Juanita Cochran and Kiefer Haffey have been named Assistant Coaches for the Detroit Mercy women’s basketball team announced Head Coach Kate Achter.

“I’m very excited to welcome Juanita and Kiefer to our staff. Their energy and enthusiasm for teaching and recruiting is exactly what our program needs going forward,” said Achter. “They both have strong ties to the state of Michigan and I am eager to watch them build and enhance the program’s relationships with local talent and coaches.”

Cochran’s responsibilities with the Titans will include assisting with recruiting and serving as the team’s academic liaison and campus housing coordinator.

Prior to joining the Titans, Cochran was a Physical Education Teacher for University Prep Science and Math Elementary School (2021) and Regent Park Academy (K-8) from 2019-2021. She also served as an assistant coach with Wayne County Community College for two seasons (2020-22) where she helped the team increase their win total from two to 17 in a two-year span.

“Joining the staff here at Detroit Mercy is a wonderful feeling,” said Cochran. “I want to thank Coach Achter for entrusting me to be a part of her staff and giving me the opportunity to build a solid foundation for the program.”

Cochran also currently serves as an assistant coach with the Detroit Queens of the Global Women’s Basketball Association where her responsibilities include creating scouting reports on opponents, detailing player personnel offensive and defensive tendencies and strategies while serving as the team’s Community Service Liaison.

Cochran also spent time as an Assistant Coach helping lead Detroit Renaissance High School to a 22-2 record, first City Championship since 2011 and District title during the 2019-2020 season before the COVID-19 shutdown derailed their state title aspirations. She helped develop Kailee Davis who earned 2020 Miss PSL, Basketball Coaches Association (BCAM) All-State and All-Detroit First Team honors and currently plays for Northern Kentucky.

She served as an Assistant Coach for the Michigan Crossover (Nike Girls EYBL) for over five years helping with player development and led the 16U team to a final ranking of 13th in the country out of 32 teams.

Cochran earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication in 2014 from Wayne State University where she was a standout women’s basketball student-athlete for two seasons from 2011-2013 earning team Co-MVP honors both years.

During her senior campaign, Cochran earned Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Second-Team honors and was named to the 2013 GLIAC All-Tournament team after helping lead the Warriors to a to 2012-13 North Division championship and conference tournament runner up finish. She went on to earn 2013 NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team honors after helping WSU to the program’s second berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament and first ever NCAA Tournament win in program history.

After Wayne State, she served as an Assistant Coach for Lawrence Tech University during the 2016-17 season where she helped guide the team to 18 wins before heading returning to WSU as a graduate assistant.

Cochran earned a Master’s in Sports Administration Degree in 2019 after serving as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Warriors for two seasons (2017-19).

Cochran is daughter of Mother Jonette Cochran-Davis (Willie Davis) and Father Phillip Lucas (Catina Lucas) and oldest of six siblings. She and her pet Yorkie Poodle, Giannis, reside in Allen Park, Mich.

Haffey’s main focus will be on player development and he will also aid in recruiting efforts for the Titans.

Prior to Detroit Mercy, Haffey spent four seasons as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Mich. Under his direction, the Cardinals posted three consecutive winning seasons with a combined 53 overall wins and 33 in Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play while ranking in the top-30 nationally for team GPA each season including a program best No. 10 ranking in 2021.

“These are exciting days for Detroit Mercy women’s basketball. Coach Achter has blessed me with an opportunity to join her at a university with tremendous tradition and prestige,” said Haffey. “She has a tremendous vision and plan in place to grow the program. Being born and raised locally, I can’t begin to express my excitement in having the opportunity to play a role in that.”

In the 2021-22 season, Haffey lead Concordia to an impressive 14-6 conference mark with a 19-12 overall record while Alize Tripp earned WHAC All-Conference First Team honors and Julia Hirt was named to the WHAC All-Freshman Team.

During the 2020-21 season, Haffey took the women’s basketball program to historic heights finishing with a 7-4 record in the WHAC (16-10 overall) to earn the no. 4 seed in the conference tournament where they advanced to the championship game before falling in a tight contest Indiana Tech. Concordia went on to advance to the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) National Championships semifinals, eventually finishing in third place.

Under his guidance, three Cardinals earned All-WHAC honors with J’may Simmons and Katie Snow earning Second-Team honors while Alize Tripp was named to the All-Freshman Team. Snow was also named NCCAA All-American Second Team while J’may Simmons earned All-Tournament team accolades and Tris’styn Williams was named to the NCCAA Midwest All-District Team.

During his second season as Head Coach in 2019-20, the Cardinals finished 18-13 overall increasing their win total by 10 from the 2018-19 season with a 12-8 conference mark. The team had five student-athletes earn All-WHAC Academic Team honors, two were named NAIA Scholar Athletes, three garnered NCCAA Scholar Athlete honors and one was named Champion of Character award winner.

Haffey served as the assistant coach for the women’s basketball program during the 2017-2018 season before being elevated to Head Coach in June of 2018.

Prior to Concordia, Haffey served as an assistant coach with Robichaud High School in Dearborn, Mich. and was the Operations Director and Basketball Skills Trainer at Game On Sports Center in Taylor, Mich.

Haffey earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Wayne State University in 2017 and a Master’s Degree in Sport Administration from The University of Michigan in 2020.

Haffey and his wife, Eliza, have two dogs, Mila and Phoebe, and reside in Plymouth, Mich.