Kansas State women’s basketball head coach Jeff Mittie announced on Wednesday that assistant coach Claire Coggins has resigned from her position on the staff and a search for her replacement will begin immediately.
The public is invited to wish Coggins well on her future endeavors on Tuesday at a National Championship game viewing party hosted by K-State women’s basketball at Old Chicago from 7 to 8 p.m. Members of the K-State women’s basketball coaching staff and team will also be in attendance at the event.
"We appreciate the hard work that Claire Coggins has put in this past year for K-State as she took on a new role," said Mittie. "Claire has decided to get out of coaching and look at other professional opportunities. She has a tremendous passion for K-State women’s basketball and will always be a huge part of our program. It would be great for our fans to come see Claire and the team on Tuesday at Old Chicago."
Coggins returned to K-State prior to the start of the 2012-13 season, as she served as the Director of Video Operations. In the 2013-14 season, she was named the Director of Team Operations and last season she served her first stint at her alma mater as an assistant coach.
"I have decided to leave K-State, so that I can pursue other career opportunities that really pull at my heart and my passions," stated Coggins. "My chapter for basketball is over. K-State, for me, has always been a home away from home and a second family. I have been truly blessed to have had the wonderful opportunities to not only play basketball here, but to also work with one of the most professional administrations in America, that value college athletics and women’s sports equally to men’s. I want to thank John Currie for the opportunity to be back at K-State, to Jill Shields and Be Stoney for the continued support. I would also like to thank Jeff Mittie for his faith in me and to the women’s basketball staff and team for the wonderful memories and friendships made. Lastly, I would like to thank the Wildcat fans for always bleeding purple. I am looking forward to my new life, and to being a fan of Kansas State and a proud alum forever."
During her playing career at K-State, Coggins was a two-time All-Big 12 Second Team selection, the most valuable player of the 2006 Postseason WNIT and was a member of the 2004 Big 12 regular season championship team. She finished her career with 1,236 points, was the 32nd Wildcat to pass the 1,000-point mark and ranks 19th on the K-State career points list. She also tallied 213 assists and ranks 23rd in the program’s history.
After her time in Manhattan as a student-athlete, Coggins spent the 2007 season with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and then played the 2008 season with Panathanaikos in Athens, Greece.
Prior to returning to Manhattan, Coggins served three seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma City University and Connors State. In her only season with Oklahoma City in 2011-12, Coggins aided head coach Rob Edmisson in guiding the Stars to a 35-1 record and the sixth NAIA Division I title in the program’s history.
At Connors State, Coggins helped the Cowgirls to a 27-5 record in 2010-11. The Cowgirls captured the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference title and an appearance in the NJCAA Region II championship game.
Coggins, a native of Lee’s Summit, Mo., earned her degree in electronic journalism from K-State in 2007.
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