UNI women’s basketball announced the hiring of Nicole McDermott as the Director of Operations.
In this role, McDermott will be responsible for all aspects of team travel, equipment, facility scheduling, volunteer work, and special events, and will be in charge of student managers and the Playmakers Club.
“We are so excited to welcome Nicole into our Panther family,” said head coach Tanya Warren. “She had an outstanding college career and throughout her experiences she continued to excel on and off the court. Being a product of our great state, it’s always fun to welcome another Iowan into our program.”
McDermott comes to UNI from The KC Range where she was the Front Desk Operations Manager and oversaw training and scheduling for a 16-person team as well as managing the hiring and onboarding process. She also planned and executed events and developed innovative member management strategies. McDermott also spent just over a year as a Clubhouse Attendant at Derby Grange Golf and Recreation.
“I’m beyond excited to join the UNI Women’s Basketball family as the Director of Basketball Operations,” said McDermott. “I’m looking forward to getting started with an incredible staff and supporting our student-athletes both on and off the court. Go Panthers!”
McDermott graduated with Bachelor’s degrees in business administration and sports management from Clarke University in 2024 and with a Master’s degree in operations management from Quincy University in 2025. While at Clarke, McDermott was a three-year starter for the Pride starting all 104 games that she played in. McDermott finished her final season with the Pride with 505 points, the fifth-most in a season in program history. She was fourth-best in her shooting percentage (56.2) her senior year and scored 20 or more points in eight games. She sits in the top-ten of 14 different career stat rankings with Clarke. McDermott won the 2023 NAIA National Championship and was listed as an NAIA Second Team All-American. She holds two NAIA All-American Honorable Mentions, a WBCA All-America honor, an NAIA All-Tournament Team honor, the NAIA Tournament Hustle Award, Heart of America Conference Player of the Year, three Heart of America First Team All-Conference honors, a Heart of America Second Team All-Conference Honor and a Heart of America All-Defensive Team Honor. In her lone season as a graduate transfer at Quincy University, McDermott led the team in minutes (32.2 per game, 1064 total), points (16.0 per game, 529 total), steals (1.4 per game, 46 total), offensive rebounds (87), field goals made (170), free throws made (156), and three-point percentage (.398). McDermott led the Hawks in scoring 23 different times in the season. In high school, McDermott broke the record for career steals, shooting percentage in a season, and free throw percentage in a season and career. She was also a 2A State Champion in Iowa.
Tagged with: Missouri Valley Conference
