Following a nationwide search, Ana Wurtz has been named the women’s basketball coach at Winona State University.
WSU Director of Athletics Eric Schoh said, “I’m excited about Coach Wurtz’s future as our head women’s basketball coach. Her time as a Warrior leading up to this point as a student-athlete, graduate assistant, assistant head coach and one year as interim head coach, has prepared her well for this opportunity. She is a great role model, leader and mentor of the young women in our basketball program, and she will serve them well as their head coach. I can’t wait to watch the growth of this program and the student athlete experience under her leadership.”
Wurtz, a WSU Hall-of-Famer, served as the interim head coach for the 2021-22 season following the retirement of longtime head coach Scott Ballard in 2022.
Coach Wurtz said, “My love and passion for Winona State, this program, and the community make this transition a dream come true. My husband and I have begun raising our family here, which is home. Winona State is the place where I grew up. I know how special this university is and the impact it can have on our student-athletes.”
Wurtz went on to note, “I confidently believe in the incredible experience that lies ahead for prospective recruits and their families. Coach Ballard laid the foundation for a culture built on relationships and family, and I am excited to continue to move that forward.”
Wurtz is the all-time three-pointer record-holder at Winona State and has been a fixture on the Warrior sideline for over a decade.
Wurtz has served on the Warrior staff for the past eleven seasons, first as an assistant coach before being elevated to associate head coach before the 2018-19 season and interim head coach in 2022.
Many of the most memorable moments in program history have included Wurtz as a student-athlete or coaching staff member, including all the Warriors’ three NCAA Division II tournament appearances. WSU earned their first tournament appearance in 2009, followed by bids in 2011 and 2016.
In addition to her experience at Winona State, Wurtz was an assistant coach at Wisconsin-Oshkosh. While there, she helped orchestrate an impressive turnaround in the Titans’ 2012-13 season, leading the team to a 20-6 overall mark after UWO went just 7-18 in the season before her arrival.
She led the Warriors to a program-record 24 wins during the 2008-09 season and helped the team earn its first-ever spot in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Wurtz was an all-region selection named the Winona State Female Athlete of the Year that season.
Wurtz graduated from Winona State in 2010 with a degree in Psychology. She also holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and sports management from Winona State. Ana and her husband, Louis, reside in Winona and are the proud parents of Lennon and Reya.
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