Bringing with her a proven track record of success and program building, Robyn Fralick was announced as Michigan State’s new women’s basketball head coach on Friday by MSU Vice President and Director of Athletics Alan Haller.
Fralick becomes the sixth coach in Spartan women’s basketball history. She will be formally introduced at a press conference next week.
“This is a great day for Spartan women’s basketball as we welcome Robyn Fralick to our Spartan Family,” said Haller. “Her resume speaks for itself, both in the historic success and championships she captured at Ashland and the job she did turning around the program at Bowling Green, not only capturing a championship but also creating an expectation of postseason success. Beyond that, Robyn possesses the ability to connect individually with student-athletes in order to maximize their abilities, while also bringing everyone together to create team success.
“Although she grew up in our community and we couldn’t be more excited to bring her home, it’s important to note that she’s respected nationally. That became evidently clear throughout this process during conversations with individuals throughout the women’s basketball community.
“Michigan State women’s basketball is a program with a strong foundation both within our department and our community. I’m excited to watch Robyn and her team compete at the Big Ten and national level as the program continues to grow.”
Fralick comes to MSU after directing the Bowling Green program the last five seasons, guiding the Falcons to an 88-73 record (including 69-31 over the last three seasons) and three postseason appearances. This season, Fralick led BGSU to a 31-7 record, matching the school and Mid-American Conference records for most wins in a single season.
The Falcons made a historic run in 2022-23, advancing to the WNIT Fab 4, before falling in the semifinals.
“My family and I are so grateful for this new journey,” said Fralick. “It is an honor to return home to East Lansing to join the Spartan community.
“I would like to thank the Bowling Green community for wrapping their arms around my family and the BGSU women’s basketball squad for giving their best, every day.
“Thank you to Alan Haller and the hiring committee at Michigan State for this amazing opportunity. Spartan women’s basketball has great tradition and an extremely loyal and supportive fan base. It’s truly one of the elite programs in the Big Ten and the country, with everything that’s necessary to develop student-athletes and compete at the highest level. We will work tirelessly to pursue excellence on and off the court and build a culture and team built on togetherness and toughness. We’re excited to get to work!”
Fralick, who owns a career record of 192-76, was named MAC Coach of the Year in 2021 after leading the Falcons to one of the nation’s top turnarounds. BGSU went from 10-21 in 2020 to 21-8 the next season. She led her squad to a MAC regular-season championship in year three of her tenure after inheriting a program that had four straight losing seasons prior to her arrival. The Falcons also earned a berth in the 2021 WNIT.
In 2021-22, BGSU lost nearly 75 player-games to injury, but Fralick still guided the Falcons to 10 MAC wins, a 17-16 overall record, and an appearance in the 2022 Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI).
In late 2018, Fralick was named the recipient of the C. Vivian Stringer Coaching Award. The award is presented to an individual who has experienced outstanding achievement as a coach for female teams. The award’s website indicates that the winner exhibits “a high standard of propriety, imagination, and innovation as a character-builder in the tradition of great teacher-coaches.”
Prior to Bowling Green, Fralick had an unprecedented run as the head coach at Ashland University. In three seasons (2015-16 to 2017-18), she accumulated an overall record of 104-3 (.972), which was the highest winning percentage in NCAA history at any level (minimum of 100 games coached). Overall, she spent 10 seasons at Ashland as both an assistant and head coach with the Eagles earning a 267-59 record during that time.
Fralick and the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Division II national championship game four times between 2012 and 2018, winning national championships in both 2013 and 2017. The Eagles were the National Runner-Up in both 2012 and 2018. AU won 73 consecutive games, the longest streak in NCAA Division II history, before a loss in the 2018 national title game.
Her coaching career also includes stops on the staffs at Appalachian State (2004-05), Western Michigan (2005-07) and Toledo (2007-08).
She is a 2004 graduate of Davidson, having earned her undergraduate degree in psychology with a minor in religion. At the end of her four-year playing career, she left Davidson among the career leaders in assists (4th), steals (8th) and free-throw percentage (12th). Fralick earned her master’s degree in counselor education from Western Michigan in 2007.
A native of Okemos, Michigan, the former Robyn Flewelling had a storied career at Okemos High School. She garnered second-team all-state honors and was named to the All-Michigan Fifth Team as a senior. In addition to her basketball honors, she was named all-league in soccer as well as honorable mention all-league in softball. She was named to the Okemos High School Hall of Fame in 2017.
Fralick and husband, Tim, have two children, Will and Clara.
