Marian University Ind.

BIO

• Gearlds completed her eighth and final season at Marian in 2020-21, continuing her dominant run as head coach of the Knights. 
• Marian went 27-6, going a perfect 16-0 in Crossroads League play as the Knights won their sixth straight Crossroads League Regular Season Title. Under Gearlds' leadership, the Knights completed their first undefeated conference season in school history. 
• In the first year of the NAIA Opening Round format, Gearlds coached Marian to a dominating 92-69 victory over Grand View to advance to the final site of the NAIA National Tournament for the seventh straight season. 
• Marian earned 14 All-Crossroads League honors under Gearlds' leadership in 2020-21, with six players earning 13 honors, while Gearlds herself was named the Crossroads League Coach of the Year. Imani Guy was named the CL Player of the Year, becoming the third player to earn the award in Gearlds tenure. 
• Gearlds coached NAIA All-Americans Imani Guy and Ella Collier in 2021, with Guy earning First Team recognition while Collier earned second team, becoming the first freshman to earn All-American Status. 
• Gearlds completed her seventh season at Marian in 2019-20, and enjoyed one of the most successful seasons in program history. 
• Marian won 31 games on the season and won the Crossroads League Regular Season Title for the fifth straight season going 16-2. Marian also won the CL Tournament Title for the fourth time in Gearlds tenure, marking the third title in four years. 
• Gearlds was named the NAIA Coach of the Year and held Marian in the top-5 for the entire season, while she was also named the Crossroads League Coach of the Year.
• Gearlds coached two NAIA All-Americans in 2019-20, leading Abby Downard to the NAIA All-American Second Team while Imani Guy earned Honorable Mention honors. 
• Downard was named to the CL First Team, while Guy, Macy Willoughby, Katie Giller, and Kinnidy Garrard all earned All-CL honors under Gearlds leadership.
• In 2018-19, Gearlds led the Knights to the NAIA National Tournament for the fifth straight season, winning the Crossroads League Regular Season Title while finishing as the runner-up in the CL Tournament. 
• Gearlds helped lead the Knights to a 27-7 record and a CL mark of 16-2. Dejah Cyrus was named to the Crossroads League First Team and was an NAIA Second Team NAIA All-American under Gearlds leadership in 2018-19. Macy Willoughby and Macie Lively were also named to the All-Crossroads Leauge Team, while Karen Jones was named to the Daktronics Scholar Athlete list. 
• During the 2017-18 season, Gearlds led the Knights to the NAIA National Tournament for the fourth straight season, reaching the Round of 16, finishing the season with a record of 32-3.
• Won the Crossroads League regular season for the third straight year, while winning the conference tournament for the second straight season.
• Named the Crossroads League coach of the year for the third straight year.

• In her fifth season, head coach Katie Gearlds has taken the Marian University women's basketball program to new heights already.
• In 2016-17, Gearlds led the Knights to their second-straight NAIA national championship, finishing with an all-time best 35-3 record. Marian won both the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Crossroads League.

• Gearlds was named the NAIA Coach of the Year for the second-straight season in 2016-17.

• During 2015-16, the Knights continued making strides under Gearlds' leadership. In her third season, she led the Knights to a new all-time best 32-6 record. Gearlds continued making an impact on the team and university, leading Marian to their first ever Women's Basketball NAIA National Championship Title.

• In 2014-15, her second season, Gearlds led the Knights to an all-time best 28-6 (.824) record, which is the most wins in program history and the highest winning percentage in program history.
   
• She also led the Knights to their second-ever trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship tournament after winning the program's first-ever Crossroads League Tournament championship.
   
• She guided the Knights to a 13-game winning streak in 2014-15, which is the second-longest in program history. During that stretch, the Knights set the NAIA record for combined points in a game with a 135-124 win over Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), scored at least 90 points five times and surpassed the century mark three times.
   
• Under her tutelage, the Knights garnered their best-ever record of 14-4 in the Crossroads League and finished second in the league for the first time since winning the regular season title in 2001-02. MU hosted all three Crossroads League Tournament games for the first time and earned the title for the first time.
   
• She currently has a 44-22 (.667) career head coaching record and is 22-14 (.611) in Crossroads League play. She has seen Lakan Hasser-Smith earn all-league first team (2014-15) and second team (2013-14) honors and had two others honored by the league after the 2014-15 season. Jenna Sullivan, Kellie Kirkhoff and Joana Soeiro each earned all-freshman team honors, while Kaylee Walters (2nd team) and Jessica Almeida (honorable mention) also earned league honors.
   
• Gearlds brings extensive collegiate and professional experience to her first head coaching position. Last season, she spent the year in Portugal and averaged 14.3 points per game for Alges where she was part of the league and cup championship teams. She spent two two seasons (2011-12) in Spain as a professional player, and she also spent three years (2008-10) in Greece where she played and served as an assistant coach. She also spent some of 2007 in Slovakia as a player.
   
• The Beech Grove, Ind., native, was drafted as the No. 7 overall pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft by the Seattle Storm after graduating from Purdue University. From 2007-09, Gearlds saw action in 87 career games for the Storm and scored a career-best 20 points in 2008 in a game versus Atlanta.
   
• At Purdue University, Gearlds finished her career as the fourth-leading scorer in Boilermaker women's basketball history. From 2003-07, she tallied 1,974 career points and tied for the single-season record for points with 707 in 2006-07. She is the seventh-fastest Boilermaker in program history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau after eclipsing the mark in just 80 games. She led the team in scoring in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and led the team to three Big Ten Conference regular season runner-up finishes as well as a pair of Big Ten Tournament championships. She led her team to four NCAA Tournament appearances with a NCAA Elite Eight berth in 2006-07, her senior year. She was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and earned first team honors both her junior and senior seasons. As a freshman, she was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten. She was also named a third team Associated Press All-American as a senior.
   
• Gearlds was named the 2003 Indiana Miss Basketball after her senior season at Beech Grove High School. At Beech Grove, she scored 2,521 career points, which ranks her sixth in Indiana history. As a senior, she led the state with 30.1 points per game and also averaged 9.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 5.1 steals per game in leading Beech Grove to the IHSAA Class 3A state championship. She was named a Nike/WBCA All-American and was the 2003 Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year. She was also named first team all-state by the Associated Press as a junior and as a senior.
   
• ?She assumed control of a program that has experienced unprecedented success over the five seasons prior to her hiring. MU went 95-58 over the last five years and competed in the the most competitive league in the NAIA and earned at least 18 victories in four the last five seasons. The Knights went to the NAIA Division II National Championship Tournament for the first time in school history in 2010-11 after a school-record 23-8 season. Last season, the Knights went 16-14 and earned a trip to the Crossroads League Tournament.
   
• Gearlds graduated from Purdue University in 2007 with a bachelor of science degree in sociology with minors in psychology and communications. She currently resides in Beech Grove, Ind.
   

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT KATIE GEARLDS...

"Katie is one of the greatest competitors that I have ever coached. She will carry this same competitiveness into her ability to coach, recruit and give back to the community. She's a bright young star and, without a doubt, Marian University hired a winner!"
-- Kristy Curry, University of Alabama Head Women's Basketball Coach

“Katie was one of the best players I have ever coached. Her confidence, understanding of and passion for the game is tremendous. She always had that winning attitude. She is just a great human being. Katie is a tremendous fit for Marian University. She will do a phenomenal job. She is a great teacher of the game who has a great mind. Having a player like that, as well as a WNBA player and professional player, come in and be able to guide young women on and off the court is fantastic. I think she will be exceptional with her attention to detail, her teaching skills, and understanding of what she needs to do in order to empower her young women to the next level both on and off the court. She will build a strong team chemistry and I think she will be exceptional.”
-- Sharon Versyp, Purdue University Head Women’s Basketball Coach