Marian University Ind.

BIO

Entering her sixth season at Marian University in 2026-27, Suntana Anderson serves in her third season as head coach of the Marian women's basketball team.

On Friday, May 24, 2025, Director of Athletics Steve Downing appointed Suntana Anderson as the Head Coach of the Marian women's basketball program. 

In her first season, Anderson led the Knights to a 27-8 overall record, reaching the NAIA Tournament Quarterfinals.

• Marian finished third in the Crossroads League with a 15-3 record, with Anderson leading the Knights to the Crossroads League Tournament Championship game.
• Marian gained eight All-Crossroads League honors under Anderson, with Abbey McNally being named both Crossroads League Player and Defensive Player of the Year
• Madisyn Bailey, Taylor Double, Olivia Faust, and Kenna Kirby were all earned Crossroads League honors on the season
• McNally was named as a WBCA NAIA All-America First Team honoree under Anderson
• Anderson's Knights scored the sixth most points in single-season history, and collected the fifth-most rebounds in program history
• Marian set a program record for steals in a single season with 403 under Anderson's leadership in 2024-25

In her second season at Marian, Anderson continued to lead the Knights to new heights, taking the team to a 35-2 overall record, a sweep of both the Crossroads League Regular Season and Tournament Championships, and the NAIA National Championship title in year two.

• Leading a resilient bunch, Anderson led Marian to a Crossroads League Championship with a 16-2 league record, while later winning the CL Tournament title in a 72-65 game against Saint Francis
• Anderson led a Knights squad that earned 11 All-Crossroads League honors, including Abbey McNally who was named to the CL First Team and Defense Team, while also earning CL Player and Defensive Player of the Year
• Taylor Double joined Abbey on the CL First Team, and Olivia Faust and Madisyn Bailey earned Second Team honors
• Kenna Kirby and Kiley McNally each earned CL Honorable Mention honors
• Anderson led the Knights to the NAIA National Championship in her second season, becoming the fastest coach in Marian history to win an NAIA National Championship
  • Anderson's leadership led her to be named the Crossroads League Coach of the Year and the NAIA Coach of the Year
• Mentored Abbey McNally to earn the NAIA WBCA Player of the Year, and also earn NAIA All-America First Team and NAIA Tournament MVP honors
• Also led Taylor Double to NAIA Third Team All-America honors
• Saw Abbey McNally become a 2000 point scorer and help break several individual career, season, and game records during the season
• Rewrote the team record for steals in a season with 524, shattering the previous record by 121

Anderson joined the Knights coaching staff in the 2021-22 season, and served as an assistant coach under Steve Brooks for three seasons. Anderson began as the Knights' second assistant in year one, while in year's two and three serving as the team's top assistant coach. Anderson helped lead, organize and plan player development schedules, scouting reports, film breakdowns, and implementation of offensive and defensive strategies. She also coordinated and managed all team travel and meal accommodations, along with helping lead the team's summer camps.

During Anderson's first three years on staff, Marian women's basketball was honored by the WBCA with the NAIA Player of the Year three times, with Anderson helping develop both Imani Guy and Ella Collier as the award recipients.

Prior to beginning full-time coaching for Marian University, Anderson worked the ranks in the high school and AAU circuits, serving as the head coach of South Bend Riley High School from 2018-2020. In her time with the Wildcats, Anderson coached multiple All-NIC student-athletes while recording double-figure wins in her second season on the job. Among her previous coaching stops, Anderson coached at both South Bend Riley and South Bend Washington as varsity assistant coaches between 2007-2012, and before joining Marian coached the Lady Team Teague 16U in Indianapolis. While coaching at the high school level, Granderson worked for the Indiana Department of Child Services as a case manager and supervisor.

Before entering the coaching world, Anderson was a star player for the Xavier Muskateers in college, as the former two-time captain was a lethal scoring threat. Anderson was three-time All Atlantic-10 Conference honoree, and helped her team to an A-10 Championship in 2007. Anderson helped her team to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 after two trips to the WNIT in 2005 and 2006. Before her college days, Xavier's career-leader in three-point attempts was an Indiana All-Star at South Bend Riley High School, where she was a two-time NIC Player of the Year.


Suntana Anderson Year-by-Year Coaching Record

Year	Record	CL Record	Postseason
2024-25	27-8	15-3	NAIA Tournament 1st and Second Round Champions NAIA Tournament Quarterfinalist
2025-26	35-2	16-2	NAIA National Champions NAIA Tournament 1st and Second Round Champions Crossroads League Regular Season Champions Crossroads League Tournament Champions
TOTALS	62-10 (.861)	31-5 (.861)