Glenville State’s Lady Pioneers are keeping it in the GSU Family!
The GSU Athletic Department announced the hiring of Emily Stoller as the team’s new head coach. Stoller was an Assistant Coach under Kim Stephens last season, and is one of the program’s all-time great players.
Stoller played for GSU from 2017-2020, and tallied 1494 points in only three seasons. She remains 12th on the school’s All-Time list. Glenville was 87-10 during her three years as a player.
Coach Stephens, now the Marshall University Head Coach, is excited about the hire by her alma mater;
“Emily is going to be great for Glenville State University. She has been a big part of the program since her playing career. I am beyond proud of her, and very excited to watch her as head coach,” Stephens said. “She bleeds blue and loves Glenville as much as anyone. I have no doubt she will give everything she has to keep the winning tradition alive. As she always reminded me, ‘It’s always a great day to be a Pioneer’… today, it’s extra special!
Stoller is a native of Fairmont, West Virginia, and enjoyed a standout career at Fairmont Senior High School. She began her collegiate career at Cleveland State, before transferring to Glenville after her sister Abby signed with Stephens and the Lady Pioneers. With this hire, the Lady Pioneer program remains committed to the unique system that has been a hallmark of the program for the last 14 years.
“Through this process, we have realized more than ever that the community, and also many of our alumni, had a strong desire to keep ‘The System’ in place,” GSU Athletic Director Jesse Skiles said. “With Coach Stoller and her time both as a player and coach under Coach Stephens, we have someone well versed in what it takes to continue this legacy.”
“We are very excited about the hiring of Coach Stoller,” Glenville President Dr. Mark Manchin said. “She is a true Pioneer. As natives of North Central West Virginia; Emily, Abby, and the entire Stoller Family have been a big part of Lady Pioneer Basketball. We are looking forward to next season and continuing this exciting brand of basketball.”
Stoller is now the fourth head coach at GSU which is a product of the aforementioned “System”- a fast-paced game of basketball noted by pressure defense and high-volume substitutions. This style arrived for the 2010 season with Coach Bunky Harkleroad, who was in Glenville for four years. This was followed by three years of Coach Charles Marshall, and seven seasons under Stephens. Now Stoller, a product of the iconic Stephens Era, is taking the reins.
“I feel so unbelievably blessed for the amount of opportunities that Glenville has given me,” Stoller said. “I am grateful to Coach Kim Stephens for being a great coach, mentor, and friend. I am also grateful to Coach Jesse Skiles for always believing in me as a player and a coach. Through my years here, the Glenville community has given me an overwhelming amount of support. I am beyond excited for this next chapter of our story…Let’s get to work!
