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Sources: Penn State to name Carolyn Kieger as next head coach

By Blake DuDonis

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 06: Marquette Golden Eagles head coach Carolyn Kieger calls out a play during a basketball game between the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Creighton Bluejays on March 6, 2017 at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, WI. (Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 06: Marquette Golden Eagles head coach Carolyn Kieger calls out a play during a basketball game between the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Creighton Bluejays on March 6, 2017 at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, WI. (Photo by Larry Radloff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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A rising star in the coaching ranks, the 35-year-old Kieger has a rebuild on her hands.

After restoring her alma mater back to its winning ways in a matter of just five seasons, Carolyn Kieger made Marquette look smart for giving the then 30-year-old her first head coaching opportunity.

Now, Penn State has decided to attach themselves to the rising talent that is Kieger, multiple sources have told High Post Hoops, hoping she can duplicate her success at Marquette in State College.

After going just 9-22 (4-14) in her first season, Marquette made a solid improvement to 14-16 (9-9) the next, then things really took off with 76 wins in the next three seasons combined, finishing no worse than 3rd in the Big East and making the NCAA tournament all three seasons.

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Kieger will be tasked with building another program: the Penn State Lady Lions.

After parting ways with Coquese Washington following a fifth straight season of missing the NCAA tournament, Penn State is set to hire Kieger, continuing her steady rise through the coaching ranks.

Before taking over the Golden Eagles, Kieger spent six seasons as an assistant at Miami (FL).

Kieger leaves Marquette with a 99-64 (56-34) record, with three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and a 2-3 record in the tournament. This past season, the team went 27-8 and climbed into the AP Top 10 for the first time in school history.

Penn State finished the 2018-19 season with a 12-19 (5-13) record. Kieger becomes just the third coach at the school since 1980.

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