Former Marquette University women’s basketball standout Carolyn Kieger has been named the fifth head women’s basketball coach in MU history, Interim Vice President & Director of Athletics Bill Cords announced Thursday.
The university will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. CT at the Al McGuire Center, 770 N. 12th St., to formally welcome back Kieger to the Marquette community.
“When Carolyn graduated from Marquette we all knew she would be successful at any profession she chose to pursue,” Cords said. “Fortunately for all of us, her chosen profession was coaching women’s basketball.
“Carolyn is a dynamic person, both on and off the court, who has been able to transition her fierce competitiveness and striving for excellence as a player to a successful coaching career. She has been able to instill those qualities into the players she has coached.”
Kieger has spent the past six seasons as the assistant coach at the University of Miami. She was the Director of Operations for the Golden Eagles during the 2007-08 season and spent a year at Miami as the coordinator of basketball operations from 2006-07.
“As one of Marquette’s most successful women’s basketball players of all time, Carolyn knows what it takes to succeed both on and off the court,” Interim President Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J. said. “Carolyn expects excellence from herself, her coaching staff and her players, and her experience coaching in three NCAA postseason appearances will be critical to helping Marquette reach new heights of success. We’re thrilled to welcome Carolyn back to campus and look forward to great things to come for our women’s basketball program.”
While at Miami, Kieger was primarily responsible for guard development. She focused a lot of attention on refining the skills of the Hurricanes’ star 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 saw guard Riquna Williams earn All-ACC First Team accolades and finish as the ACC scoring leader with 21.7 points per game.
“Carolyn Kieger is an exceptional person with an extraordinary ability to get the most out of everyone she coaches and Marquette has made an amazing hire,” Miami head coach Katie Meier said. “Carolyn leads with integrity and her value system permeates all of her decisions. She was an integral part of our success here at Miami, and her impact on this program was immense. I am grateful for the time I had with her here at Miami, and know she is more than ready to lead Marquette. Her fire and passion for her alma mater is 100 percent authentic and it will resonate within (the Marquette) community. I couldn’t be more proud of her and am so happy she is pursuing her dream.”
As a player at Marquette, Kieger was a four-year starter, 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. For her career, Kieger averaged 10.3 points per game and was a second team All-BIG EAST selection for the 2005-06 season, as well as, a second team All-Conference USA selection for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons. During her senior campaign, she was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given 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, Minn., Kieger graduated cum laude from Marquette University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting and electronic communications in 2006. In 2007, she received the McCahill Award given to a graduated MU senior student-athlete who demonstrated the highest performance in scholarship, leadership and athletics.
“Carolyn is a rising star in the profession and we are excited about the future of Marquette women’s basketball under her leadership,” Cords said.
