A member of the school’s Athletics Hall of Fame as one of the best players in the history of Bradley Women’s Basketball, Andrea (McAllister) Gorski will add to her resume as the program’s head coach, according to an announcement by Director of Athletics Dr. Chris Reynolds Saturday.
Gorski officially will be introduced as the ninth head coach in Bradley Women’s Basketball history during a news conference Monday at noon in the Renaissance Coliseum Nick & Nancy Owens Atrium. The public is invited to attend Monday’s introductory event.
“As we expected it would, the Bradley brand attracted an extremely deep and talented pool of head coaching candidates,” said Reynolds. “Through an intensive and thorough review of the candidates, Andrea clearly rose to the top and I am excited to welcome her back to her alma mater.
“Andrea is a proven winner and has excelled at every level of her career,” Reynolds added. “Her ability to communicate her vision and develop talent, combined with her passion for Bradley University and familiarity with the Missouri Valley Conference all make for a bright future for Bradley Women’s Basketball.”
“I am extremely honored and blessed to be returning to my alma mater to lead the women’s basketball program,” said Gorski. “My time on The Hilltop as a student-athlete was one of the best experiences of my life and I can’t wait to share my passion for Bradley with the current players, campus and Peoria community. I would like to thank Dr. Reynolds and the search committee for this opportunity and I look forward to working hard on and off the court to make our university, community and fellow alumni proud.”
Gorski returns to her alma mater from Missouri Valley Conference rival Southern Illinois, where she spent the last three years as associate head coach on former Bradley assistant Cindy Stein’s staff. During Gorski’s time in Carbondale, Southern Illinois improved its overall and conference records in each of her three seasons, culminating in the first 20-win season for the Salukis in almost a decade, as well as the program’s first postseason appearance since 2007.
The Salukis had won a total of 15 games and just five MVC contests in the three years prior to Gorski’s arrival at SIU, but have racked up 37 wins and 22 conference victories in the last two seasons.
A native of Dearborn Heights, MI, Gorski boasts 20 years of coaching experience, including 17 years as a head coach at the collegiate and high school levels. Before joining Stein’s staff at Southern Illinois, Gorski was head coach at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, MI, from 2008-13. In just five seasons, she became the winningest coach in the program’s history.
Inheriting a team which had never made the NAIA national tournament, Gorski’s squads reached the NAIA Tournament each of her last three seasons and made consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in 2012 and 2013. During her tenure with the Cardinals, the two-time conference coach-of-the-year selection led Concordia to a 106-59 (.667) overall mark and 58-28 (.674) conference record. In fact, Gorski’s teams combined for an 80-24 (.769) overall record and 48-8 (.857) league record in her last three seasons at the school.
In addition to leading Concordia to its best national ranking in program history, Gorski’s achievements included mentoring three first-team All-Americans and three conference players of the year. Off the court, she served as Interim Director of Athletics at Concordia during the 2011-12 school year and was Associate Director of Athletics for her final three seasons.
Gorski entered coaching shortly after graduating from Bradley in 1992 with a degree in business management and administration, serving as a graduate assistant for the Braves in 1992-93 before venturing into the private sector.
She returned to coaching three years later, taking over as head coach of Ladywood High School in February 1996. She led her squad to a 184-99 (.650) record in 12 seasons at the Livonia, MI, school and the Blazers claimed 11 district titles and a pair of conference championships during her prep coaching career. Gorski was a three-time Catholic League Coach of the Year and was selected as the state coach of the year in 2005 by the Associated Press, Detroit Free Press and Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.
A 1996 Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Gorski was a first-team All-Gateway Conference selection as a senior in 1991-92. Her sophomore season included a school-record 12 conference victories and her final three seasons mark the only time in program history the Braves finished in the top half of the league standings in three consecutive seasons.
Gorski finished her career ninth in scoring at Bradley with 980 career points and she still is 18th all-time in scoring on The Hilltop. She shared the 1992 Charles Orsborn Award with baseball player Matt Quinn after averaging 14.7 points per game as a senior. Gorski still ranks among the Bradley career top 10 in three-point field goals (5th), assists (4th), starts (T8th) and minutes played (8th).
Gorski has two children, Luke and Kiley. Kiley Gorski was a member of the Southern Illinois women’s basketball team and served as a student assistant coach this past season.
Photo Courtesy Bradley Athletics
Tagged with: Missouri Valley Conference
