Whitten Named Mount St. Mary's Head Women's Basketball Coach

Whitten becomes the fifth head coach in the 33-year history of the Mount’s women’s basketball program after Rev. James Delaney (45-30, 1974-78), Fred Carter (60-32, 1978-81), Bill Sheahan (372-104, 1981-98) and Vanessa Blair (120-135, 1998-07). The Mountaineers rank in the Top-50 in NCAA history in wins (557) and winning percentage (.664) and the team needs three victories for the 600^th win in program history.

“Bryan Whitten brings his success story to the Mount which includes a proven track record from his time at both King’s College and Virginia Commonwealth University,” said Mount St. Mary’s President Dr. Thomas H. Powell.  “We couldn’t be happier to be adding Bryan to our Mount athletic family.”

Whitten inherits a team that returns two starters and three letterwinners including two-time Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year Tiffany Green (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) along with six newcomers. The Mount went 12-17 overall last season and 10-8 in NEC play, finishing tied for fourth in the league.

“After a lengthy search with an excellent pool of candidates, we are very pleased to bring someone of Bryan’s talent and experience to the Mount,” said Lynne Robinson, the Interim Director of Athletics and Co-Chair of the Women’s Basketball Head Coach Search Committee. “Bryan is a proven winner as a head coach and he is a tireless recruiter. I am confident that Bryan has the leadership ability and drive to take our women’s basketball program back to the upper echelons of the Northeast Conference.”

Whitten comes to Emmitsburg after serving as a women’s basketball assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth University for the last two seasons. In his two-year tenure at Virginia Commonwealth, Whitten coached the 2005-06 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Year and helped the Rams to a 30-28 record, including a 17-13 mark while the team advanced to the CAA quarterfinals in 2006-07.

"I am very honored and excited to be the new women's basketball coach at Mount St. Mary's University,” said Whitten. “There is a strong tradition of success here and I look forward to the opportunity of continuing and building on that tradition.  I would like to thank President Powell, Vice President Dan Soller, and Athletic Director Lynne Robinson for their confidence and for this great opportunity.  I've met with the team and they are all pretty enthusiastic about the upcoming season.  I'm really looking forward to being their coach.  We are all anxious and excited to get things started and about the future of Mount St. Mary's basketball!”

Prior to his time in Richmond, Va., Whitten was the head women’s basketball coach at King’s College, a Division III program in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He spent 12 seasons at the helm of the Lady Monarchs, amassing a 220-103 record and guided the team 10-straight winnings seasons, 11-consecutive Middle Atlantic/Freedom Conference (MAC) Tournament berths, two MAC Freedom Conference titles and four trips to the NCAA Division III national tournament from 2000-03.

“The journey to being a Division I head coach has been long and there are many people who have helped me get to this point,” said Whitten.  “I'd like to thank the late John Dorish, who was the AD at King's College and gave me my first opportunity to be a college head coach, and the entire King's community for the their continual support; Beth Cunningham, the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth, who gave me the opportunity to become a Division I coach, and Mike Brey, head coach at Notre Dame, for his consistent advice and support.  I'd also like to thank my former players at King's College whose loyalty, support, friendship and love have continued to inspire me.  Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank my family, especially my parents and my wife Angie, for their never ending confidence, guidance, support and love."

Whitten, a 1991 graduate at King’s College, coached one Columbus Multi-Media Division III National Player of the Year, three finalists for the Josten’s Trophy “National Player of the Year” Award, 23 all-conference players, five Most Valuable Players, 14 Division III All-Americans and 15 ECAC All-Stars. Also, Whitten coached Heather Medashefski, a 1999 graduate of King’s, who played professionally in Portugal. Whitten was named the MAC Freedom Coach of the Year in 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001 and 2002.

In additions to his team’s exploits on the court, Whitten’s players excelled off the court as well. He had 44 players named to the MAC Freedom All-Academic Team and five times his team ranked in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top-25.

After starting the first two years 15-34, Whitten led his alma mater to a 205-69 record in his final 10 seasons. In 1995-96, his team went 14-11 and followed that season up with a 17-10 mark before the Lady Monarchs produced the first 20-win season under Whitten with a 23-5 record and the squad won the ECAC South Championship, the first postseason title in program history.

After an 18-9 year and its third-straight ECAC Tournament appearance in 1998-99, Whitten led King’s to four-straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. The Lady Monarchs went 24-6 in 1990-00 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to Scranton, who played in the national semifinals. The team then won its first-ever MAC Freedom League title before losing to the eventual national runner up Messiah in the NCAA Second Round with a 19-7 record in 2000-01.

Whitten then had his best season in Wilkes-Barre in 2001-02 when his Lady Monarchs posted a school-record 25-4 mark and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, falling to Final Four bound Marymount. In the next season, King’s won its second MAC Freedom crown and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, losing to the eventual national runner up Eastern Connecticut.

In 2003-04, King’s advanced to the MAC Freedom Conference Tournament championship game with a 19-9 record before going 22-4 in Whitten’s final campaign with the Lady Monarchs.

A native of Hockessin, Del., Whitten started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the women’s basketball team at King’s from 1989-92. Whitten then returned to Delaware for one season to serve as an assistant coach at St. Mark’s High School and co-head coach of the Delaware Patriot AAU Girl’s 14-Under squad, which finished among the top six schools in the Atlantic Region.

Whitten and his wife Angie were married on Sept. 24, 2005 and are expecting their first child in January.