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Nicki Collen
Current position
Title Head coach
Team Baylor
Conference Big 12
Record74–28 (.725)
Biographical details
Born (1975-05-13) May 13, 1975 (age 48)
Indiana, U.S.
Playing career
1993–1995 Purdue
1995–1997 Marquette
1997BCM Alexandros
Coaching career ( HC unless noted)
2001–2003 Colorado State (assistant)
2003 Ball State (assistant)
2003–2005 Louisville (assistant)
2011–2014 Arkansas (assistant)
2014–2015 Florida Gulf Coast (assistant)
2015– 2017 Connecticut Sun (assistant)
2018– 2020 Atlanta Dream
2021–present Baylor
Head coaching record
Overall74–28 (.725) (NCAA)
38–52 (.422) (WNBA)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

Nicki Collen (née Taggart; born May 13, 1975) is an American basketball coach and is currently the head women's basketball coach at Baylor University.

Early life

Collen was born in Indiana and her family moved to Platteville, Wisconsin when she was 10 years old. While living in Wisconsin, Collen attended basketball camps with Bo Ryan. [1]

Playing career

Collen began her playing career at Purdue, where she was on a team that made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994 and 1995 and won consecutive Big 10 Championships. During her junior year, she transferred to Marquette, where she led the team to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She earned all conference honors while at Marquette and was ranked third nationally in assists during her senior season. [2] After her college career, Collen played one year of professional basketball in Greece with BCM Alexandros. [3]

Coaching career

Collen began her coaching career at Colorado State as an assistant. After her tenure there, she was an assistant at Ball State, Louisville, and Arkansas, before moving to Florida Gulf Coast. While at Florida Gulf Coast, she helped the 2014–2015 team to a historic 31–3 record. [4] Collen coached under Curt Miller with the Connecticut Sun after her time as a college assistant. Collen helped the Sun turn around from a 14–20 finish in 2016 to a 21–13 record in 2017. [5]

On October 30, 2017, Collen was announced as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream. Collen took over for Michael Cooper after the Dream finished 12–22 in 2017. [6]

Atlanta Dream

Collen led the Dream to a slow start; posting a 2–2 record in May and a 5–6 record in June. June was an up and down month, with the team winning on the road against the Seattle Storm, but giving the Indiana Fever their second win of the season. July saw the team find its form. The Dream posted a 9–2 record, which was tied for the best record in the league. The run moved the team from 9th in the standings to 2nd. Collen led the team on an eight-game win streak including a perfect 4–0 record on the road. For her efforts, Collen was named WNBA Coach of the Month for July. [7] Collen was again selected WNBA Coach of the Month in August. She led the Dream to a 7–1 record, which secured them the number 2 seed in the playoffs and a bye to the semifinals. The team's only loss was to Phoenix on the road. [8] The team finished with a 23–11 record, a franchise best.

On August 28, 2018, it was announced that Collen was selected the WNBA Coach of the Year. She received 37 of 39 possible votes for the award. She is the second Dream coach to win the award. [9]

Baylor Bears

On May 3, 2021, Collen was hired as the head coach at Baylor following Kim Mulkey's departure to LSU. [10]

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
ATL 2018 34 23 11 .676 1st in East 5 2 3 .400 Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals
ATL 2019 34 8 26 .235 6th in East — — — — Did not qualify
ATL 2020 22 7 15 .318 4th in East — — — — Did not qualify
Career 90 38 52 .422 5 2 3 .400
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Baylor Bears ( Big 12 Conference) (2021–present)
2021–22 Baylor 28–7 15–3 1st NCAA Second Round
2022–23 Baylor 20–13 10–8 T–4th NCAA Second Round
2023–24 Baylor 26–8 12–6 T–4th NCAA Sweet 16
Baylor: 74–28 (.725) 37–17 (.685)
Total: 74–28 (.725)

Personal life

Collen is married to basketball coach Tom Collen. The couple have three children. [6] The two met when Tom was an assistant at Purdue when she played there and then he later hired her as his assistant at Colorado State. They married in 2001 and she served as his assistant at Louisville and Arkansas. [11]

External links

References

  1. ^ Matt Foley (February 20, 2018). "Meet the Rookie WNBA Coach Who Is Married to the Game". ozy.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  2. ^ Andres Focil (6 November 2014). "Nicki Collen joins hoops staff". Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  3. ^ "Nicki Collen Named Assistant Women's Basketball Coach". gocards.com. University of Louisville. April 1, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  4. ^ "Nicki Collen". fgcuathletics.com. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  5. ^ "Former Connecticut assistant Nicki Collen named Dream coach". usatoday.com. October 30, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Nicki Collen Named Atlanta Dream Head Coach". wnba.com. WNBA. October 30, 2017. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "Atlanta's Collen Named WNBA Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  8. ^ "Dream's Nicki Collen Named August Coach Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "Atlanta's Nicki Collen Named 2018 WNBA Coach Of The Year". wnba.com. WNBA. August 28, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
  10. ^ "Baylor Welcomes Collen as Women's Basketball Head Coach". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  11. ^ "Nicki Collen Was Her Husband's Assistant Coach. Now, She's WNBA Coach of the Year".
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