Karen Byers, who took over the Seattle Pacific women’s basketball program on that basis late last summer, has had the interim tag removed and is officially the head coach of the Falcons, as announced on Thursday morning by SPU Athletic Director Dan Lepse.
“I just feel so blessed to be able to be a big part of this community of SPU and the team,” Byers said. “They mean so much to me and they work so hard. I’m just so excited going forward that we can continue to build what we’re working toward.”
Added Lepse, “Karen has served Seattle Pacific commendably in multiple capacities, including in her previous role as an assistant coach along with her outstanding work with recruiting and in the strength and conditioning area. She assumed the head coaching role late last summer, which was not ideal timing so soon before the season began.
“With the ‘interim’ title removed, Karen can now focus on the upcoming 2025-26 campaign with an entire off-season to prepare and work with the team,” Lepse added.
The 46-year-old Byers joined the program prior to the 2022-23 season as the second assistant coach. She moved up to lead assistant heading into the 2023-24 campaign.
Last Aug. 19 after former coach Mike Simonson resigned to accept the head coaching job at Biola University in Los Angeles, Byers was elevated to the head coach on an interim basis for the 2024-25 season
The season had its ups and downs, but the Falcons did generate some noteworthy moments. One of those was on Feb. 13 at home in Brougham Pavilion when Seattle Pacific put up 33 first-quarter points, eventually led by as many as 27 and romped past Northwest Nazarene, 93-70.
That was the team’s second 90-point game of the season.
Under Byers, the Falcons saw a jump in offense throughout the 2024-25 season. SPU averaged 65.6 points per game, eight more points per game than the previous season. They shot 39.8 percent from the field in their increased offense.
“We always kept fighting,” Byers said. “We always showed up every day, always showed up ready to practice. That’s the kind of team I want to build. We’re just getting our traction now, and I’m excited to see where they take that effort and what they do with it next year.”
Lepse said Byers’ influence extends beyond the gym.
“Even more significant than her impact with the basketball aspects of the job, Karen was effective off the court. We look forward to her positive attitude having an immense influence on the academic success of the student-athletes along with their spiritual and character development.”
Prior to coming to SPU, Byers served as head coach at Bainbridge High School, across Puget Sound from Seattle. She still makes that daily 35-minute ferry trip, driving in when the weather is not no nice, or riding her mountain bike when it is. (A competitor in endurance races, she’ll sometimes even run the approximate five miles from the dock on the Seattle waterfront to the SPU campus.)
Byers is a native of Portland. She and husband John have daughter Ana and son Dane. Along with those endurance races, golfing is on her list of favorite things to do.
https://spufalcons.com/news/2025/5/8/25_wbb_May8.aspx
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