Carolyn Jenkins‘ rise to associate head coach of the Kansas Wesleyan women’s basketball program is largely symbolic in terms of her duties. But for Jenkins and KWU head coach Ryan Showman the new title is significant.
Jenkins, who earned All-America honors during a stellar four-year playing career at the University of Kansas, began her coaching career as a graduate assistant for Showman during the 2014-15 season and is her seventh season on his staff.
The promotion is a reward and affirmation of her value to the program, according to Showman.
“She takes the lead on recruiting, she takes the lead in our academics, she serves other roles on campus,” he said. “She’s been such a vital part of our success in terms of what she brings to the table as a coach, as a relationship builder, as a culture mover. She’s bought into everything we want to do as a program.
“She’s doing all those things that represent an associate head coach and she needs that title.”
Their combined efforts paid the ultimate dividend last season as KWU won its first outright Kansas Conference title and its first-round game in the NAIA Division II National Championship before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the rest of the event.
“I had no idea what I was doing those first two years,” Showman said. “We had really good players and we won some games and we had a little bit of success but the relationship part, the culture part we didn’t have established.
“When she came on, we spent a lot of time talking about what we wanted to do in terms of that culture. It was all building toward a culmination of the last few years – back-to-back national tournament runs, a conference title … all that has Carolyn’s footprint on it. She and I have been aligned on that since day one.”
Jenkins agrees.
“What we wanted and what we saw in the vision is what we have right now,” she said. “Obviously winning the (KCAC) championship shows it’s working. Everything that’s happening is the way we saw it happening. We worked for it and had some bumps along the way but we just trusted that process.”
Jenkins is appreciative of the new title.
“It means a lot,” she said. “I’m not a personality where you need to tell me good job for doing what I’m supposed to do and doing my job and need a lot of praise. But it is nice to be acknowledged and have that recognition.”
Showman cites Jenkins’ loyalty to the program.
“If you look in this profession at the successful teams and organizations across all different levels it’s the coaching staff that has consistency and the coaching staff that has that loyalty and that trust,” he said. “If you can find those qualities in an assistant coach then you’re going to have success.”
He also appreciates Jenkins’ straightforward approach.
“She’s not going to tell me what I want to hear, she’s going to challenge me on decisions I want to make and things I want to do with this program,” he said. “And it’s always in a healthy way. She challenges me and that gets me thinking and seeing through a different lens.”
For Jenkins it’s business as usual.
“I’ve always been a loyal person, I commit to something I stick through it,” she said. “That’s just who I am. To me that’s second nature, you commit to something you stick it out.
“We met by chance at KU at a summer basketball camp and then getting a job from him for my first coaching job and the process we’ve been through to get to this point – I don’t think a lot of people are blessed to have a boss like him. And who would give that up?”
The Coyotes are 14-10 overall and finished 13-8 in the KCAC. The Coyotes are the fifth seed in the KCAC Tournament and host 12th-seeded Southwestern on Tuesday night at Mabee Arena in the tournament first round.
