Mercer Women’s Basketball Head Coach Susie Gardner announced Friday the hiring of former Mercer Graduate Assistant, Kaitlyn Cresencia, as the new Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator.
Cresencia served as a graduate assistant under Gardner at Mercer from August 2015 to May 2017.
“Kaitlyn made our program better three years ago when she arrived in Macon and I know she will do the same the minute she steps foot on our campus as a full time assistant coach,” Gardner said. “Our players will love her enthusiasm and energy and the Mercer fans will embrace her passion.”
“Kaitlyn spent a year at Princeton working under outstanding leadership in Coach Courtney Banghart and I know the chemistry on our staff will be outstanding. I’m excited for Kaitlyn to share with our staff the things she learned at Princeton and I am thrilled to welcome her back to our program.”
Cresencia most recently spent one season as an Assistant Coach for the Princeton Tigers Women’s Basketball team. Under Cresencia’s guidance, the Tigers finished as both the regular season and Ivy League Tournament champions after finishing 22-5 (12-2 Ivy) in regular season play before defeating Penn 63-34 in the tournament title game. Princeton earned the No. 12 seed in the Raleigh, N.C. regional of the NCAA Tournament, falling to No. 5-seeded Maryland in the opening round (77-57).
“I am truly grateful to Coach Gardner and for this opportunity to rejoin her staff,” Cresencia said. “The time she has poured into building the championship program at Mercer is evident, and I look forward to reconnecting with the Macon community.”
“I would be remiss to not mention the incredible experience of spending a season at Princeton, under the leadership of Courtney Banghart. I appreciate her support as I continue onto this new role with the Bears.”
The New Providence, N.J., native coached the guards at Princeton, resulting in six Ivy League Rookie of the Weeks and one Player of the Week honor. Cresencia also spent time scouting upcoming opponents, working with social media graphics and tracking recruiting operations.
Cresencia is busy on and off the court as her blog, “The Coaching Assist”, is crafted as a resource to help prepare and assist other coaches in growing the game. It features coach interviews that focuses on their experiences and expertise. Cresencia is also deeply involved in the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association (WBCA). Cresencia was a presenter at the WBCA Final Four Coaches’ Huddle in the spring of 2016 and graduated from the organization’s “So You Want to Be a Coach” Program in 2015.
“Kaitlyn was on my staff for two years as a graduate assistant and she was so impressive early on,” Gardner added. “I could tell that she was going to do big things as a coach.”
“She is passionate about the game of basketball and brings positive energy to everything she does. Kaitlyn and my other graduate assistant, Meagan Lueck, started ‘The Coaching Assist’ while at Mercer and continue this resource for all coaches to this day. That is an example of her creativity and innovation.”
Prior to her time at Princeton, Cresencia called Macon home for two seasons. During her time with the Bears, the team won the 2016-17 Southern Conference regular season crown en route to a berth in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. Kahlia Lawrence was also selected as the SoCon Player of the Year in back-to-back years. Cresencia contributed to the team’s social media accounts along with scouting reports using Synergy, facilitating office operations including JumpForward data entry, assisting with post and guard workouts and tracked play call and lineup efficiencies.
Cresencia’s other experience includes coaching the New Jersey Panthers AAU squad while being the assistant director at Mercer, Austin Peay and Connecticut College basketball camps. She graduated from Connecticut College, where she was a four-year letter winner and captain, with a degree in Economics in 2015 and earned her Master’s of Education in Higher Education Leadership from Mercer in 2016.
Photo Courtesy Mercer Athletics
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