April 15, 2023: An update from the coaching carousel in D3 Women's Hoops
2 new hirings, 1 position in the GNAC has come available
Checking back in at the end of the week, and not surprisingly, it has been a relatively quiet week in D3 women’s hoops. But it certainly wasn’t without a couple pieces of news, as a head coaching hire was made, and another job came open. Neither is big-time news from a national perspective, but anytime that someone gets an opportunity to be a head coach for the first time, it is BIG-TIME for them, and deserves to be noted.
Honestly, I’m pretty surprised that so many head coaching jobs are still open. We’re in the middle of April, and recruiting is in full swing by this point, especially with the summer fast approaching. It sounds like a few schools are getting close to finishing their national searches, but so far we have only four new hires, two of which were internal hires. 14 jobs remain open by my calculations.
The Elms College job was the first to open this past week, as it was announced Michelle Proulx will be stepping down to move into the role of Associate Director of Admissions for the school this next year. She had been the head coach there for the last nine years, dating back to 2014, and was an even .500 in her career (106-106). A GNAC program, Elms went 9-16 (4-14 GNAC) this past year, but was 14-9 in 2021-22. Proulx also served as the Senior Woman Administrator for the athletic department. Can see this being a position in which an internal hire is made, but we will see.
The second vacancy (and subsequent hire) made came at Bethany Lutheran College in the UMAC yesterday, when the school released a press release that announced longtime head coach Lyle Jones would be stepping down and associate head coach Emma Purfeerst will be the program’s next head coach. Jones had been at BLC since 1990, and seen the college’s transition from being a junior college to a D-III, and spent 21 years as the women’s basketball coach. He also had experience as the head men’s soccer coach and head softball coach at various points, which is an interesting resume, and not one you see very often at the college level.
The decision to step down comes due to health concerns, as he dealt with issues throughout the season and ended up missing a game late in the year.
"At the advice of my physician, I will now focus my time completely on my family and my health,” Jones said in the release. “This is not an easy thing for me as I love coaching and mentoring our student-athletes. I am incredibly grateful to God for the opportunities and experiences I've had at Bethany and in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). It's been a true blessing to be able to coach so many wonderful student-athletes. I'll treasure these memories."
He had a successful run at BLC, with a 381-180 record as head coach, as the Vikings captured two NJCAA Region 13 titles, three UMAC Tournament Championships, and Jones himself was the UMAC Coach of the Year on three occasions (2019, 2020, 2022).
They struggled to a 7-18 record this past year, but were 13-1 in the league in 2021-22, and memorably shocked then-No. 15 UW-Eau Claire on the road in a 63-61 win that December.
Purfeerst will be a first-time head coach, but was Jones’ top assistant for the last five years after coaching in the high school ranks for four. She played four years at Carleton, a MIAC school, where she was a two-time captain.
Said Purfeerst: "I would like to thank President Gene Pfeifer and Co-Athletic Directors Pat Garvin and Ryan Kragh for selecting me to be the next women's basketball coach at Bethany Lutheran College. I would also like to thank Lyle for his mentorship over the past five seasons. He allowed me to grow as a coach and has helped to prepare me for this transition. I am very excited to continue to build the women's basketball program at Bethany."
So that’s that. Certainly hope Jones has some time to recover and rest, and wish Purfeerst the best of luck as she takes the reins of one of the UMAC’s top programs. Also, shout-out to the BLC Athletics Department. Very organized press release, and just taking a quick look at their coverage, it is always nice to see D-III schools who put postgame interviews on line and enhance their coverage in that way.
As far as I know, that is the extent of the D3 women’s basketball news right now. I would really like to put together a list of current D3 WBB student-athletes who also play another varsity sport. A few have come to my attention during #D3Week this past week, and I think it awesome when student-athletes have the chance to play two varsity sports while pursuing their degree. Creates well-rounded athletes and I believe, enhances the D3 experience when done.
If you know of any two-sport student-athletes who play basketball along with another sport, let me know. I’ve added a comment box below, or you can shoot me an email at rileyzayas@gmail.com. My DMs are always open on Twitter as well (@ZayasRiley).
UPDATE! I was wrong about that being the extent of the news…because UMHB hired its next head coach as I was writing this! Or at least reports surfaced on who they will be hiring. Hint: It’s a former ASC Coach who is coming back to D3 from D2. Here’s the link to the full story: https://truetothecru.com/2023/04/14/breaking-hawaii-pacifics-katie-novak-tabbed-as-umhb-womens-basketballs-next-head-coach/
Have a great week! I’ll check back in sometime after the weekend.