Southwestern athletic director Glada Munt announced Thursday the hiring of Kerri Brinkoeter as the school's next women's basketball coach.
Brinkoeter replaces Pam Ruder, who stepped down in March after five seasons, having compiled a career record of 63-76.
Brinkoeter is no stranger to Southwestern, as she is a 1995 graduate and coached the team from 2002-05. She compiled a 40-38 record and .513 winning percentage while guiding the Pirates to two conference tournament berths and a fifth-place finish in the SCAC in 2003-04.
“We are delighted to have Coach Brinkoeter returning to our women's basketball program,” Munt said. “She is a proven winner on and off the basketball court and has a wonderful ability to attract academically oriented and talented basketball players to the program. Without a doubt she will hit the ground running! All of Southwestern, particularly our women's basketball program, looks forward to welcoming her back.”
Recruiting quality student-athletes has always been a priority for Brinkoeter and she did just that during her first tenure, coaching five All-SCAC selections and amassing a team GPA of over 3.0 during all three seasons.
“I am ready and excited to begin again as head women's basketball coach at my alma mater," Brinkoeter said. "I look forward to our team challenging for a conference championship in the SCAC. The future looks bright for Southwestern women's basketball and I am honored to accept this position."
During her absence from college coaching Brinkoeter has maintained contact with the game by coaching the highly competitive Georgetown Fury Select Club basketball team and serving as athletic director and coach at Grace Academy of Georgetown, Texas.
Upon graduation from Southwestern, Brinkoeter went on to earn her master's in exercise science from Auburn in 1996. She was an assistant coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville for two seasons before taking on head coaching duties at Blinn, a two-year school, from 1998-2002.
While at Blinn, Brinkoeter guided the Buccaneer Women's Basketball program to a 52-39 record, including a 23-8 record in 1999-2000 where they advanced to the Regional semifinal. She produced two All-Region selections, a Kodak All-American, an Honorable Mention All-American and a District VI Kodak All-American during her tenure.