Michigan State Women’s Basketball Staff Update

Michigan State head women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick announced the addition of six members to the women’s basketball staff on Thursday.

Fralick brings five personnel from her staff at Bowling Green State University, including Associate Head Coach Kim Cameron, Assistant Coach Maria Kasza and Director of Recruiting Joel Whymer. Monique Rosati comes to MSU as the Director of Basketball Operations. 

Also joining the coaching staff is Marwan Miller as an Assistant Coach, after one year at Minnesota. One familiar face to MSU women’s basketball, Dean Lockwood, remains on staff as the Director of Player Development.

Associate Head Coach Kim Cameron
Kim Cameron comes to Michigan State after five seasons as associate head coach at Bowling Green.

“I am so excited to continue to work with Coach Cameron. We used to be head coaching rivals back in the day when I was the head coach at Ashland University, and she was the head coach at Michigan Tech,” Fralick said. “I had so much respect for her and the way her teams competed. It has been really fun to work together the past five seasons at Bowling Green and day by day, brick by brick, build together. Her investment in the program and player relationships is incredible. Looking forward to this new journey together.”

Like Fralick, Cameron came to BGSU after a highly-successful tenure at a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) school. Cameron joined the Falcon program after spending 13 seasons on the staff at Michigan Tech, the last eight as head coach. She compiled an impressive 181-53 record as head coach.

During her tenure at MTU, her alma mater, Cameron became the first Division II coach in Tech history to lead the team to a national title game appearance, taking the Huskies to the championship game in 2011. She was named the GLIAC Coach of the Year in both 2011 and ’15, and also was the 2011 WBCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year.

Cameron assumed the head-coaching job at Michigan Tech after spending five years as assistant coach. In that time frame, Tech also claimed three GLIAC North Division titles, advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times and cut down the nets for two NCAA Midwest Regional Championships.

She graduated from Michigan Tech in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. The Alpena, Michigan, native earned four letters as a player for the Huskies from 2001-05, helping the squad to a 71-42 record in her four years and a trip to the NCAA Tournament as a senior.

Assistant Coach Maria Kasza
Maria Kasza also comes to MSU from Bowling Green, where she recently completed her fourth season as an assistant coach. Kasza spent two seasons at Northern Illinois prior to her time at BGSU.

“Coach Maria Kasza adds so much energy and enthusiasm to our program. She is very invested in program and player development,” Fralick added. “She goes above and beyond to make sure student-athletes are supported. I have been fortunate to work with Coach Kasza for the past four seasons and her passion for coaching and basketball is contagious. I am excited for the way she will impact the Michigan State University women’s basketball program.”

During her two years in DeKalb, Kasza helped the Huskies to a total of 34 wins, including an overall mark of 19-13 in her second season. 

Kasza joined NIU after spending five seasons at Michigan Tech, where she helped the Huskies to a 107-37 record during that time.

She also coached with associate head coach Kim Cameron, working together in various capacities at Michigan Tech. 

When Cameron was the Michigan Tech head coach, Kasza was assistant coach for five years. During that stretch, MTU made a pair of NCAA Division II Tournament appearances as well as winning a regular-season Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference championship in 2014-15.

Before joining the college ranks, Kasza spent two years coaching high school basketball. She spent the 2010-11 season as the varsity assistant coach at her alma mater, Kalkaska High School, and she coached the Kalkaska Middle School’s seventh grade boys’ basketball team as well. In 2011-12, Kasza was the head coach of the freshman girls’ basketball team at Williamston High School.

A native of Rapid City, Michigan, Kasza earned her bachelor’s degree from Michigan Tech in 2009, while gaining her master’s degree in 2010. She spent three years with the Huskies’ women’s basketball team and was a part of back-to-back Elite Eight teams. She began her collegiate career at Northern Michigan.

Assistant Coach Marwan Miller
Marwan Miller brings a wealth of knowledge to East Lansing, including spending time in the Big Ten conference.  He comes to Michigan State after one season at Minnesota.

“Coach Miller is a wonderful addition to our staff. I had the privilege of watching up close as he was an assistant for the Ohio University women’s basketball program, and was integral in their program success,” Fralick said. “His experience will be very valuable, as he was most recently an assistant at Minnesota. Coach Miller is very connected in recruiting and a masterful relationship builder. He is invested in the student-athlete experience and will bring a positive and consistent attitude every day. I am excited for this journey together.”

In six seasons at Ohio, Miller and the Bobcats finished with a record of 121-64, including a 30-win season and a 26-win season during his tenure. The team also won the 2015-16 MAC regular-season title with Miller on staff. 

Prior to becoming a full-time assistant at Ohio, Miller served as an assistant coach at Saint Francis (Pa.) in 2016-17 as an offensive coordinator. The team averaged 74.5 points per game in a fast-paced system, which produced the 2016 NEC Freshman of the Year.

Prior to 2013, Miller was a senior staff member for the Ohio Girls Basketball Report, where he evaluated the talent of prospective student-athletes. He was also the head coach of the Ohio Glory Basketball Club from 2004-12 and worked with the OGBR Ohio Legends Exhibition team from 2004-07. Miller was the head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Columbus South High School during the 2008-09 season, and assistant varsity girls’ basketball coach for the 2006-07 season with the Columbus Afrocentric Early College.

Miller received his bachelor’s degree from Franklin University in 2012, and his associate’s degree from Columbus State Community College. 

Director of Player Development Dean Lockwood
Dean Lockwood begins his fifth season at Michigan State, serving as the associate head coach for the previous four seasons.

“It is an honor to work alongside Coach Lockwood,” Fralick said. “A really cool backstory, is that Coach Lockwood was my husband’s college coach. My husband has always raved about how Coach Lockwood was so instrumental and transformational in his life. He is well respected and well regarded for his wisdom, work ethic and success, having been part of two national championship teams. One of my favorite things about Coach is the way he lights up when he is on the court and surrounded by student-athletes. We are very grateful to learn from Coach Lockwood every day and are excited for his incredible positive impact on the program.”

Lockwood also served as the Spartans’ interim head coach for the final 10 games of the 2022-23 season. At Michigan State, Lockwood has worked primarily with the Spartan post players. This season, Lockwood was named to the A STEP UP Assistant Coaches Hall of Fame Class, Presented by Worth Advisors.

During his time at Michigan State, the Spartan reached postseason twice, including during the bubble season in San Antonio during the 2020-21 season. 

Prior to working at MSU, he spent over 15 seasons as an assistant coach at Tennessee. Overall, he spent 20 years working with both the Tennessee men and women’s programs.

At Tennessee, Lockwood was part of two National Championships in 2007 and 2008, as well as three Final Four appearances. Overall, the Lady Vols, won five Southeastern Conference regular-season titles and seven SEC Tournament crowns. Five of Lockwood’s pupils at Tennessee have developed into first-round picks in the WNBA Draft, including 2016 WNBA Finals MVP, 2013 WNBA MVP and WNBA All-Star Game MVP Candace Parker. 

From 1986-1991, Lockwood served as an assistant for the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team under head coach Don DeVoe and later Wade Houston. During his tenure as an assistant, Volunteer teams went 77-75, posting three consecutive winning seasons, making a pair of National Invitational Tournament trips and had an NCAA Tournament bid in 1989 after an 18-9 regular season. 

Lockwood’s first full-time coaching position was as men’s assistant coach at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from 1983-86. In 1984-85, he helped Army to its best record and only winning season since 1978. Lockwood cut his teeth in the coaching profession as a men’s graduate assistant at Central Michigan in 1982-83

Lockwood earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from Spring Arbor in 1982, majoring in English and secondary education. He earned a master’s degree in counseling and personal and student development from Central Michigan in 1989.

Director of Recruiting Joel Whymer
Joel Whymer comes to Michigan State after five season as an assistant coach at Bowling Green. Whymer served as the program’s recruiting coordinator in 2019.

“I am thrilled to have Coach Whymer join us at MSU. He is a committed worker, high-level encourager and diligent recruiter. He brings a positive attitude and authenticity into everything he does,” Fralick said. “Coach Whymer is very connected and will work hard on the recruiting trail for the program. We have worked together the past five seasons, and he has been instrumental in program and player development.”

Upon arriving at BGSU, Whymer was integral in changing both the style of play and the Falcon team culture. The Falcons advanced to postseason play in each of those last three seasons.

He came to Bowling Green after spending three seasons on the staff at Wayne State in Detroit. Whymer was also the head coach of the junior varsity team. 

Whymer joined the Warriors’ staff after spending one season (2014-15) as the head coach at St. Clair County Community College. He led the Skippers to a 25-6 overall record and a share of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Eastern Conference championship with a 13-3 league mark.

He also spent two seasons as the head boys basketball coach at Marine City High School before heading to St. Clair County Community College, where he was a special education teacher for five years. 

Whymer played his first two seasons collegiately at Lake Superior State (2003-04 and 2004-05), where he totaled 533 points in 47 games with 108 rebounds and 80 assists. Whymer also played for Grand Valley State in 2006-07 scoring in double digits four times, including a season-high 17 points in a win at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL).

He is a 2010 graduate of GVSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis on special education. He earned a master’s degree in coaching education from Ohio, and also earned a master’s degree in sport administration from Wayne State in December of 2018.

Whymer and his wife, Rachel, were married in August of 2018.

Director of Basketball Operations Monique Rosati
Monique Rosati recently completed her 16th season with the Bowling Green women’s basketball program in 2022-23. Rosati, the Director of Operations, was an integral part of the team’s success during the last decade and a half, performing a veritable plethora of duties for the program. During her time at BGSU, the Falcons won six MAC regular-season titles, two MAC Tournament titles and made two NCAA appearances.

“Monique Rosati is such an essential part of our staff. She has been the Director of Basketball Operations the past 16 seasons at BGSU,” Fralick added. “Monique is determined, diligent and most importantly, an incredible role-model for our student-athletes. She is whole-heartedly committed to the organization of the program and making sure everybody is on the same page. We have worked together the past five seasons at Bowling Green State and she was instrumental in the program success. I am so excited for her continued impact and leadership within the Michigan State program.”

She served on Curt Miller’s BGSU staff for five seasons, and worked under head coach Jennifer Roos for six seasons, before spending the last five years (2018-19 through ’22-23) working with Fralick and her staff.

Rosati’s day-to-day duties include handling all aspects of team travel and all film exchange for the program, while assisting the coaching staff with academic coordination and daily operations within the Falcons’ basketball office.

Rosati, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., worked with former Falcon head coach Curt Miller at Syracuse, where she served as the head manager for the women’s basketball team from 1996-2001. Miller was an assistant coach at Syracuse during the 1994-98 seasons, before spending 11 years as the Falcons’ head coach.

She graduated from Syracuse in 1997 receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree with a dual major in international relations and Spanish. In December of 2010, Rosati earned her MBA degree with an Accounting specialization from BGSU.

Rosati’s husband, Clayton, a fellow Syracuse alum, is an associate professor in BGSU’s School of Media and Communication. 

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