WOU names Peatross as next women’s basketball head coach

Story Links

MONMOUTH, Ore. — Western Oregon University Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randi Lydum introduced Jessica Peatross as the Wolves’ women’s basketball head coach on Friday.Peatross is the eighth women’s basketball head coach in WOU historical past and comes from NCAA Division-II Salem University the place she was the head coach for the 2022-23 season – main the group to its most wins in 22 years by going 14-17. The group was led by its protection as it completed fifth in D-II in defensive area objective share (34.2 p.c) and led the nation in defensive rebounds per sport and was twelfth in rebounds per sport.”We are excited to welcome Coach Peatross to Western Oregon University as our new head women’s basketball coach,” WOU Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Randi Lydum mentioned. “Upon assembly Jessica, we felt a robust connection and consider she shares our imaginative and prescient for the women’s basketball program. Her ardour and enthusiasm for teaching and student-athlete growth, will assist our group proceed to ascend inside the GNAC and past.”Prior to Salem, Peatross was the head coach at Delta College – an NJCAA Division III college out of University Center, Michigan. In her first season within the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season – she was named the MCCAA North Conference Coach of the Year because of main the group to a convention title and a regional runner-up end. The group was ranked as excessive as No. 20 within the nation and he or she coached the participant of the yr, freshman of the yr and defensive participant of the yr within the convention. The following season (2021-22), Peatross guided Delta to a 21-8 document, a regional runner-up end, a Great Lakes East Region Final Four look and once more coached the convention participant of the yr, freshman of the yr and defensive participant of the yr – together with an NJCAA Second Team All-American. That season, the group led the area in scoring and steals. At Delta, she additionally served as the head males’s golf coach from 2019-2021 and as an assistant athletic director of sports activities data and athletic advertising and marketing from 2021-22.”I’m extraordinarily blessed, grateful and excited for this chance at Western Oregon University,” Peatross mentioned. “Randi Lydum and everybody at WOU have made this resolution very simple to make in each facet. Winning is the usual and I’m grateful that Randi desires to win. She sees the imaginative and prescient, believes within the pillars of our program, what we’re about and within the speedy influence we plan to make on the court docket, within the classroom and in the neighborhood. I’m desirous to get to work instantly and stay up for competing within the GNAC. It’s a good time to be part of the WOU Wolves household.”A local of Lansing, Michigan, Peatross graduated from Holt High School in 2010. There she was twice named All-State honorable point out in basketball. She holds the college document for profession assists at Holt and is a member of the 1,000-point membership. In her senior yr, Peatross was named Lansing State Journal (LSJ) Female Athlete of the Year as properly as LSJ All-Decade Team and LSJ Dream-Team for each basketball and golf.Peatross acquired a Division-I scholarship to play golf, basketball and monitor at Chicago State University. There she was additionally an lively member of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Peatross is a 2014 graduate of Chicago State University with a level in Communications. After finishing her enjoying profession at Chicago State University, she continued her schooling at Valparaiso University the place she acquired her grasp’s diploma in Sports Administration, Information & Marketing in 2016. While there, she joined the women’s basketball program as a graduate assistant, helping with day by day follow planning, participant growth and social media advertising and marketing and extra.Peatross begin date is ready for July 1.She takes over for Holli Howard-Carpenter, who has accepted a place with the WOU Foundation after being the WOU women’s basketball head coach since 2013.”I want to thank Coach Holli Howard-Carpenter for her service to our program and want her properly in her new function inside the WOU Foundation,” Lydum mentioned.
 

https://wouwolves.com/information/2023/6/23/WBB2023NewHeadCoach.aspx