Nicki Collen
{{Short description|American basketball player and coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Nicki Collen
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_title = Head coach
| current_conference = Big 12
| current_team = Baylor
| current_record = {{Winning percentage|102|36|record=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1975|05|13}}
| birth_place = Indiana, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| player_years1 = 1993–1995
| player_team1 = Purdue
| player_years2 = 1995–1997
| player_team2 = Marquette
| player_years3 = 1997
| player_team3 = BCM Alexandros
| coach_years1 = 2001–2003
| coach_team1 = Colorado State (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 2003
| coach_team2 = Ball State (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 2003–2005
| coach_team3 = Louisville (assistant)
| coach_years4 = 2011–2014
| coach_team4 = Arkansas (assistant)
| coach_years5 = 2014–2015
| coach_team5 = Florida Gulf Coast (assistant)
| coach_team6 = Connecticut Sun (assistant)
| coach_team7 = Atlanta Dream
| coach_years8 = 2021–present
| coach_team8 = Baylor
| overall_record = {{Winning percentage|102|36|record=y}} (NCAA)
{{Winning percentage|38|52|record=y}} (WNBA)
| tournament_record =
| championships =
- Big 12 regular season (2022)
| awards =
- WNBA Coach of the Year (2018)
| medal_templates =
}}
Nicki Collen (née Taggart; born May 13, 1975) is an American basketball coach and is currently the head women's basketball coach at Baylor University.
Early life
Collen was born in Indiana and her family moved to Platteville, Wisconsin when she was 10 years old. While living in Wisconsin, Collen attended basketball camps with Bo Ryan.{{cite web|url=https://www.ozy.com/the-huddle/meet-the-rookie-wnba-coach-who-is-married-to-the-game/82491|title=Meet the Rookie WNBA Coach Who Is Married to the Game|author=Matt Foley|website=ozy.com|date=February 20, 2018|accessdate=June 4, 2018}}
Playing career
Collen began her playing career at Purdue, where she was on a team that made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 1994 and 1995 and won consecutive Big 10 Championships. During her junior year, she transferred to Marquette, where she led the team to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She earned all conference honors while at Marquette and was ranked third nationally in assists during her senior season.{{cite web|url=http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/nicki_collen_joins_hoops_staff_205178049/|title=Nicki Collen joins hoops staff|author=Andres Focil|date=6 November 2014|accessdate=June 4, 2018}} After her college career, Collen played one year of professional basketball in Greece with BCM Alexandros.{{cite web|url=http://gocards.com/news/2003/4/1/Nicki_Collen_Named_Assistant_Women_s_Basketball_Coach.aspx|title=Nicki Collen Named Assistant Women's Basketball Coach|date=April 1, 2003|accessdate=June 4, 2018|website=gocards.com|publisher=University of Louisville}}
College career statistics
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1993–94
| style="text-align:left;" | Purdue
|28||-||-||22.2||0.0||69.2||0.6||0.8||0.6||0.1||-||0.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1994–95
| style="text-align:left;" | Purdue
|28||-||-||22.7||18.2||53.8||0.6||1.2||0.3||0.0||-||0.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1995–96
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="12" |Sat out due to NCAA transfer rules
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1996–97
| style="text-align:left;" | Marquette
|31||-||-||31.9||23.9||81.5||2.8||6.6||1.9||0.3||-||6.8
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | 1997–98
| style="text-align:left;" | Marquette
|29||-||-||38.1||37.4||72.0||2.7||7.4||1.6||0.1||-||9.8
|-
| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 | Career
|116||-||-||34.5||32.2||74.0||1.7||4.1||1.1||0.1||-||4.7
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/nicki-taggart-1.html|title=Nicki Taggart College Stats|publisher=Sports-Reference|accessdate=April 11, 2024}}
{{s-end}}
Coaching career
Collen began her coaching career at Colorado State as an assistant. After her tenure there, she was an assistant at Ball State, Louisville, and Arkansas, before moving to Florida Gulf Coast. While at Florida Gulf Coast, she helped the 2014–2015 team to a historic 31–3 record.{{cite web|url=http://fgcuathletics.com/mobile/staff.aspx?staff=293|title=Nicki Collen|website=fgcuathletics.com|accessdate=June 4, 2018}} Collen coached under Curt Miller with the Connecticut Sun after her time as a college assistant. Collen helped the Sun turn around from a 14–20 finish in 2016 to a 21–13 record in 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2017/10/30/former-connecticut-assistant-nicki-collen-named-dream-coach/107179832/|title=Former Connecticut assistant Nicki Collen named Dream coach|website=usatoday.com|date=October 30, 2017|accessdate=June 4, 2018}}
On October 30, 2017, Collen was announced as the head coach of the Atlanta Dream. Collen took over for Michael Cooper after the Dream finished 12–22 in 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/news/nicki-collen-named-atlanta-dream-head-coach/|title=Nicki Collen Named Atlanta Dream Head Coach|website=wnba.com|publisher=WNBA|date=October 30, 2017|accessdate=June 4, 2018}}
=Atlanta Dream=
Collen led the Dream to a slow start; posting a 2–2 record in May and a 5–6 record in June. June was an up and down month, with the team winning on the road against the Seattle Storm, but giving the Indiana Fever their second win of the season. July saw the team find its form. The Dream posted a 9–2 record, which was tied for the best record in the league. The run moved the team from 9th in the standings to 2nd. Collen led the team on an eight-game win streak including a perfect 4–0 record on the road. For her efforts, Collen was named WNBA Coach of the Month for July.{{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/news/atlantas-collen-named-wnba-coach-of-the-month/|title=Atlanta's Collen Named WNBA Coach Of The Month|website=wnba.com|publisher=WNBA|date=August 2, 2018|accessdate=August 3, 2018}} Collen was again selected WNBA Coach of the Month in August. She led the Dream to a 7–1 record, which secured them the number 2 seed in the playoffs and a bye to the semifinals. The team's only loss was to Phoenix on the road.{{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/news/dreams-nicki-collen-named-august-coach-of-the-month/|title=Dream's Nicki Collen Named August Coach Of The Month|website=wnba.com|publisher=WNBA|date=August 20, 2018|accessdate=August 20, 2018}} The team finished with a 23–11 record, a franchise best.
On August 28, 2018, it was announced that Collen was selected the WNBA Coach of the Year. She received 37 of 39 possible votes for the award. She is the second Dream coach to win the award.{{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/news/atlantas-nicki-collen-named-2018-wnba-coach-of-the-year/|title=Atlanta's Nicki Collen Named 2018 WNBA Coach Of The Year|website=wnba.com|publisher=WNBA|date=August 28, 2018|accessdate=August 29, 2018}}
= Baylor Bears =
On May 3, 2021, Collen was hired as the head coach at Baylor following Kim Mulkey's departure to LSU.{{Cite web|title=Baylor Welcomes Collen as Women's Basketball Head Coach|url=https://baylorbears.com/news/2021/5/3/womens-basketball-baylor-welcomes-collen-as-womens-basketball-head-coach.aspx|access-date=2021-05-04|website=Baylor University Athletics|language=en}}
Head coaching record
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | ATL
| align="left" |2018
|34||23||11||{{Winning percentage|23|11}}|| align="center" | 1st in East ||5||2||3||{{Winning percentage|2|3}}
| align="center" | Lost in WNBA Semi-Finals
|-
| align="left" | ATL
| align="left" |2019
|34||8||26||{{Winning percentage|8|26}}|| align="center" | 6th in East ||—||—||—||—
| align="center" | Did not qualify
|-
| align="left" | ATL
| align="left" |2020
|22||7||15||{{Winning percentage|7|15}}|| align="center" | 4th in East ||—||—||—||—
| align="center" | Did not qualify
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||90||38||52||{{Winning percentage|38|52}}|| ||5||2||3||{{Winning percentage|2|3}}
{{s-end}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type=coach | conference= |postseason=}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
|name=Baylor Bears
|startyear=2021
|conference=Big 12 Conference
|endyear=
|}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| season = 2021–22
| name = Baylor
| overall = 28–7
| conference = 15–3
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Second Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2022–23
| name = Baylor
| overall = 20–13
| conference = 10–8
| confstanding = T–4th
| postseason = NCAA Second Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2023–24
| name = Baylor
| overall = 26–8
| conference = 12–6
| confstanding = T–4th
| postseason = NCAA Sweet Sixteen
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2024–25
| name = Baylor
| overall = 28–8
| conference = 15–3
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = NCAA Second Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Baylor
| overall = {{Winning percentage|102|36|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winning percentage|52|20|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
|overall = {{Winning percentage|102|36|record=y}}
|legend = no
}}
Personal life
Collen is married to basketball coach Tom Collen. The couple have three children. The two met when Tom was an assistant at Purdue when she played there and then he later hired her as his assistant at Colorado State. They married in 2001 and she served as his assistant at Louisville and Arkansas.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2019/03/08/nicki-tom-collen-atlanta-arkansas|title=Nicki Collen Was Her Husband's Assistant Coach. Now, She's WNBA Coach of the Year}}
External links
- [http://dream.wnba.com/coach-bio/ Atlanta Dream Bio]
References
{{reflist}}
{{Big 12 Conference women's basketball coach navbox}}
{{navboxes|list=
{{Baylor Lady Bears basketball coach navbox}}
{{Atlanta Dream}}
{{WNBA Coach of the Year Award}}
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collen, Nicki}}
Category:American women's basketball coaches
Category:American women's basketball players
Category:Atlanta Dream coaches
Category:Basketball coaches from Indiana
Category:Basketball coaches from Wisconsin
Category:Baylor Bears women's basketball coaches
Category:Connecticut Sun coaches
Category:Marquette Golden Eagles women's basketball players