Katy Steding, an assistant coach at California who won an Olympic gold medal and an NCAA title as a player, has been named Boston University’s seventh head coach of women’s basketball, assistant vice president and director of athletics Mike Lynch announced on Friday.
A 14-year coaching veteran, Steding comes to BU after spending the past two seasons at Cal, where she helped lead the Golden Bears to their first Pac-12 title and a pair of trips to the NCAA tournament. Under her guidance, the 2012-13 team posted a 32-4 overall record and earned the first Final Four berth in program history. Her main responsibilities at Cal included recruiting, working with the post players and overseeing the team’s offense.
"Katy is the absolute right person to lead our women’s basketball program in the Patriot League and we are fortunate to have someone of her class and caliber representing Boston University," said Lynch. "I would like to say a special thank you to deputy athletic director Drew Marrochello for all of his tremendous work on this search. We have a real gem in Katy."
This will be Steding’s second head-coaching job, as she spent seven seasons at the helm of the Warner Pacific College (NAIA) program in her native Oregon, helping it transition from a club-level program to a varsity team. During her time in Portland, Steding recorded a pair of 20-plus win seasons, leading the Knights to the NAIA Division II National Tournaments in 2004 and 2006. The 2004 selection to the national tournament marked the first postseason appearance in school history for men’s or women’s basketball.
Steding was named the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season after leading the Knights to their first-ever CCC title with a 22-9 record. Throughout her seven-year stint, Steding recruited 11 all-conference performers and 11 Academic All-Americans to Warner Pacific.
Before joining the coaching staff at Cal, Steding was an associate head coach at the University of San Francisco from 2010-12, overseeing recruiting while being responsible for player and practice development in addition to scouting. At USF, Steding teamed with Hall of Famer and Stanford and Olympic teammate Jennifer Azzi. The 2011-12 squad earned a win over a nationally ranked Brigham Young team.
Prior to her stint at USF, Steding served as an assistant at Columbia during the 2009-10 season. She helped the Lions achieve a top-three Ivy League finish and the highest RPI in school history while developing Columbia’s first-ever Ivy League Player of the Year, who went on to earn All-America Third Team honors.
Steding also served as an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream during the franchise’s inaugural season in 2008.
"I am thrilled and honored to be the head coach at Boston University," said Steding. "I want to thank President Robert Brown and Director of Athletics Mike Lynch for this incredible opportunity to lead these fantastic young women. BU’s reputation for elite academic standards and championship athletics is unbeatable, and I look forward to continuing the tradition of excellence against the backdrop of the vibrant setting of Boston. I can’t wait to get started!"
A three-time Pac-10 All-Conference selection at Stanford, Steding was one of the most versatile players in Cardinal history. She finished her career ranked ninth in scoring with 1,586 points and fourth in rebounds with 864 boards. During her senior season, the sharp-shooter shot 46.4 percent from beyond the arc to lead the conference and led Stanford to a pair of Pac-10 titles.
Steding and the Cardinal captured Stanford’s first-ever NCAA championship in 1990. She was named the CBS/Chevrolet Player of the Game after scoring 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds in Stanford’s 88-81 victory over Auburn in the title game.
Steding graduated from Stanford in 1990 with a degree in psychology and embarked on a professional playing career overseas with stops in Japan and Spain before returning to the states and earning a spot on U.S. National Team in 1995. Dubbed the "Women’s Dream Team," Steding teamed with Teresa Edwards, Rebecca Lobo, Sheryl Swoopes and a myriad of other women’s basketball superstars to compile a 60-0 record that culminated with a gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
After her time with Team USA, Steding played was a founding player for the Portland Power of the American Basketball League before playing with Sacramento Monarchs and Seattle Storm of the WNBA. Steding retired from professional basketball in 2001.
During her time at Warner Pacific, Steding also served as Director of Marketing and College Relations from March 2006 to April 2008. Her marketing and advertising efforts resulted in a 30 percent increase in both applications and enrollment.
A native of Tualatin, Oregon, Steding was inducted into the Stanford Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Steding will be officially introduced to the BU community later this month.
