Wright State head women’s basketball coach Katrina Merriweather announced Tuesday that Keith Freeman has been promoted to Associate Head Coach. Merriweather also announced that Jenni Dant will remain with the staff as Director of Operations.
Freeman has been a part of the Raider coaching staff for the past four seasons, a stretch that saw WSU post 87 victories, win the Horizon League Tournament and make its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and compete in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in 2015 and 2016.
“We are very fortunate that Keith decided to stay with us this season,” said Merriweather. “He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program. I have met very few people who know, love, and respect the game as he does. He has been essential to the success of our program in many areas since his arrival four years ago and I could not think of a better person and coach to have in the first chair during my inaugural season.”
Prior to coming to Wright State, Freeman spent 18 years as the head coach at Valparaiso from 1994-2012. While at Valpo, he compiled a record of 286-247, including four 20-win seasons.
In 2001-02, he led the Crusaders to a record of 26-7 and an appearance in their first-ever post-season tournament, defeating Michigan and Ball State in the Women’s NIT before falling to Houston. Freeman was also a finalist for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year Award that season.
The following two seasons saw Valparaiso win its first Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) titles and advance to the NCAA Tournament each time, facing Purdue in 2003 and Kansas State in 2004. As the Mid-Con’s all-time winningest coach, Freeman was named twice named the league’s Coach of the Year.
Before going to Valparaiso, Freeman also coached two years at his alma mater, Huntington,
before serving four years as the head coach at Saint Joseph’s in Indiana. While at Saint Joseph’s, he compiled a stellar four-year record of 85-28. The Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1991-92, Freeman led the Lady Pumas to the GLVC title and the Midwest Regional Championship that season, advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.
Along with his 24-year women’s basketball coaching career, where he posted a 415-294 record, Freeman also was the head men’s basketball coach at Huntington from 1985-89. He also was Athletics Director at Saint Joseph’s during the 1993-94 academic year after serving as Assistant Athletic Director from 1991-93.
Freeman graduated Cum Laude from Huntington in 1986 and received his Master’s of Business degree at Ball State the following year.
Dant will be in her fifth year as the Director of Operations for the Raiders in 2016-17 and in her sixth year in the program overall as she served as the administrative assistant for the Wright State women’s basketball program during the 2011-12 season.
“Jenni’s loyalty, spirit of service, work ethic and personality made her a necessity to retain during my first year,” said Merriweather. “Her concern for our kids as well as her ability to organize the many facets of her position has made all of our jobs easier. No task is ever too small and she has been willing to do the things that have helped us be successful in the past five years.”
Before coming to WSU, Dant was an assistant coach for two seasons at UIC. A 2005 DePaul graduate, Dant is currently seventh on the Blue Demons’ all-time scoring list with 1,633 points. She earned All-Conference USA accolades three times as well as C-USA All-Freshman Team honors as she averaged 13.4 points per game for her career. Dant was then drafted by the WNBA’s Houston Comets before embarking on a professional career in Europe.
A Chicago native, Dant was a Parade All-American and all-state selection at Stevenson High School.
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