WNBA’s Collen hired to replace Mulkey
WACO — WNBA coach Nicki Collen has been hired as the new Baylor women’s basketball coach, taking over a program that has won three national championships and the last 11 Big 12 regular-season titles.
Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades made the announcement Monday night. Collen, who had coached the Atlanta Dream the past three seasons, replaces Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey and will be formally introduced Wednesday on campus.
“Nicki is a passionate leader of young women and an elite basketball mind and teacher of the game,” Rhoades said. “She is a great mission fit who shares in our vision of ‘Preparing Champions for Life’ by commanding excellence both on and off the court. Nicki’s professional experience will be invaluable to developing players for the next level. Her addition sustains our commitment to the women’s basketball program at the highest level.“
Mulkey left Baylor last month after 21 seasons to return to her home state to take over at LSU. The SEC campus is only about 50 miles from Tickfaw, La., where Mulkey grew up.
Collen was the 2018 WNBA Coach of the Year in her first season with the Dream, when they went 23-11 and made it to the league semifinals. She was 38-52 overall in Atlanta, after two seasons as an assistant for the WNBA’s Connecticut franchise.
“I am thrilled to be the head coach at Baylor University. I believe it is the top job in the country for women’s basketball,” Collen said. “I am excited to begin working with this extremely talented team and I am grateful for the unwavering support of (Baylor) president (Linda) Livingstone and Mack Rhoades. The success of this program speaks for itself …”
When Mulkey was hired in April 2000, the Bears were coming off a 7-20 season that was their 13th losing record in 17 years. Under Mulkey, they won national championships in 2005, 2012 and 2019, and 632 games overall in 21 seasons.
Baylor likely would have been a No. 1 seed in 2020 before the women’s NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the pandemic. The Lady Bears were 28-3 this past season, when they made it to a regional final before a 69-67 loss to UConn.