Episode 148: Katrina Merriweather, Success Through Relationship Building

Guest: Katrina Merriweather, Wright State Women’s Head Coach

In this week’s basketball coaching conversation, Wright State Women’s head coach Katrina Merriweather joins the Basketball Podcast to discuss how to build a successful program and the importance of player and coach relationships.

Katrina Merriweather is the current head coach of the Women’s team at Wright State. She took over in the Spring of 2016 and has guided the Raiders to over 100 wins in her few years at the helm. During these four seasons, she has coached her team to two WNIT appearances, two regular-season conference championships, one NCAA Tournament berth, and earned votes to be a Top 25 ranked team. Katrina also earned the honor of Horizon League Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2019 for her outstanding coaching performance at Wright State.

Before earning the head coach position Katrina Merriweather served as an assistant with Wright State for six years. During her time as an assistant, she specialized in recruitment and skill development. Merriweather also served as an assistant at Cincinnati, UIC, and Purdue. Most notable at Purdue Merriweather made a great impact on the teams’ success. Katrina helped developed several guards and landed a top ten recruiting class at Purdue in 2003. Along with that she assisted the Boilermakers to a 29-4 record and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.

After college graduation Katrina helped build a pipeline of women’s basketball talent while coaching in the AAU circuit in her hometown of Indianapolis. While coaching AAU she helped guide and mentor several All-American high school players and current WNBA players. Kristina also is a devoted member of her community and has won the pristine John Wooden Citizenship award due to her community service.

Throughout Katrina Merriweather’s career, she has proved to be a phenomenal leader on and off the court. Coach Merriweather recently began her 5th season with Wright State and looks to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.

Breakdown

1:00 - Building Relationships

5:00 - Holding Players Accountable

10:00 - Front-Loading Communication

12:00 - Emotional Intelligence

15:00 - Transformational Relationships

18:00 - Concept of Accepting

20:00 - Practical Things during Pandemic

24:00 - Optimist Creed

28:00 - Impact is Realized

30:00 - Starting Several Books

33:30 - Coach with Tough Love