 Wildcats to a second-place finish in the GLIAC North Division and the program’s first GLIAC Tournament title since 2000.
“I learned a lot from a preparation standpoint – how to get ready to play, what it takes to be successful in this league and having players buy into what we’re doing,” Rogers said. “I was given a lot of freedom to be involved in all aspects and a lot of player development. I worked a lot with our guards, and last year worked with the post players quite a bit.”
“She has a great idea about the GLIAC, knows the players and their tendencies,” said Mattson, who assisted the Laker men’s and women’s teams in the 1980s. “She’ll be a relentless Laker. She puts in many hours a day just trying to locate kids and doing things right. She is very task oriented, very efficient and organized.”
“This league is so competitive,” Rogers said. “There are no easy nights. The coaches are very good and do a great job scouting. The players are good. There are no off nights. It’s exciting, and the competition brings out the best in everybody. It’s nice to be able to continue those rivalries and have some familiarity with the teams and style of play.”
“It may take her some time there, but she’ll do just fine,” Mattson added. “I let her do a lot, and she will be missed.”
Rogers was a graduate assistant and assistant coach at Wayne State from 2006-11. She earned a B.A. in mathematics from WSU in 2006 and a master’s in sports administration from WSU in 2007.
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