Paul Vecchio, athletics director at Alfred University, has announced the appointment of Monique McLean as the Saxons’ new head coach of women’s basketball.
McLean comes to AU from Bethany (WV) College, where she has served as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team the last two seasons. She replaces former head coach Jay Murphy.
“I am thrilled to welcome Monique to our Saxon athletic family and am very excited to see what is in store for our women’s basketball program with her at the helm,” Vecchio said. “Monique brings a tremendous basketball pedigree with her to Alfred University, has proven herself to be a dynamic recruiter in her young coaching career, and has tremendous poise, focus and drive.”
“I am extremely excited to embark on the next phase of my basketball coaching career and I look forward to creating a program that reflects my style of play, my character and my work ethic,” McLean said. “I have an opportunity to work with a group of young women that are ready to work hard and take their game to the next level. We can only go up from here.”
McLean was a standout shooting guard for four seasons at Division I St. John’s University in Queens, NY, from 2005-09. She was a two-time Big East Conference all-star for the Red Storm, earning honorable mention as a sophomore in 2006-07 and Second Team honors the following year. After graduating from St. John’s in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, McLean embarked on a four-year professional playing career in Greece, Slovakia and Puerto Rico.
In May 2013, McLean served as a summer league head coach at Denbigh High School in her hometown of Newport News, VA, before taking the assistant’s position at Bethany prior to the 2013-14 season.
At Bethany, she was instrumental in bringing in the Bison’s largest recruiting class in a decade, a 14-player group which included Kelsea Daugherty, the Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC) Freshman of the Year for 2014-15. She was responsible for instruction of guards and development of defensive schemes, managing the recruiting budget, fundraising for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, scheduling, monitoring academic progress of student-athletes, NCAA rules compliance.
Rebecca Upton, head women’s basketball coach at Bethany, praised McLean, saying she has tremendous coaching ability, both as a recruiter and instructor.
“Monique is an excellent recruiter and she has a great background as a player, in college and at the professional level, so she has a lot of experience to pull from,” Upton said. “It’s always an exciting time when you get your first coaching job. I’m very happy for her.”
Vecchio is confident McLean’s experience as a coach and also has a collegiate and professional player, will be invaluable in her role as head coach of the Saxons. “Her experience in traveling the world and playing at an extremely high level of basketball has given her great maturity and I think she will be a tremendous role model for our women’s basketball players,” he said.
http://gosaxons.com/news/2015/5/6/WBB_0506154726.aspx
Photo Courtesy Alfred University Athletics
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