Hillsdale College women’s basketball coach Todd Mitmesser is pleased to announce the hiring of Lisa Ballenger as the Chargers’ new assistant coach.

Ballenger spent the past two years as a graduate assistant at the University of Nevada, learning under the leadership of longtime head coach Jane Albright, who has won nearly 500 games in a distinguished coaching career. While at Nevada, Ballenger had duties in all aspects of the program’s operation, and helped enhance the team’s social media presence.

“Coach Ballenger is a wonderful addition to the Hillsdale family,” said Charger head women’s basketball coach Todd Mitmesser. “Her hunger to coach, dedication to women’s basketball, and desire to help carry out the mission of Hillsdale College make her a tremendous fit for our program.”

She said coming to Hillsdale represents a natural next step in her coaching career, one she is very anxious to get started on.

“I am so excited for this opportunity, to come in with a new head coach, and a chance to really build a program,” Ballenger said. “It is just a phenomenal community of student-athletes and staff, and is one I look forward to being a part of. As I met with different people, I just got a great feeling about everyone and everything.”

Ballenger played college basketball at Wheaton, a Division III college in Illinois. The small, private, liberal arts makeup of Wheaton was a perfect precursor to Hillsdale, she says.

“They are schools with similar backgrounds, structure and academic rigors,” she said. “It is a very similar setting to what I had as a student.”

“Lisa will serve multiple roles on our staff,” Mitmesser added. “She will conduct skill workouts, help plan strategy and prepare scouting reports. She’ll also be spending time building alumni relations and her strong communication skills will allow her to be a successful recruiter as well.”

Ballenger graduated from Wheaton in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, and recently earned her master’s degree in special education from the University of Nevada.

Her first stop after her playing days was at the highest level of the sport. She was part of the basketball operations staff for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, working under head coach Dana “Pokey” Chatman. She was also the Director of Women’s Basketball at “Joy of the Game,” located in her hometown of Deerfield, Illinois prior to her two years as a GA at Nevada.

She began her playing career at Quincy, a Division II program in the neighboring Great Lakes Valley Conference, where she helped lead the team to a 22-6 record and a spot in the NCAA Tournament. She was an Academic All-American student-athlete during her playing days, and worked for WETN radio as the radio color commentary voice for the Wheaton Thunder in 2011-12.

http://www.hillsdalechargers.com/sports/wbkb/2015-16/releases/20150601df41pb

Photo Courtesy Hillsdale Athletics

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