Maryland women’s basketball head coach Brenda Frese promoted assistant coach Karen Blair to associate head coach this week. Blair was named the 2020 Division I Assistant Coach of the Year by the WBCA.
Blair has been with the program since 2018 as both an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In her two years in College Park, she helped the Terrapins in signing the No. 3 recruiting class of 2019, which included McDonald’s All Americans Ashley Owusu and Diamond Miller. In 2019, she also helped the Terps sign Angel Reese, the No. 2 overall recruit in the class of 2020 and the highest-ranked recruit in program history.
“Karen is more than deserving of this promotion,” Frese said. “From the moment she has stepped foot on our campus, she has made an impact on our program. She is someone who is always here for everyone and is selfless in her pursuit to help others achieve success. Karen’s wealth of experience allows her to know exactly what needs to be done when needed and in the best interest of our program. Karen is someone I lean on and trust and I am grateful for what she means to our team and University.”
In her two seasons at Maryland, Blair has helped the Terps earn an overall record of 56-9 (.875), win both the 2019 and 2020 regular-season titles and the 2020 Big Ten Tournament Championship. In her first season with Maryland, the Terps earned an impressive 85-61 win over No. 10 South Carolina and went on to claim the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“I am humbled and extremely thankful to Coach Frese and the Maryland administration for this promotion,” Blair said. “I love what I do, and working with Coach Frese and the Maryland family has been a blessing. The people around me, from the student-athletes to my colleagues and the best fans in the country, are what make coaching so special, and I am grateful to be surrounded by the best of the best at Maryland. It has been a privilege being a part of winning championships these past two seasons and look forward to many more to come.”
Prior to Maryland, Blair spent three seasons at Virginia Commonwealth helping the Rams secure a top 30 recruiting class in the Atlantic 10 and recorded the second-most wins in school history with 23.
Before her time with VCU, Blair also served as interim head coach at UT Arlington where she spent two seasons as the top assistant coordinating the Mavericks’ national recruiting efforts. Blair also served as an assistant at Colgate, North Texas, and her alma mater, Southern Methodist.
Blair was a three-year starting point guard for the Southern Methodist Mustangs from 1995-1999 and led SMU to NCAA Tournament berths in 1996, 1998 and 1999. A two-year team captain, Blair was named Second Team All-WAC in 1998. She racked up academic accolades and graduated cum laude with a degree in business administration from SMU in 1999.
