Fairfield University Women's Basketball

Brown enters her fourth season with the Stags and her first since being promoted to Associate Head Coach. She also experienced coaching spots at Saint Francis (Pa.) and Harcum College.   Brown has been an instrumental part in the Stags’ historic success and was named to the WBCA Thirty Under 30, recognizing the 30 up-and-coming women's basketball coaches at all levels of the game.   Brown has helped the Stags to 74 wins in her three years on the staff, the most victories in a three-year span in program history. Fairfield holds a .771 winning percentage during that span, the 14th-best in the Division I landscape. Fairfield successfully defended their MAAC Championship with their second-straight conference title this past season. During Fairfield's two championship seasons, the Stags hold a 45-1 record against MAAC opponents.   As the team's defensive coordinator, Brown has motivated the Stags to be one of the best defensive teams in the nation, ranking in the top-15 in scoring defense in each of the last two seasons. Fairfield has also ranked in the top-five in the conference in 3-point percentage defense and turnovers forced in all three years.   As the program's recruiting coordinator, Brown has led in the recruiting of six All-MAAC players including Meghan Andersen who earned First Team honors in back-to-back seasons. Andersen was also one of two major award winners in the last three years as she picked up the MAAC Rookie of the Year in 2024 while Raiana Brown was voted the MAAC Sixth Player of the Year in 2025.   Brown has also been instrumental in Fairfield's success in the classroom with the Stags being honored with 11 MAAC All-Academic members in the last two seasons.  That number also includes four student-athletes being named to the CSC Academic All-District teams including Emina Selimovic who was awarded with the university's Bellarmine medal given to the student with the highest GPA in the graduating class.   Brown spent the 2021-22 season as an assistant coach at Saint Francis (Pa.) serving as the co-recruiting coordinator while working with the guards and wing players. As the co-recruiting coordinator, she secured five 2022 commitments for the Red Flash all along the east coast. She would act as the team’s academic liaison with the squad maintaining a 3.7 Fall GPA with two student-athletes earning a perfect 4.0 mark. She mentored several student-athletes including the NEC Defensive Player of the Year Jada Dapaa, who finished fourth in the country with 12.3 rebounds per game. Brown played her collegiate career at the University of Delaware where she scored 1,402 points for the Blue Hens while earning three All-CAA honors. She was named a team co-captain her senior year and was honored with the Joyce Perry Coaches Award. She was voted the team MVP as their leading scorer in the 2014-15 season where her .436 3-point shooting percentage finished second in Delaware single season program history behind Elena Delle Donne. She would get her coaching start at her alma mater as the Blue Hens’ operations intern.  

Johnson begins his fourth season with the Stags and his 27th year of his coaching career. During his time with Fairfield, he has helped the program to two MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances while receiving votes in the national rankings in back-to-back seasons.   Before coming to Fairfield, Johnson served as the head coach at Boston College for six seasons after spending four years as the head coach at Denver. He led the Pioneers to a 72-52 record and a WNIT appearance during his tenure. Denver posted four-straight winning seasons while he was at the helm, the program’s longest streak in 16 years. The Pioneers averaged 62.5 points per game during his tenure and ranked number two in the country in field goal percentage during the 2009-10 season.   During his stay with Boston College, the Eagles also showed an improvement in their shooting by hitting a program record 250 3-pointers and finishing 11th in the country with 8.9 3-pointers per game in the 2014-15 season.   Johnson was also an assistant coach at Boston College, helping the Eagles to a Sweet 16 appearance in the 2006 NCAA Tournament. He also served as the associate head coach at San Diego and four seasons as an assistant coach at Rhode Island.   After his coaching stop at Boston College, Johnson went on to work with Positive Coaching Alliance, a national nonprofit organization that provides online tools and courses to assist young athletes and coaches on and off the field.  

Blake DuDonis is entering his fourth season with the Stags as an assistant coach. During his time with Fairfield, he has helped the program to two MAAC Championships and NCAA Tournament appearances while receiving votes in the national poll in back-to-back campaigns.   He entered Fairfield after having experience in every stage of the coaching ladder, also spending three years as the head coach of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.   With the Stags, DuDonis helped mentor eight All-MAAC honorees, including five from the uniquely designated ‘road runner’ position. Highlighted in that ‘road runner’ group is the two-time First Team honoree – Meghan Andersen, who broke the school’s rookie scoring record with 497 points during the historic 2023-24 season.   Andersen also became the first sophomore in program history to reach 100 made 3-pointers. She was also listed on the Becky Hammond National Mid-Major Player of the Year Watch List.   DuDonis coined the term ‘road runner’ to designate the speed, length, and athleticism of the team’s post players.   In his first season, the Stags grabbed 36.7 rebounds per game, their highest average since the 2009-10 season.   He also was instrumental in the recruitment and development of Raiana Brown, who was named the MAAC Sixth Player of the Year following the 2024-25 season. As the Head Coach at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, he led the Falcons to their highest win total in six years. He would lead the Falcons to three victories over teams receiving votes in the Top 25 national poll. DuDonis installed an up-tempo brand of basketball that saw the Falcons connect on a program record 206 3-pointers in 2022, the fourth most in WIAC history.   DuDonis also served as an assistant coach at the University at Buffalo where he helped the Bulls to their first-ever appearance in the WNIT. He also assisted in the academic advisement of their student-athletes in route to a team GPA of 3.397, the highest in the department that year and highest in program history. Also working with the post players, Buffalo led the conference in offensive rebounds, total rebounds, steals, and blocked shots.   DuDonis also spent two seasons at his alma mater Gardner Webb where he served as the team’s recruiting coordinator and also worked with the post players. He was in charge of the development of Catrina Green, who became the first player in program history to reach both 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.   He started his 11-year coaching career at Merrimack as an assistant coach in 2011-12. He was the team’s academic advisor with the squad holding a 3.53 GPA, the 12th-highest in the country.   His has also served as an advanced regional scout for the Washington Mystics and also a national evaluator for Blue Star Basketball, the oldest and largest national evaluation organization in women’s basketball.

Alex McKinnon begins her third season as the Women's Basketball Director of Operations and was also elevated to the position of assistant coach during the team’s historic 2023-24 season. She is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the team including academic support and travel schedule. During her time, the Stags have had 12 players named to the MAAC All-Academic Team while Emina Selimovic also being selected to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District squad with a perfect 4.0 GPA.   McKinnon returned to her hometown of Fairfield, Conn., after graduating from Fairfield Ludlowe in 2016. She spent 2021-22 season as the graduate assistant coach at Salisbury University where she helped the Sea Gulls to a 20-7 record and an At-Large berth into the NCAA Tournament. As an assistant coach, she was in charge of the development of the post players and helped Kaylee Otlowski to an All-American Honorable Mention selection.   McKinnon was a four-year letter winner at Montclair State where she was a 1,000-point scorer for the Red Hawks. In her four seasons, she helped the team to 88 victories including two NJAC Championships and three appearances in the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament.