MUNCIE, Ind. ? Marsha Frese, who spent the past two seasons as the associate head coach at Illinois, has been named an assistant coach for the Ball State women's basketball team, head coach Tracy Roller announced Thursday.
“We are extremely happy to welcome Marsha back to our Ball State Women's Basketball family,” Roller said. “It is not often you get the opportunity to bring in an assistant with Marsha's experience and knowledge of the game, as well as, someone who is a great friend.”
Frese brings a wealth of experience and recruiting expertise to the program and returns to Ball State in her second stint as an assistant coach. Frese spent two seasons at Ball State as an assistant with Roller on former head coach Brenda Frese's staff in Muncie.
“I am excited to be at Ball State and to be working with Coach Roller and her staff,” Frese said. “She is the epitome of what women's college basketball is all about. She is driven, passionate, a great communicator, but most importantly 110 percent in it for the kids. I have followed Tracy's team and their success from afar and I am excited to return to the Ball State family.”
Frese helped guide the Illinois program to a 19-12 overall record last season and a fourth place finish in the Big Ten Conference. The Fighting Illini advanced to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) quarterfinals, including a second round victory over Utah.
Frese was instrumental in bringing national recognition to the Illinois recruiting classes during her time in Champaign, Ill. Her first two seasons at Illinois produced Top 25 recruiting classes, including the 2005-06 class which was ranked No. 18 nationally by The Blue Star Report.
Prior to Illinois, Frese was an assistant coach at Maryland for the 2002-03 season where she spearheaded the Terrapins' recruiting. Maryland pulled in the 10th-best recruiting class in the country in her lone season as McDonald's All-American Shay Doron and third team All-American Kalika France committed to the Terps.
As an assistant at Minnesota, Frese served as recruiting coordinator and was part of one of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history. After posting an 8-20 record prior to arriving, the Golden Gophers turned in a 22-8 performance as well as securing the 15th-best recruiting class in the nation.
She returns to Muncie for her second stint as an assistant coach as she spent two seasons at Ball State from 1999-2001. She helped produce back-to-back winning seasons for the Cardinals for just the second time in program history and also was instrumental in signing Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year Johna Goff to her first recruiting class.
“Since her departure for the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference, she has been a trustworthy colleague I respect greatly,” Roller said. “Our program is blessed to have her. She is an outstanding recruiter and has a big time championship mentality. I am excited to have Marsha, her husband Jason, and their daughter, Kylan, here in Muncie.”
Frese earned a bachelor of arts in communications from Rice University in 1995. As a player, she lettered all four years and finished her career ranked sixth in three-pointers made for the Owls. She also starred on the hardwood at the high school level where she led Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) to the 1988 state title, while leading the state in scoring. She was named Miss Iowa Basketball in 1990 and finished her career as one of the Top 25 all-time leading scorers in Iowa history.
Marsha Frese's Coaching Experience
University of Illinois -- Associate Head Coach, 2005-2007
-- Assistant Coach, 2003-2005
University of Maryland -- Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, 2002-03
University of Minnesota -- Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, 2001-02
Ball State University -- Assistant Coach, 1999-2001
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