Chris Kielsmeier
{{Short description|American basketball coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
Chris Kielsmeier (born 1975 or 1976) is the women's basketball coach for Cleveland State University since 2018. He began his coaching career at Howard Payne University in 1999 as an assistant coach. As their women's basketball coach from 2000 to 2008, his team won the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament thrice. Upon winning the 2008 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament, the university had their first title in team sports since leaving the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. After receiving the WBCA National Coach of the Year Award for Division III schools in 2008, Kielsmeier had 179 wins and 44 losses before leaving for Wayne State College that year.
At Wayne State from 2008 to 2018, Kielsmeier had 237 wins and 72 losses while receiving two Coach of the Year awards as part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. During this time period, his team won the Northern Sun women's basketball tournament twice and reached the Elite Eight during the 2012 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament. With Cleveland State, his team had their first ever postseason title when they won the 2021 Women's Basketball Invitational. The following year, Cleveland State were second at the 2022 WBI. In 2023, Kielsmeier's team were the Horizon League women's basketball tournament winners and appeared in the first round of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament. The school competed in the first round of the 2024 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament.
Early life and education
Kielsmeier was born in Ames, Iowa during the 1970s.{{cite news |last1=Poe |first1=Barry |title=Winning Wildcats |work=Sioux City Journal |date=January 16, 2014 |pages=B1, B4}} For his post-secondary education, he attended Iowa State University in the 1990s.{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Elton |title=Cleveland State officially welcomes women's basketball coach Chris Kielsmeier |access-date=April 24, 2023 |work=Cleveland.com |date=April 19, 2018 |url=https://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/2018/04/cleveland_state_officially_wel.html}} During this time period, he completed a sport management degree at Iowa State.{{cite web |title=Chris Kielsmeier |url=https://www.csuvikings.com/sports/w-baskbl/coaches/Chris_Kielsmeier |website=Cleveland State University Vikings |access-date=April 27, 2023}} Kielsmeier also worked on their women's basketball team for an internship.{{cite news |title=Kielsmeier new Wayne State women's hoops coach |work=Sioux City Journal |date=May 9, 2008 |page=B3}}
Career
=Howard Payne=
Kielsmeier continued his women's basketball career in 1999 with Howard Payne University as an assistant coach. The following year, he became their coach.{{cite web |title=Chris Kielsmeier |url=https://hpusports.com/honors/hpu-sports-hall-of-fame?hof=122 |website=HPU Sports Hall of Fame |publisher=Howard Payne University Athletics |access-date=April 24, 2023}} From 2005 to 2008, Kielsmeier's team won the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament thrice.{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Elton |title=Cleveland State names Chris Kielsmeier new women's basketball coach |url=https://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/2018/04/cleveland_state_names_chris_ki.html |access-date=April 24, 2023 |work=Cleveland.com |date=April 17, 2018}}{{cite web |title=Championship Tournament History |url=https://static.ascsports.org/custompages/wbball/ASC_WBK_Tournament_History.pdf |website=American Southwest Conference |access-date=April 24, 2023 |page=1}}
During this time period, Howard Payne were first in the 2008 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament.{{cite news |title=H. Payne women win D-III title |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |agency=Staff and wire reports |date=March 23, 2008 |page=8C}} With their 2008 victory, Kielsmeier and Howard Payne had their first Division III title in women's basketball.{{cite web |title=DIII Women's Basketball Championship History |url=https://ncaa-failover.ncaa.com/history/basketball-women/d3 |website=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=April 24, 2023}} It was also the university's first title in team sports after they left the NAIA.{{cite web |title=National Championships |url=https://hpusports.com/sports/2017/3/29/national-championships.aspx |website=Howard Payne University |access-date=April 27, 2023}} Upon leaving the university that year, he had 179 wins and 44 losses.
=Wayne State College=
In 2008, Kielsmeier became the women's basketball coach for Wayne State College.{{cite news |last1=Poe |first1=Barry |title=WSC Gears Up |work=Sioux City Journal |date=October 17, 2008 |page=B3}} His team won the Northern Sun women's basketball tournament in 2010 and 2012.{{cite news |title=Wayne State's Kielsmeier leaves for Cleveland State |work=Sioux City Journal |date=April 18, 2018 |page=B5}} During the 2012 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament, Kielsmeier's players reached the Elite Eight.{{cite news |title=Bentley rallies to top Wayne State women |work=Lincoln Journal Star |date=March 21, 2012 |page=C4}} While at Wayne State, he was on the board of directors for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association during the late 2010s.{{cite web |title=Board of Directors |url=http://wbca.org/about/our-leaders/board-directors |website=Women's Basketball Coaches Association |access-date=April 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429035139/http://wbca.org/about/our-leaders/board-directors |archive-date=April 29, 2016}} Kielsmeier had 237 wins and 72 losses upon leaving the college in 2018.
=Cleveland State=
Kielsmeir joined Cleveland State University as their women's basketball coach in 2018.{{cite news |last1=Scalzo |first1=Joe |title=Cleveland State plans extension for women's basketball coach |url=https://www.crainscleveland.com/sports-business/cleveland-state-coach-chris-kielsmeier-get-contract-extension |access-date=April 27, 2023 |work=Crain's Cleveland Business |date=March 28, 2023}} At the Women's Basketball Invitational, Cleveland State had their first ever postseason title as the 2021 winners with Kielsmeier.{{cite news |last1=Schwab |first1=Mark |title=CSU Women win 1st tournament title in program history |url=https://www.cleveland19.com/2021/03/23/csu-women-win-womens-basketball-invitational/ |access-date=April 24, 2023 |work=Cleveland 19 |date=March 23, 2021}} His players were second at the 2022 edition of the WBI.{{cite news |last1=Glasier |first1=David |title=Destiny Leo-led Cleveland State women ready to compete in Horizon League |work=The Morning Journal |url=https://www.morningjournal.com/2022/10/25/destiny-leo-led-cleveland-state-women-ready-to-compete-in-horizon-league/ |access-date=April 24, 2023 |date=October 25, 2022}} The following year, Cleveland State and Kielsmeier were the 2023 Horizon League women's basketball tournament winners.{{cite web |title=Cleveland State Captures 2023 Barbasol #HLWBB Championship |url=https://horizonleague.org/news/2023/3/7/womens-basketball-cleveland-state-captures-2023-barbasol-hlwbb-championship.aspx |website=Horizon League |access-date=April 24, 2023 |date=March 7, 2023}} They appeared in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.{{cite news |last1=Jenses |first1=Mike |title=Maddy Siegrist Show is a hit |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=March 19, 2023 |page=C7}} Cleveland State competed in the first round during the 2024 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament.{{cite web |title=2024 WBIT: Bracket, schedule, TV channels for the women's tournament |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2024-04-01/2024-wbit-bracket-schedule-tv-channels-womens-tournament |website=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=May 5, 2024 |date=April 3, 2024}}{{cite web |title=Cleveland State Athletics Announces Men's & Women's Basketball Ticket Plan Deposit Campaign |url=https://www.csuvikings.com/general/2023-24/releases/20240405dthk7a |website=Cleveland State University Vikings |access-date=May 5, 2024 |date=April 5, 2024}}
Honors and personal life
As part of the ASC, Kielsmeier was the co-winner of the West Division Coach of the Year award in 2005 with Shanna Briggs. He solely won this women's basketball award in 2007 and 2008.{{cite web |title=All-Conference Awards |url=https://static.ascsports.org/custompages/wbball/WBK_All-ASC_Awards_History.pdf |website=American Southwest Conference |access-date=April 24, 2023 |pages=1, 3}} With Howard Payne, he received the WBCA National Coach of the Year Award for Division III schools in 2008.{{cite web |title=Past WBCA National Coaches of the Year |url=https://wbca.org/recognize/coach-awards/wbca-coach-year/past-recipients |website=Women's Basketball Coaches Association |access-date=April 24, 2023}} Additional Coach of the Year awards Kielsmeier received that year were from D3hoops.com and Women's Division III News.{{cite web |title=Women's Basketball Award Winners |url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/2023/Awards.pdf |website=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=April 24, 2023 |page=23 |date=2023}}
While competing in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with Wayne State, Kielsmeier was the women's basketball Coach of the Year in 2010 and 2012.{{cite news |last1=Peterson |first1=Cindy |title=Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Women's Basketball Capsules |work=The Bismarck Tribune |date=November 9, 2010 |page=4D}}{{cite news |title=U-Mary's Murray, Collins, Smith; Feeney Honored |work=The Bismarck Tribune |date=March 2, 2012 |at=p. 2D para. Women}} In the Horizon League, he was Coach of the Year during 2024.{{cite web |last1=Mosley |first1=Kobe |title=Horizon League Releases 2023-24 #HLWBB All-League Awards |url=https://horizonleague.org/news/2024/3/3/womens-basketball-horizon-league-releases-2023-24-hlwbb-all-league-awards.aspx |website=Horizon League |access-date=March 7, 2024 |date=March 4, 2024}} Kielsmeier and his players for the 2007–08 season joined the HPU Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.{{cite web |title=2007-2008 Women's Basketball Team |url=https://hpusports.com/honors/hpu-sports-hall-of-fame/2007-2008-womens-basketball-team/112 |website=HPU Sports Hall of Fame |publisher=Howard Payne University Athletics |access-date=April 24, 2023}} He was solely inducted into this hall of fame by Howard Payne in 2014. Kielsmeier received medical treatment when he was sick with COVID-19 during March 2020.{{cite web |last1=Lopresti |first1=Mike |title=Cleveland State's Chris Kielsmeier looks back on his bout with COVID two years later |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2022-03-07/cleveland-states-chris-kielsmeier-looks-back-his-bout-covid-two-years-later |website=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=April 27, 2023 |date=March 7, 2022}}
References
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{{Horizon League women's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Cleveland State Vikings women's basketball coach navbox}}{{Horizon League Women's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
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