ATLANTA (Dec. 11, 2024) — Saint Joseph's
Katie Kuester has been selected to participate in the 2025 Women's Basketball Coaches Association Next Generation Institute, organization officials announced on Wednesday.
Now in her 10
th season at her alma mater, Kuester was one of 32 coaches nationally selected to the high-level education program for experienced assistant coaches who aspire to become collegiate head coaches.
In charge of post players, Kuester has coached four Atlantic 10 All-Conference and All-Big 5 selections in the last two seasons. Saint Joseph's set a new school record with 28 wins in 2023-24, earning a quarterfinal appearance in the inaugural WBIT. Under Kuester's direction, both
Laura Ziegler and
Talya Brugler were named to the USBWA National Player of the Year watch list. Additionally, Kuester has served as recruiting coordinator since May of 2021 and is the team's lead in international recruiting.
Now in its third year, the Next Generation Institute curriculum focuses on the CEO attributes needed to lead a program and be a problem-solver in today's ever-changing landscape of higher education and the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics.
"A college athletics team is a company; the head coach is its CEO," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. "A head coach must be more than a strategist and tactician in the sport. They must also be an inspirational leader, businessperson, communicator, marketer, visionary, and manager of people and resources. The Next Generation Institute challenges participants to put aside the X's and O's for a while and concentrate on understanding and developing those skills so that they are prepared to take the next step in their careers and become successful CEOs."
Here are the participants for the 2025 WBCA Next Generation Institute:
| Name |
Institution |
| Tennille Adams |
University of Alabama |
| Tahnee Balerio |
University of Georgia |
| Brittany Batts |
Gannon University |
| KaeLynn Boyd |
University of Texas at Arlington |
| Sheila Boykin |
University of South Florida |
| Camryn Brown |
Florida Gulf Coast University |
| Coretta Brown |
Eastern Kentucky University |
| Karlie Burris |
University of Nevada–Las Vegas |
| Shannon Bush |
Cornell University |
| Camille Collier |
Arizona State University |
| Empress Davenport |
University of Mississippi |
| Miki Glenn |
Fairmont State University |
| John Hampton |
Rutgers University |
| Heidi Heintz |
University of California, Berkeley |
| Terra Helm |
McKendree University |
| Ashley Johnson |
Furman University |
| Kelly Komara |
Purdue University |
| Katie Kuester |
Saint Joseph's University (PA) |
| Ariel Massengale |
Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville |
| Jordan McCann |
Loyola University (IL) |
| Deont'a McChester |
Marquette University |
| Sarah Miles |
University of Denver |
| Sara Mitchell |
Manhattan College |
| Brittany Morris |
North Carolina State University |
| Darrell Mosley |
Arizona State University |
| Eryc Pittman |
University of South Alabama |
| Ashley Robinson |
University of Pennsylvania |
| Callan Stores |
Manhattan College |
| Sarah Taylor |
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University |
| Lindsay Werntz |
University of Denver |
| Shelby Wheeler |
Ursuline College |
| Clint Williams |
Brown University |
To be eligible for selection to participate in the program, a person must be a current WBCA member, must have at least five years' experience as a college assistant coach, and must have been nominated by their head coach. The Institute is held in conjunction with the WBCA Convention, which this year takes place April 3-6 in Tampa.
About the WBCA
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit
www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.
