Maryland’s Blair named WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year

Well-traveled coach, recruiting coordinator earns notable distinction.

Maryland women’s basketball assistant coach Karen Blair was selected as the Division I Assistant Coach of the Year, it was announced Thursday by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

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“Karen works day in and day out to make our program the best. She is tirelessly working, making recruiting calls, helping to keep our staff organized,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said in a release. “Karen coaches our guards and she makes them a priority. She brings the energy, the knowledge and is the best at what she does. She is one of the hardest-working assistants I have ever had on staff.”

Frese also congratulated Blair on Twitter, writing a message of gratitude and posting a link to a photo of Blair cutting down the nets after winning Sunday’s Big Ten Tournament championship game.

Blair was hired as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in May of 2018, following 19 years of coaching and recruiting at Virginia Commonwealth, UT Arlington, Colgate, North Texas and SMU.

During the two seasons that Blair has worked on the Terps’ staff, Maryland amassed a cumulative record of 56-9, won the 2019 and 2020 Big Ten regular season titles and captured the 2020 Big Ten Tournament championship.

Blair helped the Terps sign Angel Reese, the second-ranked recruit nationally in the class of 2020 and the highest-ranked recruit in team history. In addition, Blair had a role in welcoming the third-best recruiting class in the country to College Park this past season, highlighted by McDonald’s All-Americans Ashley Owusu — the eventual 2019-20 Big Ten Freshman of the Year — and Diamond Miller.

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