Sept. 13, 2010
Katrina Merriweather, a former assistant at Purdue, UIC and Cincinnati, has been named as an assistant women's basketball coach at Wright State University, Raider first-year head coach Mike Bradbury announced Monday.
An assistant with the Boilermakers from 2003-06, Merriweather served as the program's recruiting coordinator and assisted with scouting along with coaching the guards.
In 2003-04, her first year at Purdue, Merriweather assisted the Boilermakers in a 29-4 campaign, a season that saw Purdue win the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. She also played a major role in recruiting a five-player class rated in many scouting services' top 10.
Merriweather's recruiting success carried over the following year, as she helped sign a class rated in the top 10 by Blue Star Basketball. While she was scouring gyms nationwide, Merriweather also filled her role in Mackey Arena, helping guide one of the youngest teams in Purdue history to a 17-win season and an NCAA Tournament berth.
During the 2005-06 season, Purdue finished 26-7 and again advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to top-ranked North Carolina. The Boilermakers were second in the Big Ten standings and were runner-up in the conference tournament. The recruiting class was ranked third nationally by Blue Star Basketball.
Before coming to Purdue, Merriweather served as an assistant coach for a year at UIC. Charged with performing duties such as travel, film exchange, scouting and recruiting correspondence, Merriweather was part of head coach Lisa Ryckbosch's staff that guided the Flames to a 17-11 record in 2002-03.
Merriweather began her collegiate coaching career at Cincinnati, her alma mater. As a graduate assistant during the 2001-02 season, Merriweather handled scouting and film duties. The Bearcats posted a 26-5 record that year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"Katrina was part of the first recruiting class I was a part of at Cincinnati," said Bradbury. "I've known Katrina and her family since 1996 and have a great deal of respect for them. katrina will be a great asset to our program in many ways. She brings a great deal of experience and energy."
A native of Indianapolis, Merriweather graduated from Cincinnati in 2001 with a degree in English literature and earned a second degree in secondary education in 2002. Under head coach Laurie Pirtle, the Bearcats advanced to postseason play all four years during Merriweather's career, competing in the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and the WNIT in 1998, 2000 and 2001. During her career, Cincinnati posted an 83-41 record.
Along with her college coaching career, Merriweather has also coached AAU basketball for The Family, Inc., based in Indianapolis, and has served as a summer camp coach at several universities.
A 1997 graduate from Cathedral High School in Indianapolis, Merriweather was a member of the 1997 Indiana All-Star Team.
Wright State opens the 2010-11 season with an exhibition contest against Georgetown (KY) at the Nutter Center on Monday, November 1, with the regular-season opener set for Friday, November 12, at IUPUI.
