Charlotte's Meier Named Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coach of the Year

Katie Meier

Charlotte 49ers women's basketball coach Katie Meier has been named Regional Coach of the Year for Region 4 by Russell Athletic and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. As Regional Coach of the Year, Meier is a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors.

This season, the team's second under Meier, Charlotte is 21-8 overall and in a position to earn the program's first bid ever to the NCAA Tournament. The team won its first ever Conference USA regular-season title, going 12-2 in league play after being picked to finish sixth in the preseason. The 49ers clinched the title on the final weekend of the season, beating traditional C-USA power Tulane.

The Niners' turnaround has been remarkable, considering that seven of the 13 players are new to the program. The team includes just one senior and features five freshmen. To date, the 49ers have started two freshmen and a sophomore 28 times and have started three freshmen and a sophomore 16 times.

Earlier this year, the team received votes in the national polls for the first time since 1994. Charlotte earned votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll for five-straight weeks, while also getting votes in the Associated Press poll for four weeks in a row.

National Coach of the Year selection is a two-level process. The first level is by region, in which coaches from each WBCA geographical region vote for their respective top coach. If a coach has been selected as Regional Coach of the Year, they advance as a finalist to the national level of the selection process along with the other seven Regional Coaches of the Year in their respective division. The winner of the NCAA Division I Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year will be honored on Monday, April 7 during the Russell Athletic/WBCA Coach of the Year Luncheon at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

This is the second Coach of the Year honor for Meier. Last week, she was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in a vote of the league's coaches, SIDs and media.

Russell Athletic/WBCA Regional Coaches of the Year
Region 1 - Geno Auriemma, Connecticut
Region 2 - Gail Goestenkors, Duke
Region 3 - Sue Gunter, LSU
Region 4 - Katie Meier, Charlotte
Region 5 - Debbie Patterson, Kansas State
Region 6 - Kevin Borseth, Wisconsin-Green Bay
Region 7 - Carla Taylor, Weber State
Region 8 - Mark French, UC Santa Barbara