The Hillsdale College women’s basketball team will enter the 2023-24 season with a new leader at the helm as the Chargers look to continue their rise in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference this winter.
Effective immediately, current Chargers assistant coach Brianna Brennan has been named the ninth head coach in Hillsdale College women’s basketball history. Brennan will replace former head coach Charlie Averkamp, who is departing the program after three seasons to pursue a new career opportunity out of state.
Averkamp took over a team in transition in the fall of 2020, increasing Hillsdale’s win total in each of his final two seasons, culminating in the program’s first winning season and G-MAC Tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season this past winter.
With three starters and eight of the team’s top 10 in minutes played from 2022-23 slated to return in 2023-24, Averkamp leaves the program with a solid foundation for future success.
“I want to thank my players and staff at Hillsdale for making this an unbelievable three years,” Averkamp said. “Hillsdale is a special place because of the people and I have been lucky to coach some of the best. My time here has meant so much and I’m eternally grateful to (Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer) Rich Pewe, (Chief of Staff) Mike Harner, (Athletic Director) Don Brubacher and (Associate Athletic Director) Josh Calver for giving me the opportunity to lead this program for three wonderful seasons.
“This was a very challenging decision to make but this opportunity was one I couldn’t afford to pass up at this time. I have no doubt the future of the Hillsdale College women’s basketball program is in great hands under Brie’s leadership, and I can’t wait to see what she and this team can accomplish.”
With Averkamp departing, the Hillsdale College athletic department didn’t have to go far to find a perfect replacement in Brennan, whose familiarity with the program and performance as the lead assistant under Averkamp for the last two seasons made her an ideal candidate.
“We’re extremely grateful for the work that Charlie has done in rebuilding our women’s basketball program, creating a culture and laying a foundation for future success,” Hillsdale College athletic director designate John Tharp said. “We wish him the best of luck.
“We were extremely fortunate in this situation to have a great head coaching candidate already on staff in Brianna Brennan. She’s played an important role in the women’s basketball team’s success the last two seasons and she’s proven herself ready for this opportunity. We’re excited about the future of the program and looking forward to the season to come.”
In her two seasons at Hillsdale, Brennan helped lead the Chargers to 30 wins after the Chargers had finished with just 10 in the two seasons prior to her arrival, playing an important role in big improvements for the Chargers at both ends of the floor.
“I’m excited and beyond humbled to be entrusted with the opportunity to be the next women’s basketball head coach at Hillsdale College,” Brennan said. “Having worked in this program the last two years, I understand how special a place this is, and the level of trust shown in me by everyone involved in the hiring process is something I’m extremely grateful for.
“I’ve seen firsthand the level of support for this program from the Athletic Department and the campus at large, and it’s inspiring. It allows us to keep growing as a program and chasing success, and our goal is to continue to repay that trust by representing Hillsdale well on the court, in the classroom and in the community.”
Brennan’s time at Hillsdale also means familiarity with a roster full of veteran returning players looking to do big things in the 2023-24 season.
“Being around this group of players, I’ve seen the high level of character they possess, their work ethic and their talent,” Brennan said. “Knowing what they’re capable of, and having that relationship already in place, will allow us to hit the ground running this fall.”
Brennan came to Hillsdale in the summer of 2021 after two seasons as a graduate assistant at NCAA Division I Eastern Illinois University, where she helped run a program that posted a 30-27 record and made back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference tournament appearances.
A Michigan native who grew up in Woodhaven, a suburb of Detroit, and starred at Woodhaven High School, Brennan was a two-sport athlete at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, helping the Knights women’s basketball team to two NCAA Tournament appearances during her time with the team and finishing 11th in Gannon history in career blocked shots with 80.
Brennan also played on Gannon’s volleyball team as a middle blocker, appearing in the NCAA Tournament in both 2016 and 2017 and helping the Knights to their first-ever NCAA Division II Final Four appearance in volleyball in 2017.
During her time at Gannon, she also created the Shooting for Smiles Basketball Clinic, developing and helping fund and direct an annual basketball camp for people with special needs.
https://hillsdalechargers.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/releases/20230427jsw1rq
Tagged with: D2 Great Midwest
