San Francisco State has named Kristina Danella head women’s basketball coach, as announced by Director of Athletics Charles Guthrie on Monday.
“Kristina is rising star with a competitive spirit,” Guthrie said. “she has turned two different programs completely around from not winning to winning. She has made postseason appearances multiple times as a head coach and student athlete, and she has an overall winning record everywhere she has coached in women’s basketball. We were highly impressed with her in-depth tactical knowledge of women’s basketball, organizational structure, energy, ability to connect with the student athletes on and off the court and her California networks.”
Danella has a career record of 83-38 as a collegiate coach, and a 65-25 record in three years at Caldwell where she led Cougars to three-straight Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference tournament appearances. Last season, she guided her team to the programs first ever NCAA Division II Tournament appearance after going 25-6 en route to being named the 2017 CACC Coach of the Year as well as the ECAC Coach of the Year.
While at Caldwell, Danella also served as the Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Women’s Administrator where she served on the Gender and Equity Committee for the Central Atlanta Athletic Conference, and oversaw the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at Caldwell, helping fundraise for charities such as Make-A-Wish.
Danella began her coaching career during the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach at Urbana University. When the head coach left unexpectedly in November, Danella was elevated to interim head coach. She proceeded to lead the Blue Knights to their most victories since the 1998-99 season, compiling an 18-10 record and finishing fourth in the Mountain East Conference with a 14-8 mark in league play. In February 2014, Urbana was ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings, the first regional ranking in program history.
“I am honored and pleased to be named the next head women’s basketball coach at SF State,” said Danella. “I want to thank President Wong, Director of Athletics Charles Guthrie and the Search Committee for the opportunity to join this amazing community. Charles is relentless in his efforts to surpass all expectations at SF State. Under his leadership, the decision to become a Gator was not only an easy choice but the right one for my family and me. I will work tirelessly to create a culture of excellence in everything that we do. I am more than thrilled to call SF State my new home!”
A graduate of Marist University, Danella played two years for the Red Foxes earning Metro Atlantic Conference Sixth Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2012-13. That season, she led the MAAC in three-point shooting (.410) and was 12th nationally in free throw shooting (.887) while averaging 9.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She helped guide her team to back-to-back MAAC regular season and tournament crowns while playing in two NCAA Division I Tournaments.
Prior to her time at Marist, Danella started her collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts and was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference’s All-Rookie Team in 2008-09. She tied the school record for three-pointers in a season that year with 58, and was selected the A-10 Rookie of the Week four times. Over her collegiate career, Danella combined to score 1,126 points at both UMass and Marist.
The New Jersey native starred at Red Bank Catholic High School, leaving as the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder with 1,773 points and 1,156 rebounds. A three-time all-state first team honoree, she was a two-time Shore Conference Player of the Year and the 2007 Asbury Park Press Player of the Year.
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