Following a national search, Allegheny Director of Athletics and Recreation Bill Ross has announced the hiring of Kelly Muffley as the ninth head coach of the Gators’ women’s basketball program.
Muffley arrives in Meadville with a decade of experience at the NCAA Division III level, most recently spending three years as the top assistant coach at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland.
“I would like to thank Bill Ross for giving me the opportunity to lead the Allegheny College women’s basketball program. Allegheny is a place that I believe in wholeheartedly, and I am excited to call home. I look forward to getting to know current players, alumni, and the Allegheny and Meadville communities. I was very impressed from the moment I stepped on campus by the people and the community, coupled with the commitment to an outstanding academic experience.
I would also like to thank the previous coaches who gave me an opportunity to gain invaluable experience, especially Jen Reimer and Rob Clune. I can’t wait to work to continue the legacy that [former head coach and current assistant athletic director] coach [Kate] Costanzo has left behind and begin a new era.”
At CWRU, Muffley served as the Spartans’ recruiting coordinator and head JV coach, while handling travel and volunteer coordination, strength and conditioning, game and scouting plans, film analyzation, individual player development workouts and running a summer Elite camp. Among the student-athletes mentored by Muffley at CWRU were a trio of First Team All-University Athletic Association (UAA) selections, including 2019 Finalist for the Jostens Trophy, Hillary Hellmann, and 2020 D3hoops.com All-Region pick, Abbey Lawrence.
Prior to her time at Case Western Reserve, Muffley spent one year as the assistant women’s basketball coach at her alma mater, Thiel. There, she had additional responsibilities as an assistant coach for men’s and women’s tennis, and was responsible for recruiting for all three programs. At Thiel, she helped mentor two-time Jostens Trophy Finalist and 2018-19 Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Jess Vormelker, and was responsible for recruiting 2018-19 PAC Rookie of the Year, Destiny Johnson.
She began her coaching career at St. Lawrence in Canton, N.Y., where she spent two years heading up guard skill development, film breakdown, tracking academic progress and many more tasks. Muffley coached a First Team All-Liberty League selection and was responsible for the recruitment of the 2017-18 Liberty League Rookie of the Year.
“We look forward to Kelly’s career and our women’s basketball program advancing to the next level,” said Ross. “With her experience and vast knowledge of Division III as both a coach and student-athlete, and her proven ability to recruit top-level talent on the court and in the classroom, plus a wealth of returning and incoming talent, the future of Gator women’s basketball is bright.”
As a player, Muffley was a two-time All-PAC selection at Thiel, scoring 1,238 points to finish sixth in the Tomcats’ career scoring list, as a senior, she set a program record and ranked second in Division III with a 92.1 free-throw percentage. She graduated from Thiel in 2013 with a degree in Business Administration, emphasizing Marketing, and completed her master’s degree in Educational Leadership from St. Lawrence in 2017.
