Kelsey Keizer will begin her ninth year (2022-23) as the Head Coach of the Women's Basketball program after spending the previous three years as the top assistant coach. Kelsey led the Bearcats to back-to-back-to-back winning seasons (2015-16, 2016-17, and 2017-18) for the first time since the 2000-01, 2001-02, and 2002-03 seasons.
Coach Keizer led the Bearcats to their first GLVC Tournament victory last season with a 64-61 win over the Greyhounds of Indianapolis. That capped off their 16 win season, the most since 2016-17. Two of her players received All-Conference Awards including Kyleigh Vaught with 2nd team and Kelsey Blakemore being named to the All-Freshman team.
In the shortened 2020-21 season, the team finished the year 5-14, all against conference opponents. Keizer helped the team to a three-game winning streak halfway through the year, taking down Missouri S&T, Rockhurst, and Maryville. Kyleigh Vaught received 3rd Team All-GLVC honors.
The 2019-20 season marked the first as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. In this tough conference, Keizer led the Bearcats to a 15-13 (9-11 GLVC) record. With the GLVC taking just 8 to the conference tournament, the Bearcats narrowly missed the mark finishing 10th out of 16 teams. Two more Bearcats earned All-Conference honors as Bailey Rezabek earned 2nd Team All-GLVC and Kyleight Vaught was named 3rd Team All-GLVC.
In her fifth season, Keizer led the women's team to a 10-18 (6-13 MIAA) record after finishing 11th in the MIAA. Two Bearcats earned All-MIAA honors under the direction of Keizer as Caylee Richardson was named 3rd Team All-MIAA and Laura Vierkant was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention.
In her fourth season, Keizer led the women's team to the MIAA Postseason Tournament for the third straight year after finishing 10th in the MIAA. The women's team finished with a 15-14 record (7-12 MIAA). Two Bearcats earned All-MIAA honors under the direction of Keizer as Megan Rosenbohm was named both 1st Team All-MIAA and All-Defensive Team, and Caylee Richardson was named 3rd Team All-MIAA.
In her third season, Keizer led the women's team to the MIAA Postseason Tournament for the second straight year after finishing in tie for 10th in the MIAA. Keizer and the Bearcats upset Washburn in the first round of the Tournament to move on to Kansas City. The women's team finished with a 16-14 record (7-12 MIAA). Two Bearcats earned All-MIAA honors under the direction of Keizer as Megan Rosenbohm was named 2nd Team All-MIAA and Caylee Richardson was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention.
In her second season on the bench, Keizer guided the women's team back to the MIAA Postseason Tournament after finishing tied for 6th in the MIAA with a 16-13 (11-11 MIAA) record on the season. The woman's program earned national recognition, as freshman forward Caylee Richardson was named to the NCAA All-Freshman Team after also earning MIAA Freshman of the Year honors. Two Bearcats also earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention honors.
In her first season on the bench, Kelsey led the Bearcats to a 9-18 (4-15 MIAA) record while also helping Junior guard, Dilonna Johnson, to a spot on MIAA All-Conference Honorable Mention team. Her team also placed 11 players on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll during the 2014-15 season.
As the SBU Assistant Coach from 2011-2014, Kelsey helped coach the team to a final four finish in the MIAA Conference tournament in 2013 and placed 7 players to All-Conference Honors over three years. Keizer also helped lead the team to a Top 25 (13th place) finish in the WBCA Academic Honor Roll Rankings with a team GPA of 3.584.
Kelsey graduated Drake University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education. As a student at Drake, Kelsey played on the Women’s Basketball team earning multiple awards including the MVC President's Council Academic Award and MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award. After leaving Drake, Coach Keizer moved to Prague, Czech Republic and played professional basketball for Sparta Prague for two seasons. While playing professional basketball in the Czech Republic, Kelsey also worked for Athletes in Action, an organization that shares the gospel of Jesus Christ through the platform of sports all around the world. After her time abroad, Kelsey earned her Master of Education degree from SBU in Athletic Administration.
Kelsey, a native of Okoboji, Iowa, currently resides in Bolivar, Missouri.
