The Colorado State women’s basketball team has finalized its staff for the upcoming 2017-18 season, hiring Carissa Thielbar and Amber Cunningham to fill assistant coach positions and adding Brooke Butkovsky as director of player development. Head coach Ryun Williams announced his staff for the upcoming season on Tuesday.
Thielbar joins the staff after most recently serving in assistant coach and recruiting coordinator positions at Bucknell over the past two seasons. Cunningham was the Rams’ video coordinator for the program’s fourth-consecutive Mountain West regular season title in 2016-17, while Butkovsky was most recently an assistant coach at Clarkson.
“When we began our national search, we looked hard to find the people that could continue what we’ve built here,” Williams said. “With our hire of Carissa, we’re bringing in someone who has won at every stop and has built a reputation as a top recruiter. She’ll move us forward from a tactical standpoint and from a personnel standpoint. With Brooke, we’re adding someone that was successful as a player and a coach and knows the game. We’re excited to have her skillset in the video area, and to have her help build the brand of CSU women’s basketball. Amber’s basketball mind will be an asset to us in her new role. It was an easy decision to elevate her.”
Read below for details on each of Thielbar, Cunningham and Butkovsky.
Carissa Thielbar (Wisconsin-Superior ’09)
Summary of Coaching Experience
2015-17 – Assistant Coach, Bucknell University
2012-15 – Assistant Coach, South Dakota State University
2011-12 – Graduate Assistant, South Dakota State University
2010-11 – Graduate Assistant, Wayne State College
2009-10 – Assistant Coach, University of Chicago
Carissa Thielbar is set to begin her first season as an assistant coach with the Colorado State women’s basketball program in 2017-18.
Thielbar joins the Rams with just over eight years of coaching experience, including several years of experience as a recruiting coordinator. Her most recent position was at Bucknell, where she helped guide the Bison to a program-best 27-6 record in 2016-17, as well as the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008. The Bison either shared or won the Patriot League outright in her two seasons in Lewisburg, Pa., and combined to go 52-14 during her two-year tenure.
Thielbar’s primary responsibility at Bucknell was the development of the program’s guards and wings. Bucknell’s guards broke the team record for three-point field goals made twice under her guidance, sinking 202 in 2015-16 and 214 in 2016-17. Among the honors received by Bucknell athletes during her tenure were Patriot League All-Rookie and All-Tournament honors for guard Kyi English in 2016.
Prior to Bucknell, Thielbar spent four seasons at South Dakota State (2011-15), including three as an assistant coach. In her four years in Brookings, S.D., the Jackrabbits made three NCAA Tournament appearances, reached the semifinals of the WNIT and won three Summit League regular season and tournament titles. Among her accomplishments at SDSU was helping guide the Jackrabbits to a 53-9 record in Summit League play.
Thielbar was a graduate assistant for one season at Wayne State (2010-11) before arriving at SDSU, and got her start in collegiate coaching as an assistant coach at the University of Chicago (2009-10). Each of those programs reached the NCAA Tournament while she was a member of those respective staffs.
The former Carissa Nord is married to Caleb Thielbar, who was a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins from 2013-15. She played college basketball at Wisconsin-Superior until earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2009, and added a master’s degree in sport and recreation studies at South Dakota State in 2013.
Amber Cunningham (South Dakota ’12)
Amber Cunningham begins her second season with the Colorado State women’s basketball team in 2017-18, and her first as an assistant coach after serving as the Rams’ video coordinator last season.
Cunningham was a two-sport athlete in her collegiate career at South Dakota, competing in basketball and track. In her collegiate basketball career, Cunningham played for current CSU head coach Ryun Williams and current CSU director of women’s basketball administration Chad Lavin. She was a member of USD’s 2008 squad that finished as the Division II national runner-up, and was a key member of the Coyotes as the team experienced success in the transition to Division I basketball.
Cunningham was recently named to USD’s “Mount Rushmore of DakotaDome Basketball”, and is the program’s all-time No. 3 scorer (1,759 points). Cunningham ranks amongst the program’s all-time career leaders in several major categories, including at No. 2 in blocks (176), No. 5 in rebounds (841) and No. 10 in assists (314). She is one of 11 players in program history to tally 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career, and was a three-time first-team all-conference selection.
Following her collegiate career, Cunningham played professionally for five seasons, including four years in Australia and one in Germany. Cunningham competed for the Melbourne Boomers and the Ringwood Hawks while in Australia, and was a member of the Herne basketball club in Germany.
A native of Crofton, Neb., the former Amber Hegge is married to Michael Cunningham. She graduated from South Dakota in 2012 with a degree in mathematics.
Brooke Butkovsky (Clarkson ’15)
Brooke Butkovsky enters her first season on the Colorado State women’s basketball staff in 2017-18 as the Rams’ director of player development.
Butkovsky brings experience in coaching and marketing to the Rams’ newly-created director of player development position. Among her previous roles was a two-year stint as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Clarkson University.
In her two years as an assistant coach at Clarkson, the Golden Knights combined to go 38-17, including a 23-9 mark in conference play. Clarkson reached the NCAA Tournament in her first season on the coaching staff, the first appearance for the Golden Knights in 27 seasons.
Among the other roles Butkovsky has held was a marketing and promotions role for the Bridgeport Bluefish baseball team, in which she worked directly with the team’s front office to organize sponsorships, advertising and the game day experience.
Butkovsky began her coaching career at her alma mater immediately following her playing career in 2015. Among her the highlights of her college basketball career was Liberty League All-Rookie honors after averaging 9.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game with a conference-best .556 field goal percentage. Butkovsky, who was a two-time captain for Clarkson basketball, also competed in volleyball, helping lead the team to a 104-18 record, three consecutive conference championships and as many NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals appearances.
In 2015, Butkovsky was presented Clarkson’s Ed Sayer Memorial Award, which recognizes one student-athlete that best exemplifies “compassion for their teammates, an indelible work ethic, a passion for their sport and an appreciation of the intricacies and importance of teamwork.” She graduated from Clarkson in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in innovation & entrepreneurship, and added a master’s degree in business administration in 2017.
Tagged with: DI Staff Update
