Dominique Kelley has been promoted to assistant coach with the Drake University women’s basketball program, while former UNI standout Jacqui Kalin has been hired as the coordinator of basketball operations, head coach Jennie Baranczyk announced on Monday, July 6.
Kelley, who served as the Bulldogs’ coordinator of basketball operations in 2014-15, came to Drake after a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska, where she was a standout, four-year starter for the Cornhuskers from 2007-11.
“Dominique has an incredible feel for our program after playing at the highest level and working in a variety of roles as a young, energetic, up-and-coming coach,” said Baranczyk. “I love how she encourages and mentors our student-athletes while pushing and empowering them. She is a great fit in our program and we are lucky to have her here!”
The Lincoln, Neb., native started 109-consecutive games until a knee injury limited her to just 12 games her senior campaign. A two-year team captain, Kelley helped the Cornhuskers to a 32-2 overall record and a trip to the school’s first-ever Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed during the 2010 NCAA Tournament. She ended her playing career ranked No. 17 on the all-time Nebraska scoring list with 1,107 career points.
Kelley spent one season as an assistant coach at Doane College in Crete, Neb., before returning to Nebraska in 2012-13. The Cornhuskers captured their first-ever conference tournament title in 2013-14 and won an NCAA Tournament game for the second consecutive season. Kelley graduated from Nebraska with a master’s degree in educational administration in May of 2014 and a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting in May of 2012.
A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Kalin was a two-time Jackie Stiles Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year award winner at UNI, where she graduated first all-time in scoring (2,081), 3-point field goals made (265), free throws made (484), free throw percentage (.920), assists (491), games started (136), games played (136) and minutes (4,352).
Kalin helped lead the Panthers to consecutive NCAA Tournament berths as the team won back-to-back MVC Tournament titles. In 2010-11, UNI blitzed the Valley with a stellar 17-1 mark in regular season league action before capturing its second MVC tournament title. The Panthers then nearly pulled off a NCAA first-round upset falling just short against Michigan State, 69-66.
“Jacqui is a natural fit that we couldn’t by more excited about,” commented Baranczyk. “She knows the MVC having won many games in the league while playing for a great coaching staff and program at UNI. I know she will impact our student-athletes immediately and we feel we hit the jackpot with her joining our program!”
After her decorated playing career at UNI, Kalin played two seasons of professional basketball in Israel. She played her first season for the Ramat Hasharon professional club before moving to the Ramat Chen club for her final season. Kalin was a member of the Israeli National Team last summer during the qualifying tournament for the 2015 European Championship.
An excellent student, Kalin was selected the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year twice and earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors twice. She is the only player in MVC history to win MVC Player of the Year and MVC Scholar Athlete of the Year honors in the same season twice in a career. Kalin earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with an emphasis in sports psychology in December of 2010 and a master’s degree in kinesiology/sports psychology in May of 2013 from UNI.
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