Detroit Mercy women's basketball hires Loyola's Kate Achter as new head coach
Detroit Mercy announced on Wednesday it has hired former Loyola (Chicago) coach Kate Achter for the same role.
"Throughout this process, it was evident how special the campus and community are," Achter said. "There is an immense amount of pride in the Titan family that made me feel welcomed and immediately at home. I can not wait to get to work!"
Achter's contract with Loyola, a fellow Jesuit school, was not renewed after this past season after going 67-110 over the last six seasons, including an 18-12 record, 10-8 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
"Kate Achter quickly rose as our top candidate based on her accomplishments and success as a coach and student-athlete," said UDM athletic director Robert Vowels. "She has a great vision for the program, a great work ethic, highly acclaimed communication skills, and is proficient in building a team, both on and off the court."
A multi-sport star at Oregon (Ohio) Clay High School, just east of Toledo, Achter helped Bowling Green win four straight Mid-American Conference titles as a point guard from 2005-08, a run to the Sweet 16 in 2007 and was the MAC Player of the Year as a senior. She is the program's all-time leader in assists and free throws made and fifth-leading scorer.
After playing professionally for one year in Greece, she returned to Bowling Green for two seasons as a grad assistant before stints at St. Bonaventure and Xavier as an assistant.
She was hired at Loyola before the 2016-17 season as one of the youngest head coaches in the country. She had just two wins in her first season, but the wins increased until a 15-14 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.
The Titans entered last season with an entirely new roster and won just one of 30 games under interim coach LaTanya Collins. She was an assistant for AnnMarie Gilbert, who left the program last summer after one season in which players accused the head coach of verbal and emotional abuse and NCAA violations.
Contact Kirkland Crawford: kcrawford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @HiKirkHere.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Mercy women's basketball hires Kate Achter as coach
